Palmerston fell silent today at 3.00pm precisely as the club and fans remembered two men who had both passed away since the last home game. Jimmy Greenock - a legendary left half from the 1950's from what was one of the finest Queens sides ever to grace Palmerston and Alex Goodwin - a Queens fan who drove through the foundation of the Supporters Trust and who lived and breathed Queen of the South. It was the most silent of minutes silence that could have been wished for. Both men will be fondly remembered.
In terms of team selection there was no influx of 'fringe' players as Iain Scott set about improving the league position by playing a strong side. Eric Paton was missing with his cartilage problem and Gary Wood proved an able deputy as he moved from centre forward last week to right back this week. Chris Carr had to be content with a seat on the bench as Brian Reid returned to the side and Derek Lyle was restored to the front line alongside David McNiven. The only other alteration being Brian McColligan starting with Willie Gibson on the bench.
The match itself began in a purposeful manner and it was the Perth Saints who could have taken the lead in just ten minutes as Tommy English failed to clear at the back of the 6 yard box, th ball fell to former Queens midfielder David Bagan and his effort looked like being a goal until Richie Barnard pulled off a tremendous block to push the ball away.
Four minutes later and it looked a certain goal for Queens as Steve Bowey broke through the static Saints defence and raced in on Cuthbert, Bowser did all the hard work, remained composed and shot towards goal, however the post got in the way and the ball rebounded to safety.
St Johnstone were giving as good as they were getting and a long ball from defence split Thomson and Reid and bounced off the back of on loan Hibee Stephen Dobbie, if fell kindly for former Hearts youngster Robert Sloan who curled a shot past the empty goal much to the relief of the home defence.
Stephen Payne was looking lively down the right side for Queens and won a free kick on one foray forward, he took the free kick himself and delivered a superb ball to the back of the box where Gary Wood rose above the defence and looped a header over Cuthbert and into the far corner of the net to make it 1-0 for Queens. A minute later and an almost identical goal. Again Payne won a free kick on the right hand side, he again took the free kick but this time to the front of the box where Gary Wood finished in style with his right foot. Thoughts of a 'Tommy Bryce' special must have crossed the fans minds as Queens were well on top and pressing.
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