The first game at Palmerston of the new season saw the visit of Falkirk, last seasons Challenge Cup final opponents, and despite facing Rangers the previous evening Falkirk fielded a strong line-up and provided a game with plenty of entertainment for the Palmerston faithful.
Both teams started well and it was particularly encouraging to see the Queens players keen to get the ball on the ground and string some nice passes together, right from the back to the front players. Even the long passes played up front were accurate and played into the forwards rather than the big punt upfield from days of old, a tactic Queens themselves will surely have to face on a regular basis during the up-coming campaign.
Queens played a predictable line-up, with the exception of Eadie and Charlie Adams up front. Eadie again failed to impress, while Adams seemed keen but a bit short on match practise, however, the two did link well. The formation was a solid looking 3-5-2, with Leslie and Cleeland securing the midfield while Townsley supported the front two in his new "Tommy Bryce" role. All three put in good performances.
The two teams looked evenly matched, with Queens perhaps just edging it, looking to play more football after the early breakthrough from Townsley. A clever ball chipped into the area, found Degsy in space, he controlled the ball well and fired a low, hard shot into the far corner from a tight angle.
Falkirk had a spell of pressure which resulted in a goal which owed more to good fortune than skill. A shot from the edge of the box, looked to be covered by Mathieson until big Jim stuck out a foot to block it, but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past the now stranded Mathieson. Both players can count themselves unlucky.
Half time saw the introduction of Mallen and another new boy Lee Bailey up front. Stevie making a swift impact with a well-taken goal. Chasing a ball over the top, Stevie got to the ball just before the advancing keeper and chipped the ball over his head and into the empty net. To be fair, Mallen was quite throughout the half and did little, but he did score a goal and that's what he's there for!
The second half continued much as the first, with both teams playing some good football but never really creating clear cut chances. The highlight of the half, the appearance of Alex Nesovic, back from injury. He had a quite hour, but this may be due to the fact he'd already played a full game in the morning, hopefully he'll be back to his best very soon, to compete with Townsley for that "Tommy Bryce" role.
Queens looked to be heading for a little bit of revenge until Falkirk won a corner in the very last minute. Played short, it was crossed into the box where Mathieson looked favourite to claim it until Steven Leslie decided to body check his own keeper and the ball sailed over his hands onto the head of Marino Keith, who made no mistake from close range. It turned out to be the very last kick of the game, and earned Falkirk a 2-2 draw, which on reflection was a fair result.
AC
Subs. Aitken, McAllister, Nesovic, Mallen, Bailey
Fixtures