Queens return from Europe to take on Partick Thistle

Aug 15 2008 by John Ballard, Dumfries Standard Friday

WHATEVER the result of Queens’ first ever European game last night, the Doonhamers’ thoughts are now firmly back on the domestic scene.

On Sunday, Gordon Chisholm’s men play host to high-flying Partick Thistle (kick-off 3pm) who have taken maximum points from their opening two first division games.

And with Queens having only one point on the board so far Chisholm is keen to get a result, but insists he’s not concerned about his team’s stuttering start to this season’s league campaign.

He said: “Obviously I’d like to have got off to a good start and pick up points with a couple of wins, but it’s very early so I’m not really worried.

“In the first game against Airdrie maybe the European game was on our minds a bit and it was disappointing to draw, but not a disaster.

“The way we played in the first half of the second game at Dunfermline though was probably the best football we’ve played during my time at this club with the chances we created, and we could easily have been two or three up at half time, but a couple of errors cost us the game.”

Long-serving midfielder Andy Aitken will miss Sunday’s fixture after being sent off last weekend against Dunfermline, although Jamie Adams and Robert Harris are on their way back to action.

Chisholm however, knows his players will need to be at their best to beat Partick.

“Partick are a good side,” he said.

“I saw them against Peterhead and they’ve beaten Airdrie and Dunfermline early in the season, so we’ll have to play well to get a result.”

While last weekend’s clash with Dunfermline didn’t bring the Doonhamers three points, a big positive to come out of the game was that Stewart Kean continued his impressive pre-season goalscoring form.

And Chisholm was quick to praise the young striker and the strength in depth he now has in his squad.

He said: “Stewart is a tireless worker and he has done very well for us so far.

“We’ve got some very good attacking options with Stephen Dobbie, Sean O’Connor and Gary Arbuckle as well, so I think I’ve now got a few strikers who are capable of scoring between 10 and 20 goals a season.

“The squad is stronger than last season and I’m still looking to add a few more faces to give us even a bit more depth.”