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CLYDE 1 : 0 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 27th August 2005
Barnard
Rating: 6.57
Paton
Rating: 5.12
Thomson
Rating: 5.06
Reid
Rating: 4.44
S2
English
Rating: 5.12
S3
Payne
Rating: 4.97
Lovell
Rating: 3.70
McColligan
Rating: 6.03
Bowey
Rating: 5.12
Wood
Rating: 5.12
S1
McNiven
Rating: 4.45
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 52
McLaughlin
Rating: 4.61
S2 - 62
Gibson
Rating: 4.61
S3 - 65
Burns
Rating: 4.72
Carr
Scott
SUBMIT YOUR mom RATINGS
Members of the Internet Fan Club can award players marks out of ten for their performance today. The player with the most points awarded in the two days following a match will be the IFC Man of the Match. All of the points will then be added to a running total for each player and the results published in the mom League Table.

Name or IFC No.
MATCH SUMMARY
After two tough away defeats this was a game Iain Scott's men came into knowing points were all important to avoid being left behind at the bottom of division one early season. Sadly they were nowhere to be had after a poor performance brought a single goal defeat. With Derek Lyle suspended and John O'Neill still kept out by persistent hamstring problems the biggest problem in team selection was up front where Gary Wood got the nod to partner McNiven. Stephen Payne was the man back in the side for Lyle though with Eric Paton moving back to full back. The home side, largely cobbled together in four weeks at the start of the season by Graham Roberts, was generally full of unknown names but did feature a couple of last years side and a certain Alex Williams who will be vaguely familiar to Queens fans from last season!

A minutes silence for Willie Wilson
The first good chance of the game arrived for the 'Bully Wee' in six minutes when a long ball forward by McGowan saw Brighton and Williams both in behind the left back area with Jim Thomson struggling to make ground from centre back to get in a challenge. Thankfully young Brighton showed a lack of composure and lashed well wide of goal from a tight angle instead of setting up his strike partner with a tap in. The goal wasn't long delayed though and arrived in 13 minutes as Queens made a very sluggish start. McKeown's pass into the penalty area saw Brighton with a chance to turn and shoot from 12 yards. Richie Barnard made a fine block but the ball rebounded straight to Alex Williams who seemed sure to score but somehow hit the Queens defender on the line from about ten yards out. Fortune favoured the ex-Morton man though as the ball came straight back and cannoned against William's knee and back into the net for a bizarre but deserved opener.

Queens picked up more bookings in this game than in any I can remember since the Connolly era began and they started accumulating them in 26 minutes when Jim Thomson could have few complaints after going through the back of Tom Brighton on halfway. On 33 minutes David McNiven joined him in the book somewhat controversially for sliding in for a loose ball and connecting with goalkeeper Paul Jarvie. To be honest the booking looked harsh as the ball was there to be won and seemed to be given more for the unfortunate connection than for the unfairness of the challenge. Three minutes later Queens had a let off as a ball in from the right side was mis-controlled by Jim Thomson and bounced up to hit him on the arm in the penalty area. Despite the fact that the assistant referee put up his flag referee Colin Hardie waved play on and indicated that it had hit big Jim on the chest. A minute later Brian McColligan became yellow card number three for the Doonhamers when he committed a bad tackle on Brighton again on halfway.

Paton throw in
Queens best chance of the first half arrived on 42 minutes when a great ball in from English was beautifully controlled first time by McNiven and he strode forward into the penalty area. However, his shot was awful and sliced away so badly from about 15 yards that it neither went out for a goal kick nor a throw! In injury time the half ended in some controversy as McNiven again slid into a collision with the nervous looking Paul Jarvie. Again to be honest he looked to have every right to go for the ball and any contact seemed fairly innocuous but this time Jarvie was hurt and had to be stretchered off with a knee injury. The home fans needless to say were baying for McNiven to be sent off but Mr Hardie resisted the temptation though it did seem he'd made a rod for his own back. Substitute goalkeeper Peter Cherrie came on but didn't even touch the ball before the half time whistle.

Three minutes into the second half Clyde had a glorious chance to stretch their lead when first Williams completely fluffed a good chance and then Tom Brighton sliced the loose ball towards goal enabling Jim Thomson to scramble it clear. Two minutes later Graham Roberts made his first change with Gary Arbuckle replacing Craig Bryson. By this time it was clear that David McNiven, who'd had another foul given against him for backing in was definitely on borrowed time and Iain Scott decided he'd on the whole rather not finish a third straight away league game with ten men so replaced him with Brian McLaughlin on 53 minutes. Two minutes after the change Queens managed their first effort on target of the day when Gary Wood threw himself into a shot from the edge of the box which flew straight into the waiting arms of Cherrie.

Just before the hour mark Richie Barnard made a fabulous double save to deny first Tom Brighton from the edge of the box and then was quickly up to block Stephen O'Donnell's rebound although the midfielder's effort wouldn't have counted anyway as he was offside. Moments later and the big keeper was called into action again as Brian Reid was short with a pass-back and he came charging from goal to meet Brighton. The striker got there first though and pulled the ball back into the middle where O'Donnell should have done better maybe than toe the ball well over the bar from 15 yards though he was under some defensive pressure at the time.

McColligan challenges
Iain Scott obviously decided it was time to gamble on a change of tactics and on 62 minutes replaced Tommy English with Willie Gibson, moving to a three at the back system with Brian Reid in the middle of Thomson and Paton. Gibson had been on the park only two minutes though when he joined the growing list of Queens players booked for a bad challenge on Michael McGowan out near the corner flag. The final change by Queens was made on 67 minutes when Paul Burns replaced Stephen Payne and the substitutions were totally completed a minute later when Billy Brawley replaced Alex Williams for the home side.

With 17 minutes to go Brian McColligan managed Queens second effort on target with a dipping shot from outside the penalty area but Cherrie made a comfortable enough save. Two minutes later it was Gary Wood's turn to see yellow, adjudged to have caught Neil McGregor with an elbow as he tried to burst clear onto a through ball. On 80 minutes Eric Paton had a pop from 25 yards and his shot deflected round Cherrie but also beyond the left post for a corner kick and, from the resulting corner, Gary Wood had a good header flash across the face of goal with no takers to turn it home. A minute later it was the unlikely source of McColligan again going close for Queens with a twenty yard effort which Cherrie did well to turn away low to his left. Immediately up the other end though Brighton got in behind Eric Paton and lashed a shot wide of goal when he could have killed the game off.

With five minutes to go Willie Gibson won a back post header from Paton's deep cross but his looping effort was comfortably caught on the line again by Cherrie. With a minute remaining up the other end Brighton collected a left sided throw and laid the ball back for O'Donnell to place an effort just over from the edge of the box and, as the game entered injury time, Clyde picked up their first booking when Arbuckle fouled McColligan in midfield. The final chance of the game arrived three minutes into injury time when Jim Thomson climbed high at the back post to meet a cross from the right and headed down into the six yard box where one of the Clyde defenders turned the ball into his own net. However, Thomson had clearly pushed his opponent in winning the header and Mr Hardie had no hesitation in awarding the foul.

So no points from three away games, just a single point and a single goal from four league games and stranded at the bottom. To say that's not the start we expected is the understatement of the year. And next up are back to back home games against high flying St Mirren.

Ewan Lithgow
Photo's David Gow


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