Point taken by Queens

Feb 25 2009 by Kieran Westbrook, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

THE REJUVENATED league form of Queens continued on Saturday with a well-deserved draw against league leaders St Johnstone at Palmerston.

And after leading the game for most of the match, fans and players alike will be disappointed they did not take all three points from the encounter which ended 3-3.

St Johnstone’s front pairing of the athletic Collin Samuel and burly Derek Holmes were a real handful for the Queens defence in the first half, with Craig Barr’s early booking for persistent fouling on Holmes highlighting his plight.

Holmes was heavily involved in the game’s first good chance in the 14th minute.

From a free kick, Saints’ Liam Craig swung in a wicked ball which Holmes headed across the Queens’ goal and was met by the head of Kevin Rutkiewicz, but an acrobatic, finger-tip save from Lee Robinson kept the game goal-less.

With Queens’ midfield battling well, and keeping St Johnstone at bay but not making many clear-cut chances, it took a peculiar chain of events to open the scoring.

On the 17th minute, a terrible back-pass by Richie Byrne was cut out by Barry Wilson.

St Johnstone shot-stopper Alan Main came out of goal to beat Wilson to the ball, but Wilson’s slip/sliding shot was enough to send the ball towards goal, and Main’s dart back to his goal-line was hampered by his own defender, with both Saints players getting in each others way and allowing the ball to creep over the line.

The half finished 1-0, with Queens deserving their lead and looking eager to double it early in the second half.

And seven minutes after the re-start, to the glee of the home support, they did just that.

A free kick into Stephen Dobbie’s feet gave him time and space to turn and shoot past a surprised Alan Main.

Queens were elated, but their two-goal cushion quickly dissolved with two St Johnstone goals in the following eight minutes.

The first came from a Kevin Rutkiewicz half-volley into the top corner of Lee Robinson’s goal, after the headed clearance from a St Johnstone free kick fell to the tall centre half on the edge of the box.

The second, in the 64th minute, came about from a throw-in that looked to have been wrongly given to St Johnstone.

The ball was sent deep into the Queens box and was thumped in by Chris Millar, giving him his first goal for St Johnstone, and leaving the Doonhamers with it all to do again.

It looked like Queens’ prayers had been answered only a minute after the re-start, when Paul Burns got on the end of a Sean O’Connor cross, hitting a superb volley from outside the box and leaving Alan Main helpless.

St Johnstone pushed for an equaliser again after that, bringing on a third striker for a defender, and playing their bruising long-ball brand of football that before Saturday’s game had seen them enjoy an 18-game unbeaten run.

Queens were battered by the onslaught for 20 minutes as Saints pushed for their equaliser, seeing Jamie McQuilken and Craig Barr both take knocks in the line of duty.

But both stayed on the field, and their team looked to be on their way to getting the three points, when in the 87th minute, the pressure finally broke the back line and Holmes drove a shot beyond Lee Robinson, who hadn’t stood a chance against any of the St Johnstone goals.

That late equaliser brought the St Johnstone travelling support to life for the first time in the match, and a draw to end a thoroughly entertaining game of football.

Queens gaffer Gordon Chisholm said: “I thought it was a great game.

“I thought we played some great stuff, but for me I thought it was a game we should have won 3-0.

“I know St Johnstone will see it differently, but I didn’t see a goal where they actually broke us down.

“It was our boys at the back who didn’t handle the long balls into the box and that was the disappointing thing.”

He added: “I think we played some really good stuff, I thought we scored two great goals, so a lot of positives.

“My only disappointment today was the way we defended – at set plays and throw-ins. I thought we got a bit bullied at the back today, which isn’t like us.

“I thought we played really well, created chances and scored good goals. It’s just disappointing when you’ve got a two goal lead not to hold onto it.

“The game should be over at 2-0 and then getting your nose in front at 3-2, the game should be dead, but we allowed them to come back, and credit to them, they kept going, and they got their equaliser. It was a great game, just disappointed we lost the lead twice.”

Queen of the South: Robinson, McCann, Harris (Aitken 88), Barr, Lancaster, Scally, Wilson (McQuilken 80), MacFarlane, Burns, O'Connor, Dobbie (Kean 80). Subs not used: Halliwell, Tosh.

Booked: Barr, McQuilken.

Goals: Wilson 17, Dobbie 52, Burns 65.

St Johnstone: Main, Irvine, Byrne (MacDonald 79), Rutkiewicz, Gartland, Morris (Swankie 71), Millar, Craig, Sheerin, Holmes, Samuel (Milne 46). Subs not used: McLean, McCaffrey.

Booked: Sheerin.

Goals: Rutkiewicz 56, Millar 64, Holmes 87.

Attendance: 2,857.