Turning Queen's Park into kings

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NOVEMBER 2018


STENHOUSEMUIR V QUEEN'S PARK (Scottish Cup 3rd Round)

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Four changes from the Airdrie game, as Court, Horribine, Welsh and Thomson come in for Sinclair, Davison, Freedman and Marr. A good performance is needed here, Stenhousemuir are no slouches, and they have ex Spider Ross Cameron up front, so it'd be typical if he scores today.

We almost took the lead in the 17th minute, as Greig got onto a deep cross from Court, but he saw his volley well saved by Laidlaw. Greig had another chance 10 minutes later, but struck the foot of the post from a narrow angle after stretching to get onto the end of a cross from Young.

Well fell behind in the 62nd minute when, who else but Ross Cameron, got onto the end of a long ball before sliding it past Muir to put Stenhousemuir 1-0 up. They could have went 2-0 up in stoppage time, but Muir denied Cameron's 1 on 1 opportunity.

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A very poor but not exactly unexpected result, we've been awful recently and can't get a win for toffee.

QUEEN'S PARK V COWDENBEATH (League One)

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Four changes from the cup game, as Fleming, Sinclair and Freedman come in for Horribine, Greig and Young, while Smith comes in for Miller, who is with the Scotland U19s. We have a pretty terrible record against Cowdenbeath, so we'll have to do very well to get something here with the way we've been playing.

We did actually get off to a good start, and took the lead when Fleming looped a header over Sneddon following a cross from Smith. Quite incredibly, that was the only real action in the game!

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A pretty boring game, but i'd take a lifeless 1-0 win every week! The league still remains really tight, we're only 6 points off the bottom of the league, but at the same time, only 5 points off the top! Steven Smith was named in the team of the week for his MOTM performance.


Linked to even more jobs, too!

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Sadly, more injury news came rolling in too.

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We did receive some good news on the injury front however, as Lewis Brown is back in full training after his torn hamstring.
CLYDE V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Just the one change for this game, as Jamie Miller returns to the side in place of Steven Smith. I'd certainly take another boring 1-0 win here if possible!

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be happening, and we fell behind in the first minute of the game when Downie picked up the ball on the edge of the box and found the back of the net. Things would go from bad to worse 5 minutes later, as McKay found O'Brien on the penalty spot, allowing him to slam home to double Clyde's lead. The misery was being compiled in the 56th minute when Freedman was forced off with an injury.

Clyde appeared to have a 3rd goal in the 77th minute, but Buchanan's goal was ruled out after the referee gave handball against him. We gave ourselves a chance of getting back into it in the 79th minute when Sinclair capitalised on Young's poor header across his own box and finessed the ball into the right hand side of the goal.
And the away following was sent into raptures in the final 5 minutes, when Sean McKenzie picked up the ball 25 yards out and hit a beautiful strike which found the top right corner despite Martin getting his finger tips to the ball. We thought we had taken a dramatic lead straight from kick off when McKenzie tackled Marenghi and ran through on goal, the ball was knocked away from him by Fraser straight into the path of Sinclair, but his shot went straight into the arms of Martin.

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A superb comeback, especially by our standards, if only Sinclair had put that chance away in the dying minutes... Little, Welsh and McKenzie were named in the team of the week.

More bad news on the injury front.

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We have a good replacement in Smith, but Miller will be a big miss for us at the back, he's undoubtedly one of the team's best players. Welsh is also one of the best we have, and our midfield will be looking thin in quality without him. Just when things start looking up, we get hit with things like this.

More speculation too, this time linking me with the Oxford and Cambridge jobs, and i was also offered an interview by Derry City.

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We had two inclusions in the monthly awards, too.

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Doesn't say a whole lot though, given that we only played 2 league games this month!​
 
Man the injuries are just racking up! Unlucky about Miller :/

Hopefully you can push on without him.
 
Disclaimer89 said:
Man the injuries are just racking up! Unlucky about Miller :/

Hopefully you can push on without him.
Click to expand...

Certianly hope so mate. He could probably play for a few sides in the Championship, he's got that much ability.
 
DECEMBER 2018



More Northern Irish love to kick off the month...

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I also received some rather kind words from Raith manager Ally McCoist in the leadup to the clash between our two sides.

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RAITH V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Four changes from the draw against Clyde, as McKenzie, Young, Smith and Brown replace Fleming, Gibson and the injured pair of Welsh and Miller. Raith are currently bottom of the league but the league is so tight right now that that doesn't mean very much.

We took the lead in just the 4th minute, when McGurn tipped a Young shot from the edge of the box onto McKenzie following a corner, and the ball rolled along the 6 yard box to Thomson, who tapped home to score his first goal for the club. We nearly bagged a second on the 20 minute mark, but Sinclair's first time effort was acrobatically held by McGurn after he was played in by McKenzie. Raith had a chance just moments later when Gardyne skipped past the challenge of Smith, but he fired over the bar. We doubled our lead not long before half time, as McKenzie found the bottom left corner with a glancing header after a cross by Thomson.

Raith thought they had gotten a goal back in the 78th minute, but McGuigan's header after a cross from Naismith rattled the crossbar. We came close to scoring again ourselves just past the 80 minute mark, but Mitchell's effort from just inside the area was saved by McGurn.

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A very good performance from us, barring a couple of moments, we were always well in control of the match. Thomson and Young were included in the team of the week.

One bad point to come out of the game is that Smith will now miss 9-12 days with a stubbed toe.

McCoist was incredibly sacked after this game, and guess who was touted as his replacement...

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Strange how things turn out. I was also linked with the Crawley post just before our next game...


QUEEN'S PARK V FORFAR (League One)

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Just the one forced change here, as Gibson comes in for the injured Smith. This is a pretty big game, Forfar lie in second, just a point and two places above us, if we win, it'd be a huge statement.

We fell behind in the 18th minute however, when Ryan Hardie smashed home a Shankland cross at the near post. Things would get worse just after the half hour mark, as Shankland turned scorer, volleying home a cross from Stewart. Forfar were absolutely smashing us, and they made it 3-0 minutes later when Brownlie found the net after a through ball from Stewart.

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A very poor result, we were appalling in the first half and got absolutely mauled.

Results like that didn't seem to change the bookies minds though.

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QUEEN'S PARK V STIRLING (League One)

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Four changes from the lashing by Forfar, as Greig, Davison, Biggart and Mitchell replace Court, McKenzie, Brown and Thomson. We'll have to do very well to get something out of this, Stirling are looking far and away the best side in the league right now.

We were desperately unlucky not to take an early lead when Greig was played in by Sinclair, as he saw his effort deflected wide by a last ditch sliding challenge by Davidson. Stirling almost took a lead of their own after 25 minutes when the ball broke to Robbie Mitchell inside our box after a corner, but Muir pulled off an excellent save to deny him. Stirling got a touch of good fortune in the 63rd minute, as Paul Kelly latched onto a long ball and ran one on one with Muir, Muir saved the initial shot but the ball rebounded straight back to Kelly, who placed it into an empty net to give Stirling the lead.

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That result is a bit of a kick in the teeth, as i don't feel we deserved to lose that on the balance of play.

MORTON V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Eight changes to the lineup, as Horribine, McKenzie, Duff, Auriemma, Smith, Brown, Little and Thomson replace Greig, Sinclair, Davison, Freedman, Biggart, Gibson, Hardie and Mitchell.

We took an early blow in the 13th minute, as McNulty was forced off with an injury. We took the lead just 6 minutes later however, when Duff played a through ball and found the run of Horribine, who scored despite Brennan getting a big hand on the ball. Things really could never go all our way though, as Duff went off with an injury not long before half time. We were reduced to 10 men in the 69th minute, after Fleming received his second yellow card for tripping Tiffoney, despite Tiffoney appearing to dive.

We came very close to doubling our lead in the 77th minute, as McKenzie took down a Sinclair cross on the edge of the 6 yard box, but his shot was blocked by Marr. I could barely watch in the 88th minute as Tidser whipped in a cross and found MacDonald, who fired towards goal but thankfully saw his shot easily held by Muir.

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We did exceptionally well to get a win out of that, especially after going down to 10 men against such a good side. Little and Smith were named in the team of the week.

The injuries were still a problem, though.

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I'm confident McNulty will come back strong from his injury, but Duff's is a bad one, hopefully it doesn't stifle him too much. To break your ankle on your debut for the club is absolutely rotten luck.

One positive bit of news on that front however, as Jamie Miller has resumed full training.

I was still being linked to pretty much every lower league job going, too.

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QUEEN'S PARK V MONTROSE (League One)

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Eight changes from the win over Morton, as Greig, Court, Davison, Freedman, Craigie, Miller, Gibson and Hardie come in for Horribine, McKenzie, Duff, McNulty, Auriemma, Smith, Brown and Little. This is a good opportunity to start building some momentum i think, we normally do quite well vs Montrose.

We got off to a similar start as we did last time however, as Greig came off with an injury after just 3 minutes. We were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute, when Boyle tripped Freedman after he was slipped in by Court, although admittedly, Freedman did appear to dive. Gibson stepped up, but struck his penalty straight at Farningham. Deary me. We should have taken the lead again just 6 minutes later, but Court headed against the near post after getting onto a Thomson cross. The ball found its way back to Thomson, who again found Court with a cross, but his close range volley was superbly saved by Farningham. This just might not be our day.

Montrose had a chance of their own in the 24th minute when McDonald found McIntosh with a grounded cross, but his effort was well held by Muir. Our hearts sunk in the 73rd minute when Sludden beat Muir to the ball after a long ball over the top and knocked it home to give Montrose a 1-0 win.

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Can't believe we lost that game, we should have been 2 or 3 up by half time, we really blew an opportunity there. To make matters worse, Greig will now miss 5-6 weeks with a pulled hamstring. Court has also played 8 matches without scoring a goal now. A very worrying statistic indeed. Presently there are only 4 points separating 9th and 3rd, what a crazy season this has been so far.


​
 
JANUARY 2019


A milestone in the calendar, a new year, and a milestone for me personally...

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Hopefully we can mark the occasion with a positive result.

QUEEN'S PARK V STRANRAER (League One)

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Seven changes from the Montrose game, as Wylie, McKenzie, Sinclair, Fleming, Brown, Little and Mitchell come in for Greig, Court, Davison, Craigie, Gibson, Hardie and Thomson. We should really be winning this one, we have the home advantage and Stranraer are rock bottom, we could be in dire straits if we don't.

There was a familiar sight in the 15th minute however, as Sinclair had to come off with an injury. We came close to taking the lead a moment later when Young set up Miller on the penalty spot, but Miller's effort was well held by David Mitchell. We nearly caught a lucky break in the 54th minute, when a sliding Rumsby almost knocked a Thomson cross into his own net, but Mitchell was again there to make sure that didn't happen. We came forward again in the dying minutes, and Freedman received a pass from Young after Little's throw in before teeing up Court, who curled a wonderful shot into the top left corner to score his first goal in over eight hours of football send our fans, and me especially, into raptures.

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A great way to celebrate my 200th game! We've come a long way since the first one, for sure. Our last 4 games have interestingly ended 1-0, with alternating results.

Unfortunately, Sinclair will be out for 6-7 weeks with a twisted ankle, while Miller will again be out for weeks with a bruised thigh.

AIRDRIE V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Another seven changes for this game, as this match comes just 4 days after the one against Stranraer. Jackson, Collins, Craigie, Smith, Gibson, Hardie and Thomson come in for Wylie, Fleming, Brown, Little, Mitchell and the injured pair of Sinclair and Miller. Hopefully the trend of alternating 1-0s doesn't continue today.

Airdrie should have scored on the stroke of half time, but McCall slid his shot wide after running 1 on 1. We took a bizarre lead in the 58th minute, when Thomson's attempted cross looped over the head of Andrew Muir and into the bottom corner. Annoyingly, Gavin Mitchell went off with an injury after 66 minutes, just 2 minutes after coming on as a sub. Airdrie would find an equaliser moments later, as Ferry tapped a Blockley cross in at the far post after Airdrie caught us on the counter. We would replicate the scenes of the game against the Stranraer, as Jackson picked up the ball on the edge of the box in the 89th minute and hit a wonderful strike which flew into the top right corner.

It wasn't over however, as Ferry was played through down the middle in the 94th minute, i could barely watch... but Muir made himself big and denied him! Airdrie then got a free kick in the next minute of the game when Ferry was clattered by Freedman, but O'Neil's effort thankfully fell wide of the right hand post.

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A hard fought win, one which moves us into the top 3, and probably more importantly, 8 points clear of the bottom two. Little, Smith and Jackson made it into the team of the week.

It wouldn't be a proper month with some nice speculation...

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Great to be linked with a club that's doing so well in the Championship, and a team i do like in Queen of the South, but as always, my focus is on Queen's Park.

Some good news on the injury front too as, Callum Welsh is back in full training after his sprained ankle. For every good bit of news there is seemingly bad though, and Thomas Collins sustained broken ribs during a mid week match against St Mirren's U20s and will be out for 5 weeks.

QUEEN'S PARK V CLYDE (League One)

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Four changes from the win against Airdrie, with Fleming, Court, McNulty and Brown coming in for Jackson, Craigie, Gibson and the injured Collins. This is our 15th game against our rivals Clyde since i took the job here, hopefully we can mark it with a win.

We got off to the worst start imaginable, as in just the first minute of the game, McShane tapped in after his initial effort following a McKay cross was saved by Muir. Things would go from bad to worse, as an attempted long ball from Hardie was charged down by McShane, who ran through and easily found the back of the net. We pulled a goal back in the 27th minute however, as Court received the ball from Thomson with his back to goal before hitting a shot on the turn which flew past Martin into the net. McShane would bag a first half hat trick in stoppage time, as the ball broke to him after a scramble in the box.

We should have scored our second of the afternoon in the 57th minute, but Wylie's initial effort after Smith's corner was saved by the leg of Martin, the rebound fell to McKenzie inside the 6 yard box, but Martin somehow jumped to his feet and pulled off a miraculous save to again make a save. 99 times out of 100, that's a goal.

We would pay for that miss, as McShane received the ball from McKay inside the D of our box before lashing a shot past Muir and into the net to bag his 4th of the day.

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A pretty appalling result, the game was over in the first 10 minutes.

COWDENBEATH V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Five changes from the defeat against Clyde, as Horribine, Wylie, Davison, Miller and Gibson come in for Fleming, McKenzie, Court, Smith and Brown. A much better performance is required here.

We nearly got off to a start similar to the one against Clyde, but Moyes fired wide after being played in by Slattery in the 2nd minute. Moyes wouldn't make the same mistake just before half time however, as he slammed home a low cross from Weir from close range. We would equalise moments later, as Wylie swiveled inside the area before beating Sneddon at his near post. We completely fell asleep from kick off in the second half, as Slattery latched on to a long ball over the top before sliding under Muir to give Cowdenbeath the lead back. We would score again in the same fashion though, as a long ball over the top left Sneddon in no man's land, and Wylie took advantage to score his second of the game.

Wylie thought he had bagged his hat trick moments later after a long ball evaded the head of Petrie, but Wylie's effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced out. Moyes had a chance to score his second in the 58th minute, but Muir denied him with a good save. Moyes would make up for the miss with 15 minutes left, volleying home a Ford free kick to put Cowdenbeath 3-2 up.

We had a golden chance in the 89th minute to equalise when Little found Court with an excellent cross, but Court put his effort wide of the near post.

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Quite disappointing to lose, but we probably deserved to in the end. McNulty and Wylie were named in the team of the week.

QUEEN'S PARK V RAITH (League One)

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Three changes for this game, as McKenzie, Craigie and Brown replace Horribine, Freedman and Gibson. A good chance to get back on track here, but if we fail, we could be dragged well into the mire.

And what happened after just a minute summed up our recent luck, as Ferris got onto a long ball, his shot was saved by Muir, but the ball hit Brown on the way out and rolled over the line to give Raith an early lead. We equalised in the 26th minute though, when Craigie scored from 6 yards after a square ball across the box by McNulty. We started the second half just like we started the first, as Gardyne found the far corner after being played in by Buchanan. We had a dramatic escape in the 52nd minute, when Ferris hit the post from inside the 6 yard box, the ball fell back to Ferris, but after a last ditch block from Brown, the ball fell to Naismith, who then hit the other post from a similar distance, Phew.

We would eventually concede a 3rd on the hour mark however, Muir saved a free kick from Gardyne, but the ball fell out to Ferris, who cut the ball back to Grant, who saw his first time effort again saved by Muir, but again the ball dropped to Buchanan, who tapped into an empty net, much to our dismay.

We were awarded a penalty in the 66th minute when Murdoch tripped Davison, Miller stepped up, but he put his penalty straight at McGurn. We nearly got a consolation goal in the 87th minute when McKenzie's long range effort took a deflection on the way through and hit the right hand post.

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A very poor second half performance from us, and we really need to start watching our backs.

One departure in this transfer window, as Queen of the South have poached youth midfielder Alan MacDonald from us. Not exactly surprising.

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And the month started so well!

The relegation zone is getting a bit too close for comfort, but looking at your record in those 204 games, I'm sure you will get the points needed in the remainder of the season... ;)
 
dllu said:
And the month started so well!

The relegation zone is getting a bit too close for comfort, but looking at your record in those 204 games, I'm sure you will get the points needed in the remainder of the season... ;)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the confidence mate!
 
FEBRUARY 2019

An exceptionally tough month for us here, as we face away trips to all of the top 3 teams, and a home game against Morton.


FORFAR V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)


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Three changes from the defeat to Raith, as Fleming, Court and Freedman come in for Wylie, Davison and Craigie. A very good performance needed here, as it will be in all of our games this month.

Forfar would take the lead in the 24th minute with the first meaningful bit of play, as Lochhead got on to a floated pass from McMillan before beating Muir at his near post. Lochhead was involved again moments later, drilling a cross to the far post to Hilson, who saw his first time volley parried wide by Muir. The resulting corner was cleared, but the ball came back in, and Forfar got a penalty when Brown fouled McMillan with a sliding challenge just inside the area. Hilson took to the spot and hit his penalty straight down the middle to double Forfar's lead.

We thought we had gotten a goal back in the 36th minute when Miller played a corner to the penalty spot and found an unmarked Court, but his first time volley was sensationally denied as Caraux showed superhuman reflexes to tip the ball onto the bar. The resulting corner was played to Fleming at the near post, who swiveled and dinked the ball across the box, again finding Court, but this time his volley flew over the bar. How we didn't score from one of those, i don't know. Forfar were awarded another penalty on the stroke of half time, as the referee claimed Miller had clattered in to Hilson on the byline, it did appear very harsh.

Hilson again stepped up, and this time put his penalty into the bottom left corner. We came close to a consolation in the last 10 minutes when Welsh's long range shot was pushed onto the post by Caraux. The resulting corner was played to the far post to an unmarked Thomson, who nodded home to make it 3-1. We almost scored again in the 88th minute as Thomson played a cross across the 6 yard box from the byline and found McKenzie, but his first time effort was again saved by Caraux.

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I think 3-1 flattered Forfar a little, but either way, they won, and this result has seen us drop into the relegation play off place, and we must improve soon else we'll make this position our own.

Truth be told, things are looking bad, morale is low, players are constantly complaining about not getting played, we're on poor form, there's just no unity around the club right now, things need to change soon before it descends into a crisis. The next game probably couldn't have come at a worse time...

STIRLING V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Three changes from the last game, as Greig, Wylie and Davison replace Fleming, McKenzie and Court. Like i said, this is a horrible time to play this game, away to the league leaders when we're on such poor form. Although we do currently occupy the 2nd bottom spot, Airdrie, Morton and Raith are locked on 30 points with us, and Clyde are on 31, it's still all to play for.

Things got off to a typically poor start, when Smith dinked the ball inside the area and found Gibson, who pulled off an incredible overhead kick and found the top left corner. Things got worse in the 29th minute, when Greig had to come off with an injury. We scored a shock equaliser in the 36th minute, as substitute Court tapped into an empty net after Murdoch had tipped a McNulty free kick onto the bar. We sustained our second injury of the game before half time, as Wylie had to come off. Stirling suffered an injury of their own in stoppage time, and the first half carried on past 50 minutes. This wasn't good for us at all however, as in the EIGHTH minute of injury time, Fraser found the far corner after cutting inside from the right flank to give Stirling a 2-1 lead.

We were awarded a penalty just after the hour mark, when Burns tripped up McNulty inside the area. Hardie took responsibility and placed his penalty down the left hand side to make it 2-2. Stirling would regain their lead in the last 15 minutes, as the ball fell to Breslin inside the box after a free kick, and Breslin made no mistake. Incredibly, in the dying minutes of the game, the referee would award us another penalty, when Gibson upended Davison just inside the area. I could barely watch as Hardie again stepped up to the spot, but he used pure power to beat Murdoch and make it 3-3 and salvage a point for us.

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If we produced that sort of battling performance every game, we wouldn't be in the situation that we're in.

QUEEN'S PARK V MORTON (League One)

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Two changes from the last match, as Horribine and McKenzie come in for Greig and Wylie. This is probably the best chance we have for a win this month. We could conceivably move up a couple of places with a win here, as 3 points would take us above our opponents, and Raith if they lose to second place Montrose.

We came close to falling behind in the 13th minute, but Muir came to the rescue, tipping a MacDonald shot onto the post. The resulting corner was headed onto the underside of the bar by Ballantyne, and cleared at the last minute by Horribine before Marr could tap in. That was a lucky escape and then some. From the resulting counter attack, Horribine rounded Brennan before being denied by a last ditch challenge from Murray, but the ball fell to Davison, who found the bottom right corner with a left footed shot. What a passage of play!

We would double our lead in the 29th minute, when McKenzie brought down a Horribine free kick before beating Brennan with a powerful effort from close range to end his 11+ hour goal drought and send us into half time with a 2-0 lead.

We nearly put an exclamation point on the game in the 84th minute when Horribine set up Collins, but Collins' effort was superbly denied by Brennan. We made no mistake moments later however, as Davison found the back of the net after Craigie's initial shot was saved by Brennan.

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A superb performance from the lads, definitely one of our best of the season, and one that makes our position in the league look a little better. Thomson, Hardie and McNulty were named in the team of the week.

Here's the token job speculation of the week, too.

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MONTROSE V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Two changes from the win over Morton, as Wylie and Collins come in for Horribine and McKenzie. A very tough game to end the month, against second place Montrose, but if we play like we have in the last two games we might have a decent chance at getting at least a point.

Wylie's involvement in the game didn't last long however, as he had to come off with an injury in the 13th minute. That and an injury to Montrose's Robbie McNeil were the only real things that happened in the first half of the match. The first good chance of the match fell to McIntosh, who chested down a corner by McDonald before seeing his effort saved by Muir. Our hearts sank in the 89th minute of the game, when McIntosh set up, yep, Ryan Baptie, who hit a superb strike which beat Muir and flew into the top corner. But we were saved by the linesman's offside flag! Relief all around.

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We never really looked like winning the game, but we did well to hold on to a point in a tough away fixture. Brown made it into the team of the week after a commanding defensive performance.

Airdrie manager Stevie Aitken was sacked after their 4-1 loss to Cowdenbeath, which saw them drop to 8th in the league.

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We've got our new batch of youth recruits through the system too.

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Here are the three standouts...

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Let's hope they don't get poached too quickly!

Gordon Hardie came quite close to winning the player of the month award for February.

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MARCH 2019


STRANRAER V QUEEN'S PARK

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Three changes from the draw with Montrose, as Smith, McKenzie and Welsh come in for Wylie, Collins and Davison. Smith and Welsh aren't natural wide men, but i feel some rotation is needed. In theory we should win this game, Stranraer sit bottom, 12 points behind 2nd bottom Morton, it's never that easy though.

And so it turned out, as Allan Smith latched onto a through ball from McCluskey before finding the bottom right corner. Things would get even worse moments later, as we failed to clear a cross, and the ball fell to Robertson, who struck the left hand post with a volley before the ball came back out and hit Hardie before trickling over the line. The inconsistency of our team is making me tear my hair out.

It wasn't over there, we fell 3 behind when McCluskey nodded home a Millen cross from the penalty spot. Millen would be involved again just before half time, causing chaos in our box with a cross before the ball again fell to Allan Smith, who squeezed his shot in at the near post. This is an absolute disaster.

It was nearly 5 in the 78th minute, but Muir saved with his feet after Donnelly had an effort from just inside the area. Our best chance came moments later when Hardie volleyed over from a Smith free kick.

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I can't even begin to describe how bad we were here, Stranraer cut us open without even trying and the win was comprehensive, to lose like that to bottom of the league is an absolute disgrace.

I also had an offer of an interview from Dungannon Swifts.

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Despite that last result, i certainly wasn't leaving.

Incredibly, Stirling Albion's manager Stuart McLaren has left to join Airdrie, who are currently 4 places below them in the league table. Strange decisions people make these days.

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Unfortunately, our next match is against Airdrie, meaning they might well have that new manager boost...

QUEEN'S PARK V AIRDRIE (League One)

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Three changes from the appalling result against Stranraer, as Horribine, Court and Mitchell replace Smith, McKenzie and Freedman.

We nearly fell behind late on in the first half when Megginson fired towards goal after a long ball from Blockley, but Muir pulled off a good save to deny him. We were awarded a penalty not long after the hour mark, after Smith tripped Court inside the area. Horribine took responsibility and put his penalty in the bottom left corner to give us a 1-0 lead. We lost the lead just as quickly as we had gained it though, when Stewart knocked into an empty net after Thomson had knocked the ball away from Docherty with a slide tackle.

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A much better performance than our last one for sure, but it's a little frustrating to see how many times we lose concentration after scoring a goal.

I've now been linked with the Morton job after they fell to 9th in the league.

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CLYDE V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Three changes from the game against Airdrie, as Collins, Burns and Freedman replace Court, Welsh and Mitchell. Hopefully McShane doesn't pop another 4 past us today...

The first chance of the match fell to Clyde in the 15th minute as McShane had a shot from the edge of the area, but it was tame and went right into the arms of Muir. We fell behind in the 59th minute as we failed to clear the ball on a number of occasions before McShane cut the ball back to Ferguson, who shot under Muir to give Clyde the lead. Aidan Smith had a chance to double Clyde's lead in the 66th minute after turning McNulty, but his effort was acrobatically tipped over by Muir. Smith again could have scored with 10 minutes to go, but his 1 on 1 effort went over the bar.

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Not a great performance on our part, we didn't create anywhere enough chances.

QUEEN'S PARK V COWDENBEATH (League One)

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Three changes from the defeat to Clyde, as Court, Fleming and McKenzie come in for Horribine, Collins and Burns. We really need a positive result here.

Cowdenbeath had a great chance to score when Moyes got onto a cross by Weir, but Muir somehow held his effort. Moyes came close again a minute before half time, hitting the post with a header following a free kick. Cowdenbeath thought they'd taken the lead in the 74th minute when McCroary lashed in, but he was offside when he received the pass from Moyes. Unfortunately, they would indeed take the lead moments later, when Muir misjudged a cross from McLean, and he fumbled it into the net.

Our misery was compounded in stoppage time, when Miller received a second yellow card after sliding in from behind on Ford.

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Another game where we created next to nothing going forward, and we're definitely fighting another battle to stay up this year. Despite his red card, Miller was named in the team of the week.


​
 
MARCH 2019


RAITH V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Four changes from the defeat to Cowdenbeath, as Horribine, Collins and Duff come in for Court, Fleming, McKenzie and the suspended Miller. This game could be vital to our season, we won't overtake Raith with a win but we'll go level on points with them, and we need to create more space between us and Morton.

We fell behind just after the 5 minute mark when Ferris shot into the bottom left corner after getting on to a through pass from Gardyne. Things went from bad to worse in the 18th minute, as Buchanan nipped in ahead of Brown to turn in a cross from Grant. Raith would score a third in the 37th minute, as Gardyne tapped into an empty net after Buchanan's initial effort struck the left hand post. This was getting embarrassing, again.

The floodgates were really opening in this match, and we shipped a 4th when a cross from Buchanan fell to Waters, who found the bottom left corner. This was an absolute nightmare. Raith should have been five up but Muir somehow denied McGuigan from close range.

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An absolutely disgraceful performance, our second drubbing in the space of a month, from teams who really have no right to be beating us this heavily. By the looks of things, if we survive this season it won't be on our own merit. We've gone 6 matches without winning and have only scored one goal in that period.

Jason Thomson delivered some encouraging words going into our next game.

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And we really will have to rally if we want to claw our way out of the mire.

QUEEN'S PARK V FORFAR (League One)

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Four changes from the last game, as McKenzie, Greig, Welsh and Miller replace Collins, Duff, Freedman and Smith. A much improved showing is needed here, especially importantly, we need to SCORE.

And we did just that in the 17th minute when Greig received a pass from Young before turning Low and hitting a shot into the bottom left corner. Forfar came close to leveling in the 24th minute, but Muir denied Hilson. Worryingly, Morton were also 1-0 up vs Cowdenbeath, meaning a good result here is vital as things stand.

We doubled our lead just before half time, as Greig received a corner at the near post before playing the ball across the 6 yard box to Hardie, who tapped in to make it 2-0. Forfar set up a nervy finish in the 84th minute, as Ferguson used pure power to beat Muir after being set up by Hilson, but we would hold on for a crucial win.

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A great win for us, and an important one given Morton's surprise win over Cowdenbeath. This matchday also confirmed that Stirling and Montrose will at least play in the play offs come the end of the season. Hardie was named in the team of the week for his performance.

QUEEN'S PARK V STIRLING (League One)

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Three changes from the win over Forfar, as Court, Duff and Freedman replace Horribine, McKenzie and Welsh. A very tricky mid week tie against the league leaders here, one which me must win to absolutely guarantee that we don't fall behind Morton, as we don't have a match this weekend.

And we took the lead just past the 20 minute mark, when Duff received a corner at the near post before squaring to Hardie who tapped in to put us 1-0 up, shades of his goal against Forfar! Stirling had a chance 8 minutes later, but Robbie Mitchell fired right into the arms of Muir. Mitchell again had a chance on the 40 minute mark, but the angle was tight and Muir was able to push the ball behind for a corner. Mitchell wouldn't miss again the other side of half time though, as he headed a cross from Burns into the bottom left corner. We would regain the lead in the 65th minute however, as McNulty found an unmarked Hardie with a free kick, allowing Hardie to volley past Murdoch into the net and bag his brace.

We would double our lead less than 10 minutes later, as Greig floated a free kick from deep to the back post where Duff was on hand to volley home to make it 3-1 and score his first goal for the club.

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Another superb 3 points for us, and this result means that we will be at the very least least 2 points clear of Morton come the end of the week. Hardie, Miller and McNulty were all named in the team of the week.

Morton would end up getting a point against Raith, meaning we go into the penultimate game of the season against Morton 4 points clear, meaning a draw against them would secure safety for us.

Regrettably, we will be without Jamie Miller for the closing days of the season, as he is suffering from tendonitis, he'll certainly be a big miss.

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MORTON V QUEEN'S PARK (League One)

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Four changes from the last game, as Horribine, McKenzie, Welsh and Smith come in for Court, Duff, Freedman and the injured Miller. This is it. We can seal survival for another season with a draw here, our away form recently has been poor though, so we really need to give 100% in this match.

The first half saw absolutely no goalmouth action whatsoever, which is great as far as i'm concerned! Morton had a chance to take the lead in the first minute of the second half though when Wright dinked the ball to Galbraith at the far post, but his effort from a narrow angle was saved by Muir. Greig was forced off in the 69th minute with an injury. Morton came forward again in the 73rd minute, and Elliot should have scored when he volleyed from inside the 6 yard box after a cross from Ferns, but Muir somehow denied him with a top class save. It was a real backs to the wall job for the dying minutes, but we held on to get the point that we needed.

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The result means that we will be playing in League One next season, and also means that Stranraer could pull off the unthinkable and make it into the relegation play off after being seemingly dead and buried.

Either way, we've done well to stay up again this season, hopefully we can push on and finish a little higher up the league next year, and it'd be nice if we can close the season with a good result against Montrose on the last day too.

Hardie again came close to winning the player of the month award.

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Told you so. (H)

What a finish by Stranraer, though! Lucky for you and Morton the season isn't 38 games... ;)
 
FINAL LEAGUE GAME, QUEEN'S PARK V MONTROSE

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Two changes for the final game, as Duff and Freedman come in for Greig and Welsh. This game doesn't really mean anything for us anymore, but it would be nice to end on a positive note after a tough year.

We didn't look good to do that though, and fell behind in the 14th minute when McDonald scored from the edge of the area. Dean Horribine was forced off with an injury just before half time. We equalised in the 63rd minute, when McNulty scored his first goal of the season, finding the top left corner with a free kick from inside the D. Montrose would find a late winner however, when McIntosh found space inside the area before firing into the bottom right corner. Our game, and season, ended in typical fashion, as Hardie went off with an injury in stoppage time.

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Not a great way to end the season, but it doesn't really matter, we can now turn our attention towards building for next year.

Special commiserations must go to Stranraer, who conceded an 89th minute goal which ultimately sent them down.

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Unfortunately, Gordon Hardie's injury turned out to be broken ribs, meaning he will spend the post season and a good chunk of pre season on the sidelines.

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Well, that's that for another year, it was definitely more of the same, but there were a few more encouraging signs, we made a brilliant start, and again if we can bring the right players in we can hopefully push on next year. Here's to another season with the Spiders!

​END OF 2018/19 SEASON


​
 
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Anyone who follows the FMBase World Cup will know this, but i'm jetting off to Crete for 11 days tomorrow, i know i have Wifi and i'll be taking a laptop with me, but the laptop is quite slow and the wifi is a tad unreliable, so i may or may not be posting updates while i'm there.

Just in case i don't, i'll leave you all with a few questions.

How do you think the season went for us? Better? More comfortable than last year? Sameish? Worse?

And, where do you think Queen's Park will finish next year?

Do you think Lucock is doing a good job, is he doing as expected, better, or worse?

Would someone else do better?

Would he do better personally at another club?

Would he fail at another club?
 
I think Lucock is getting the maximum out of his players. Having to work with an amateur side and the constant thread of losing your best players is not easy.

Looking at the table and how close it was until the last few rounds, I don't think it's completely unrealistic that you could hit a playoff spot within a couple of seasons.

Personally I would love to see you continue at QP as this is by far my favourite career thread, but I guess it all comes down to whether you think you can realistically push the club even further...
 
Yep, what dllu said.

Doing a great job under extremely difficult circumstances. Not many would persist & succeed with an amateur club but as has been said, with the table as close as it is, wouldnt surprise me at all if you managed to secure a play off spot in the near future & then who knows...

At times i imagine this is an incredibly frustrating save but, in a way, thats what makes it so interesting.
 
Agree completely with both of the above, you've shown incredible persistence! And possibly great character :P
 
Appreciate the feedback guys!

Yea, i have no real intention of leaving, i was just interested to see how people would rate Mr Lucock's chances of success if he was to go somewhere else, came too far to leave now! Hopefully we'll see a bit more success in the future, and i'm glad that you're all enjoying this so much!

PatrickLFC said:
Agree completely with both of the above, you've shown incredible persistence! And possibly great character :P
Click to expand...

You know i'm a big fan of character ;)
 
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