Queen's Park 2 v 1 Albion Rovers

Attendance : 543

Scorers ~ Queen's Park : Trouten (56), Reilly (82 pen). Albion Rovers : Chaplain (57).

Albion Rovers lost this derby match to a controversial penalty late on at the national stadium which left a bitter taste in the mouth for some.

Pre-match one notable inclusion in the Rovers squad was Stephen Donachy who hasn't featured this term due to work commitments. The match started unusually for a Spiders v Rovers matches with virtually no atmosphere and it took quite a while to get going.

3 minutes in David Weatherston made Lennon concede a corner which Paton took and Ronald headed into the arms of Ewings. A promising Rovers move involving Chaplain and Smith fizzled out soon after.

Another Chaplain move was thwarted a couple of minutes later with the timely intervention of a Queen's defender at the edge of his box. In 9 minutes Brian Smith advanced down the far wing and cut the ball into the middle where former Spider Bryan Felvus was waiting. Mick Dunlop beat the frontman by a fraction of a second conceding what proved to be an unproductive corner with Chaplain shooting high for Rovers.

A Trouten shot trundling past was followed by Paton and Weatherston combining to gain only a corner when a defender put the ball out. In 19 minutes Scott Chaplain came close when his shot from deep inside the Queen's box was blocked by home skipper Steve Reilly.

Around this time Rovers were stroking the ball around without really producing much. An impressive Watson tackle on Weatherston near the Rovers corner flag led to an assault on the Queen's goal which was foiled when it reached their penalty box.

Back at the other end of the park a minute later a Nicoll mistake led to a cross which Lennon got his head to but a Spider was there to head at goal, luckily for Rovers it was off-target. A move involving Chaplain, Donnelly and Smith led to frantic but none the less effective defending by the amateurs.

Rovers had lots of possession around this time partly due to inept play by Queen's Park but didn't unduly trouble the home defence. Then Jamie Ewings was forced from his box to belt the ball into row z of the stadium.

Paul Ronald launching a speculative shot from 30 yards well over Ewings goal soon followed. Ferry came close a couple of times latterly striking from a relatively tight angle only to see the ball rebound from the Rovers crossbar.

Rovers finished the half strongly with Lennox and Chaplain being closely marked but managing to get the ball to Creaney whose shot failed to get far in a packed penalty area. A Lennox run ended in a cross intended for Felvus who couldn't quite reach it.

Half-Time

Within a minute of the restart a high ball intended for Weatherston was met by Lennon who had judged the bounce perfectly, giving it to Ewings to dispose of.

A Paton corner had visiting fans hearts skip a beat when Ewings rose to catch the ball but drop it when it seemed to be under control, on landing the stopper managed to regain control of the ball.

Queen's were now taking the initiative and Rovers were under the cosh somewhat with Weatherston looking dangerous. Sinclair with a back-header to his 'keeper gave Felvus a glimpse of a chance which Cairns soon put a stop to when he gathered the ball.

Good build up play by Lennon putting the ball through to Doyle resulted in a shot which Cairns didn't struggle to stop. A Paton corner whipped in and met the head of Tony Quinn, Ewings did well to gather the ball.

There then ensued a mad 3 minute spell which could have resulted in 3 goals. Firstly in 56 minutes Ferry pushed providing Weatherston with the ball which he cut the ball back to Trouten who fired into the net. A minute later Rovers equalised when a Smith cross was headed in by Scott Chaplain. Next Queen's had the ball in the net to be denied a goal as the far side assistant referee had clearly raised his flag to indicate offside before the ball crossed the line.

A Doyle corner was confidently caught in the air by Cairns before Felvus unleashed a low but strong attempt which Cairns turned round the post for a corner which came to nothing.

In 70 minutes referee Nicholls had a brief summit with several players (mostly wearing black and white) at the half-way line trying to calm things down.

A very strong Chaplain shot was stopped but not held by 'keeper Cairns in 72 minutes which led to a follow up attempt which was again saved and eventually cleared. Stephen Donnelly made his entrance from the bench as Jim Chapman had a talk with the referee prompted by the nearside assistant drawing his bosses attention to something amiss.

Weatherston was once more caught offside in an otherwise dangerous position. Seconds later he was onside but blocked by Watson on the 18 yard line. Dunlop came close with an overhead kick which came off a few heads before exiting the box.

In 82 minutes Weatherston was again causing problems for Rovers when he ran up the near wing, Watson tried to intervene but failed at the side of the box. Weatherston's pace had him in the box as Ewings came over to block or flatten the striker depending on your point of view.

Either way Weatherston ended up on the ground and a penalty was awarded by the man in blue without so much as a ticking off for Ewings. Steve Reilly took the spot-kick well giving Ewings no chance to put the Spiders into the lead once more.

Rovers finished strongly a Doyle free-kick 22 yards out found Donnelly whose shot was blocked. In injury time a long Felvus throw-in resulted in a corner. Ewings advanced up to the Queen's box to help out but the final whistle blew a second after the attempt failed.

Summary

Much controversy about the validity of the penalty award even amongst Rovers fans but a disappointing result for Rovers either way in this derby match.

Queen's Park : Cairns, Paton, Dunlop, Reilly, Sinclair, Trouten (Canning 80), Kettlewell, Quinn (Dunn 74),  Ronald, Weatherston (Murray 88), Ferry. Subs Not Used : Agostini, Crawford.

Albion Rovers : Ewings, Watson, Nicoll, Lennon, Donnelly,  Doyle, Lennox (Donachy 76),Chaplain, Felvus, Creaney (Sim 87), Smith. Subs Not Used : Bonnar, Moffat, Thompson.

Referee : Steven Nicholls

Man of the Match - Scott Chaplain

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