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Queen of the South 4 v 0 Albion Rovers |  |
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Queen of the South 4 v 0 Albion Rovers | |
| Bell's Cup 1st Round 30th July 2005 |
Penalty Pic © "Tee Kasule"
Click to enlarge
Attendance : 1492
Scorers ~ Queen of the South : Lovell (32), Lyle (51), McNiven (pen. 72), McLaughlin (78).
Albion Rovers longest serving player in the squad Scott Friel who signed way back in January, captained the side for the first competitive match of the season in the Bell's cup which was also the first with Jim Chapman as head-coach. It's slightly less than a year since Rovers pulled of a surprise win at Palmerston in the CIS cup but this was a completely different Rovers set-up.
Queen's started strongly and in the first minute Stephen Payne provided John O'Neill with an opportunity to thrust the ball goalwards only for the ball to go a yard wide although 'keeper Ewings appeared to have it covered anyway. A couple of minutes later 'keeper Ewings and a defender combined to dispossess Stephen Payne at the corner of Rovers box.
Graham McGhee put a long free-kick towards the Doonhamer's goal but 'keeper Barnard was equal to it. Stephen Payne was next to press for the home side when his effort from a tight angle crossed the face of the goal and went out for a goal-kick.
Noble had a shot blocked by a packed defence before that man Payne had a snap shot go 2 feet past from the edge of Rovers box. By now the Rovers goal was getting a lot of attention from the first division side with McLaughlin having a shot bundled past Rovers goal which was soon followed by a low McNiven drive going straight to Ewings.
A brief interlude came when George Wallace had a weak attempt at goal which didn't unduly trouble Barnard, then Scott Houston got into a good position 10 yards from goal unfortunately the shot rebounded from the 'keepers legs.
It was back to the grindstone for Rovers when a long English cross into Rovers box was met by the head of Payne all of 3 yards out but went just wide of it's target when Ewings was unable to intercede.
Quality play by Payne culminated in Ewings stopping his shot and kicking the ball clear whilst on the ground. Ewings was to make 3 more excellent saves in the space of as many minutes, the first was a reaction save from a McNiven snap shot, the next 2 being stops from long range drives.
In 32 minutes the seemingly inevitable breakthrough came when Stuart Lovell received the ball in the "D" and he coolly slotted the ball low into the net close to the goalpost.
More pressure from Queen's was followed by a good move in 41 minutes on the far side which led to Ciaran Donnelly missing the target from 25 yards. In 42 minutes David McNiven went on a run which was interrupted by Ewings but left the ball loose, the stopper back-tracked into his goal just in time to see the ball cleared by a defender.
Half Time
Within a couple of minutes of the second period starting Rovers had a shot go over the home bar. In 51 minutes the Doonhamer's lead was doubled when substitute Derek Lyle turned quickly and struck a Payne cross into the Rovers net with Ewings having no chance.
Substitutions by both sides followed either side of Ewings plucking the ball from the feet of an advancing Queen's man. Young and Wallace were both close to getting to a cross into the Dumfries sides box which ended in a goal-kick.
Derek Lyle missed from close range after the ball came off Ewings and his defender on the far post to give the home side a corner. Reid also missed with a header from the penalty spot despite being unmarked.
Rovers fans held their breath once more when Paton laid in a cross to Lyle who tried to slip the ball underneath Ewings but it proved to be too wide. A follow-up shot by English also failed.
In 71 minutes Jamie Ewings slid into Derek Lyle at the corner of his box, referee Murray didn't hesitate to award the obvious spot-kick but didn't feel the need to speak to the Rovers man let alone produce a card. Up stepped David McNiven to smack the ball more or less into the centre of the goal with Ewings having dive to his left.
Lyle for Queen's and Friel for Rovers had wayward shots before Ciaran Donnelly and Craig Young combined to give the former a decent chance at goal but the ball went wide.
In 78 minutes the scoring was completed by Brian McLaughlin when he ran up the nearside and slipped the ball along the ground into the net. 3 minutes later a Payne free-kick from 25 yards cannoned off the Rovers post followed immediately by Lyle giving his effort too much altitude.
Rovers weren't completely out of it as evidenced by Sichi swinging in a corner which McGhee knocked onto the top of the home net. With 5 minutes remaining a poorly judged kick out by Ewings resulted in no less that 3 Doonhamer's missing the ball and therefore a chance to increase their lead.
The match ended when a defensive mix-up gave George Wallace a golden opportunity to score from close in but the ball slipped past the wrong side of the goalpost.
Summary
Rovers young team were always going to be up against it for their first match away from home to a 1st division team and it proved to be insurmountable. Positive aspects for the Coatbridge faithful are that the heads didn't go down and they kept plugging away. A confident performance by Jamie Ewings despite the penalty incident prevented what could easily have been a higher scoreline. Rovers did make a few strong goalscoring opportunities but failed to take them.
Queen of the South : Barnard, Wood (Paton 52), English, McLaughlin, Reid, Carr, Lovell, Bowey (McColligan 75), McNiven, O'Neill (Lyle 24), Payne. Subs Not Used : Thomson, Scott.
Albion Rovers : Ewings, Friel, Houston (Franch 62), O'Neill, Lennon, McGhee, Lennox (Young 62), Bonnar, Wallace, Donnelly, Noble (Sichi 54). Subs Not Used : Chisholm, Creer.
Referee : Calum Murray
Man of the Match - Jamie Ewings
