QUEEN'S PARK 1 GRETNA 1

Another great display from Queen's saw them collect a point against big spending Gretna at Hampden today. After taking a deserved lead, Gretna were pegged back before half time by Stuart Kettlewell, and if we had a braver referee in charge then we could have been collecting three points at the end of the match. 

Billy Stark opted for the 4-5-1 formation that had served us so well at Peterhead a couple of weeks ago, and Ally Graham dropped to the bench, Brian Blair taking his place in the starting line up. There was also a first start for ten months for Danny Ferry, a welcome return for the old timer in place of the injured Stevie Reilly.  

Gretna definitely looked the more likely to score in the early stages, but Crawford saved Townsley's header in seven minutes, although the lineman's flag was up for offside. A minute later Bingham took a dive when Danny Ferry challenged him, and although referee Sproule made the correct decision in waving away his appeals for a free kick, he bottled out of booking him for diving, unfortunately not the last time he was to bottle out of a decision.

Gretna weren't slow in putting the boot in either, so after comitting half a dozen fouls in the first ten minutes it was only natural that it was a Queen's player who was warned first by the referee, Mark Ferry getting a ticking off following a foul, and it was Stuart Kettlewell who was first into the referee's notebook in 12 minutes, although he can have few complaints after a late challenge on Bingham.

A minute later Gretna almost took the lead, Townsley getting a shot in with Crawford stranded following a free kick, but Mark Ferry popped up to clear his shot off the line, then Bingham made a good run on the left and cut the ball back, but it rolled across the edge of the six yard box with no takers.

However, the visitors did take the lead in 22 minutes. McQuilken's cross was nodded down by Deuchar to Bingham, and the jug eared striker took a touch before firing past Crawford from ten yards. Gretna seemed to think that this would enough to tie up the three points, and after their goal they never dominated the game as they had in early stages.

Queen's tried to hit back, and a minute after the visitor's goal a great pass from Danny Ferry put Carroll free, but although he beat Mathieson in the visitor's goal the linesman's flag was up for offside. 

Just after the half hour mark Alan Trouten went on a good run on the left and beat two men only to see his shot deflected wide for a corner, and from that a Mark Ferry effort flashed across goal and just wide of Mathieson's right hand post. A minute Mark Ferry slipped as he prepared to shoot from 12 yards and inadvertently fed the ball to Carroll, but his shot was over the bar.

Referee Sproule showed his lack of bottle again in 39 minutes when he again correctly ruled that a Gretna player had taken a dive, Deuchar collapsing under an innocuous Danny Ferry challenge, but he again failed to produce a yellow card, although Deuchar was left in no doubt what Gavin Rushford thought about his theatrics.

Two minutes before half time the visitors should have extended their lead, Bingham turning sharply in the box 12 yards out, but his shot went over the bar, and instead of being two ahead the visitors found themselves back on level terms sixty seconds later. Ross Clark collected the ball on the right and crossed to the back post where Stuart Kettlewell headed past Mathieson for his second goal for Queen's, his first goal also coming against Gretna back in August.

Both goalmouths saw action in the early part of the second half, a shot from Ross Clark being deflected wide for a corner in the first minute, then sixty seconds later Mark Ferry made his second goal line clearance of the match when he cleared Deuchar's header off the line.

There were muted appeals for a penalty on the hour mark when Alan Trouten was brought down just inside the box by Cosgrove, but with a clear view of the incident Sproule was having none of it. A minute later Clark got on the end of a Kettlewell cross from the right, but his shot was blocked by Irons, although he didn't know too much about it.

Gilfillan then collected the visitor's second booking of the afternoon for a late lunge from behind on Mark Ferry, then, after Mathieson had only just got his fingertips to an audacious thirty yard chip from Paul Harvey that looked net bound all the way, came the most controversial point of the game.

A shot from Stuart Kettlewell, who was on the edge of the box, was blocked by Gilfillan's right arm a yard inside the box. Referee Sproule then had to decide if this was accidental or deliberate; if accidental then no action was required, but if he though it was deliberate then it had to be a penalty.

However, the sound of his bottle crashing could be heard all around Glasgow as he bizzarely gave a direct free kick to Queen's outside the box, and also failed to book Gilfillan for what he ruled had been a deliberate hand ball. The first attempt at the free kick was put over the bar, but Sproule ruled that the Gretna defensive wall had encroached and ordered a re-take, but he failed to book the player who had got too close to the free kick. From the re-take Harvey's shot was a foot over the bar.

Andy Aitken saw his shot from six yards saved by Crawford following a Gretna corner with 11 minutes left, then Sproule found the yellow card that had been missing a few minutes earlier, booking Rushford and Sinclair in the space of a couple of minutes, then Queen's made their only change of the game, bringing Ally Graham on for Brian Blair.

The veteran striker had a great chance to grab all three points for Queen's a couple of minutes after coming on, but after a good run and cross from Trouten on the left, Graham fired his shot from eight yards just over Mathieson's crossbar. With a minute left on the clock, Queen's last chance fell to Mark Ferry, but his shot from 20 yards also just cleared the bar.   

Another great display from Queen's, with Carroll doing his usual tireless work up front on his own for the vast majority of the match, while the defence kept the division's most prolific scoring duo quiet for the majority of the game, with Rushford in particular making several great interceptions in the second half. Danny Ferry also did well considering he hadn't played a full ninety minutes since last March, but every player who was on the pitch did their bit for the Queen's today.   

Teams: Queen's Park: David Crawford, Alan Trouten, Danny Ferry, Gavin Rushford, Richard Sinclair, Paul Harvey, Stuart Kettlewell, Ross Clark, Brian Blair (Ally Graham 84m), Frankie Carroll, Mark Ferry. Subs: Tony Quinn, Andy McGinty, Bryan Felvus, Stevie McGovern (S/K).

Gretna: Mathieson, Birch, McQuilken, Gilfillan, Aitken, Irons, Townsley, McGuffie, Deuchar, Bingham, Skelton. Subs: Wake, Smith, Prokas, Cosgrove, Main (S/K).

Home