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Albion Rovers 0 v 1 Queen's Park |  |
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Albion Rovers 0 v 1 Queen's Park | |
| Irn-Bru League Division Three 17th October 2009 |
Attendance : 613
Scorers ~ Queen's Park : Hamilton (87).
Their first goal conceded for a month and their first defeat of the league campaign saw Rovers drop to second place in the table after a late strike.
The match started quietly with Mark Canning having a shot more akin to a passback in seven minutes being the first to be noted. A promising move down the wing by Marc Pollock ended when Dave McFarlane couldn't quite reach the cross into the Queen's Park box.
The visitors came close when the ball was cut back to Guiseppe Capuano whose low drive proved wide of the mark. At the other end Bobby Barr tried his luck with a shot through the Queen's defence only for the ball to rebound off the 'keepers chest.
Next a speculative McFarlane attempt from 40 yards missed the target as Scott Black tracked back to his goal just in case. McFarlane then supplied the ball to Paul Tyrrell in the Spiders box, the midfielder fought for space but the resultant shot was blocked by Steve Reilly.
A Barr run up the wing was finished by Canning hitting it past the goal. Poor defending by the visitors then gave Steven McKeown the ball who in turn gave it to Alan Benton to fire past the post. Then Canning blasted the ball off the visitors crossbar shortly followed by McFarlane seeing his attempt blocked leading to an unproductive corner.
A rare foray upfield by the amateurs saw Martin McBride launch the ball well above the homesters goal. Benton then had a shot headed clear before play switched ends once more only for the defender to pull off a critical tackle at the edge of his own box.
Pollock tried to divert a Tyrrell cross into the Queen's net but it skimmed past the post. On the stroke of half-time Rovers came very close to taking the lead when Mick O'Byrne rose to head a Canning corner but Black intervened.
Half-Time
A Pollock shot was smothered when Black fell onto it, then Tyrrell had a header tipped over the bar from Canning cross. A defensive lapse by Rovers gave Frankie Carroll the chance to go one on one with Derek Gaston, his shot cannoned off the 'keepers legs.
Barr had a shot at goal but it proved to be low and wide was soon followed by McBride blasting the ball a foot over an empty Rovers goal after Capuano had supplied the cross.
Paul Quinn crossed for substitute Chris Hamilton to skew the ball wide of the target. A few minutes later Gaston pulled off a spectacular acrobatic stop of a Paul Quinn bullet header from close range to keep the scores level. Benton then contrived to hit over the Spiders bar from a distance of around a yard. At the other end he slipped which allowed Paul Quinn to get the ball and have his angled shot touched past by Gaston.
With just three minutes remaining Gaston was out of his goal to tackle the advancing Hamilton but only succeeded in knocking it a few yards away from the attacker. Hamilton reached the loose ball before the 'keeper had fully retreated and the well hit shot ended up in the net.
Deep into injury time a Pat Walker free-kick went straight into the arms of Black and Rovers tasted defeat.
Summary
Rovers were never likely to go the whole season unbeaten but will be disappointed none the less. Next Saturday sees a break from league duty for a foray into the Scottish Cup at Lossiemouth and Paul Martin will not be taking the opposition threat lightly.
Albion Rovers : Gaston, Reid, McGowan, Canning, Benton, O'Byrne, McKeown, Tyrrell, McFarlane (Stewart 75), Pollock (Walker 66), Barr. Subs Not Used : Crozier, Ferry, Ewings.
Queen's Park : Black, Dunlop, Douglas, Reilly, Brough, Capuano, Lachlan (Tony Quinn 55), Carroll (Daly 75), Paul Quinn, McBride, O'Hara (Hamilton 55). Subs Not Used : Sinclair, Hay.
Referee : Matt Northcroft
Man of the Match : Derek Gaston