If you have read the Caley match report, I asked you to imagine something disgusting, well anyone who made the trip to Cumbernauld got some great material after this performance. Actually, there is no need to write a match report for this game, just read the Inverness report, but for Caley read Clyde. After Saturday, I thought there was no way it could get worse…how wrong I was.
Queens made some changes from Saturday, Cleeland moving back into the centre of midfield, Jamie McAllister making his first appearance and Eadie starting up front, with no Charlie Adams and Stevie Mallen relegated to the subs bench, Ross Milligan also started on the right side of midfield. For all the difference it made they could have played Snow White and The Seven Dwarves with the Three Little Pigs up front.
Everything that went wrong on Saturday went wrong again, Clyde were first to every ball and they're direct 'over the top' approach constantly caused Queens defence problems. Clyde forced a succession of corners throughout the game and there were more than a few hearts in mouths every time.
Clyde took the lead in rather unusual circumstances … a defensive mistake by Queens! Seriously though, it was a mistake by David Mathieson who, outside his box, decided to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick, but the ball stopped about a couple of feet short and McGraw stole the ball and put it into the empty net.
Controversy followed after 15 minutes, when the referee decided to brandish the red card. There had been no fouls to speak of in the game, but a late challenge from Bailey, who had not committed a foul previously, brought a red card. To be fair it was a late challenge and probably worth a booking, but it was obvious that the reaction of the Clyde defender, who went down as if he'd been shot and rolled around in agony as if he was auditioning for the next World Cup, that swayed the referee's decision. Things went downhill from there.
Really there were no moments worth speaking of from a Queens point of view, unless your feeling suicidal and need something to push you over the edge, and I'm not prepared to take that risk. Early in the second half, Queens did have a goal disallowed for offside, although it was hard to see who was offside when the ball was played into the box, but it would have made little difference, Queens never looked like a team capable of winning the half-time draw never mind the game.
To add insult to injury, there was an almost identical incident to the sending off, mid-way through the second half. It really was like watching a replay, right down to the blade of grass, when the Clyde forward went in late on George Rowe after he cleared the ball. The main difference was the reaction of the player on the receiving end, while the Clyde player looked like he was auditioning for the part of "guy who gets shot running for the wire" in the remake of Escape To Victory, George Rowe remained on his feet and simply limped away. The only other difference was the decision of the referee, yellow instead of red, the logical deduction being that if Geordie had went down as if he was injured, the referee might have reached for a different card.
Again the referee's performance left a lot to be desired. Its not hard to see how Queens had such a bad disciplinary record last season, they seem to pick up bookings just for wearing a blue shirt. The inconsistency of the referees is unbelievable at times, even with stupid, little things like letting physios on to treat players.
I don't want to harp on about negative aspects and seeing as there were no positive aspects this is going to be a short report. Queens pushed forward late in the second half, and eventually Mallen came on without enough time to make an impression and Clyde wrapped it up with a goal on the break from O'Brien.
Queens now have eleven days off to look back on the first two games of the season. Lets hope they use this time to have a good, long, hard look at their own performances, as neither Caley nor Clyde won their games, Queens lost them ... and in some style!
Clyde looked a worse team than Caley, but again the typical Second division style was there. Its not a style that will win any artistic prises, but it is a style that Queens must come to terms with if they are going to survive in this league…and soon.
AC
Queen Of The South
12. Aitken (Not Used) 14. Mallen 15. Boyle |
Clyde
12. McHavy 14. McPhee 15. O'Brien |
| Officials | |
| Tom Brown (Edinburgh) | |
| Willie Weir (Bathgate) | Craig Thomson (Paisley) |
Fixtures