Queens suffer 2-0 defeat at hands of Clyde

Nov 26 2008 by Kieran Westbrook, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

Queen of the South 0 Clyde 2

QUEEN of the South suffered their second home defeat in a row on Saturday, again beaten by the team sitting bottom of the league.

Clyde visited Palmerston having taken only one point from their last three games, which was actually better than the Doonhamers’ record.

Queens started the brighter of the two sides, with early possession and some good scoring opportunities, which offered hope of a change in fortunes.

An early chance fell to David Weatherston who struck an 18-yard volley narrowly over the bar from a poor Clyde clearance.

Minutes later, centre half Craig Sives found himself unmarked at the back post when a free-kick swung in from the right by full back Jamie McQuilken found its way through a crowd of players, but he failed to connect with the ball and the chance was missed.

But it wasn’t just Queens who were threatening to score.

After 12 minutes, Clyde striker William McLaren saw his shot hit the post after a misplaced pass between Queens’ defenders let him in.

McLaren’s misfortune was later matched by Burns, who after 28 minutes, picked up the ball on the edge of the box, cut inside and curled a shot with his left foot only to see Clyde’s goalkeeper tipping the effort onto the post, quite brilliantly.

Fans of both sides must have been wondering what it was going to take to get the ball in the net.

But with only two minutes until half time, Clyde did just that.

A low cross from the right by Lowing, reached Pat Clarke in space and he controlled the ball and slammed it past Cammy Bell.

His delight turned to despair when the referee ruled that he had controlled the ball with his hand before scoring and the game reached half-time goalless.

Neither team made any half-time changes, although Chisholm was forced to make a substitution when Burns had to come off injured five minutes after the break.

He was replaced by Sean O’Connor to give Queens three strikers on the pitch.

Despite the addition, Queens’ chances dried up and Clyde enjoyed the lion’s share of scoring opportunities in the second half.

The visitors capitalised in the 55th minute when McLaren found space to cross from the byline.

The ball evaded Queens’ captain Thomson and Clarke slotted it past the keeper.

The Doonhamers had a chance on the hour to level the score.

O’Connor out-muscled Clyde’s Brown and found himself with a good shooting chance.

He may well have regretted deciding to instead pass the ball right, to Kean who was in space.

The pass was too heavy, forcing Kean further wide and his cross was easily collected by the Clyde keeper.

And that was very much the story of the game. A clear lack of confidence in front of goal, leading to squandered chances.

Clyde would have scored a second in the 65th minute, had it not been for a heroic double block by MacFarlane – who won the sponsor’s man of the match award.

With 20 minutes to go, Chisholm threw another forward onto the field with former Clyde player Gary Arbuckle replacing Weatherston.

Queens were then forced to make another change, with the injured Stevie Tosh coming off for Simmons, a minute later.

He had little chance to make any impact before Clyde got their decisive second.

It again came from their number nine, Pat Clarke.

The move started when Paul Emslie played a long ball down the left channel, in a Clyde break-away.

Clarke latched onto the ball on the edge of the box, went past Thomson, and slotted it beyond Cammy Bell.

A frustrated Gordon Chisholm expressed his disappointment after the game.

He said: “I felt first half, we had a go and were unlucky at times. Weatherston puts one over the bar and Burns hits the post.

“We were putting them under pressure but I thought we got a warning a couple of times that we could get caught at the back.”

He added: “We had big gaps at the back and let them through. We missed a good few chances. You’ve got to take your chances. I’m saying the same thing every week – you’ve got to take your chances.”

Queens now have a fortnight to lick their wounds, with a free Saturday in this weekend’s fixture calendar.

And Chisholm thinks it’s come at a good time.

He said: “We could do with the break. It would have been nice to have gone into it with three points, but I’m quite glad of the break.”

Queens have tough fixtures against St Johnston, Dunfermline and then Livingstone to return to.

Teams

Queen of the South: Bell, Parratt, McQuilken, Sives, Thomson, MacFarlane, Burns (O’Connor 49), Tosh (Simmons 72), Weatherston (Arbuckle 71), Kean, Dobbie. Subs not used: Halliwell, Aitken.

Clyde: Hutton, Lowing, Brown, Higgins, Gibson, Lithgow, Kettlewell, Emslie, McLaren (McSwegan 90), McKay, Clarke. Subs not used: Cherrie, Trouten, Ruari MacLennan, McGowan.

Booked: Emslie, Lowing.

Goals: Clarke 55, 83.

Attendance: 2,324.

Referee: S Conroy.