We can confirm that Shaun Want has been named the club captain. 

The 29-year-old defender who joined from Ayr United at the end of last month has taken over the armband for this season.

Manager, Nicky Clark said “Shaun will be captain. I have been waiting until things settled down and we got most of the boys that we want into the building. With Shaun’s experience and leadership, we felt he was the best way to go. We haven’t yet decided on a vice-captain, Jack Stott and Taylor Charters have both been captain so far this season and Deniz Mehmet could do it to, so there are a few who could take on that role but I’ve just been focusing on getting the captain in place.”

As we returned to league action we welcomed East Fife to Palmerston.  Having made six changes to the side for the cup game at Edinburgh City, manager, Nicky Clark made five for this one. Liam Smith, Zander Mackenzie, Connor Young, Shaun Want and Niall Rogerson all made a return to the line-up while Brodie Dair, Chris McQueen, Ruari Ellis, Billy Gray and Rocco McColm dropped to the bench.

Looking to keep building the momentum from recent performances, Queens had the first real chance in the opening five minutes when Mackenzie played in a corner and Taylor Charters was at the centre of the six-yard line but couldn’t get enough on it to have a decent shot and Mamadou Bah cleared.

Five minutes later, new club captain, Want made a well-timed tackle at the edge of the area to bring Nathan Austin’s attack to an end.  It was a good period for the visitors and sixty-seconds later, Austin got away and went to play the ball around Deniz Mehmet but the keeper made himself big and blocked.

Austin was a threat and Want showed some strong defending to usher him away from goal to win a goal-kick.

Back at the other end, Young played a good ball across but it was just too high for Cole Coughlin to get his head to. Charters tried to play it back in from the other side only for Andy Munro to get his body behind it to clear.

After quarter of an hour, Smith floated in a corner that Rogerson got on the end of but his header was just off target. Three minutes later, some terrific play by Smith saw him cut the ball back from the byline for Ben Johnstone who had a great chance to open the scoring but he hit it straight to the keeper.

With half an hour played, Smith and Young combined well and the latter played a back-heel pass back to the former but the final cross into the area was cleared.

Nine minutes before the break Smith was in a good position at the edge of the area but he delayed his shot and Bah managed to clear.  Two minutes later, Coughlin hit a low drive from the edge of the box as he aimed for the far corner but Derek Gaston got down to collect

On the stroke of half-time, Charters won a corner, Mackenzie played it short to Smith who retuned the pass and as Mackenzie crossed, Coughlin got his head on it but Gaston again got down to save.  From the resulting corner played in by Smith, Gaston blocked with his foot to keep it goal-less at the break.

HALF TIME: Queens 0 East Fife 0

Seven minutes after the restart, Coughlin and Young linked up well but the attack was halted by the visitors. A minute later as the two combined again, they brought Smith into the mix and as they played their way into the box, Coughlin’s low shot was stopped by Gaston at the near post.

Queens had been a threat and the pressure paid off nine minutes after the restart, when Smith played the ball into the path of Young and he took a touch to control before firing a right foot shot low past Gaston to open the scoring.

However, the lead didn’t last long as East Fife levelled almost straight away.  Queens gave away a needless free-kick out on the wing that they cleared for a corner, as Reis Peggie played that to the back-post, Munro rose highest to head home the equaliser.

Back in it the visitors had the next opportunity when Queens gave away the ball and Austin worked to open up the chance for Brian Easton who hit a powerful right foot shot towards goal but Mehmet blocked with his foot to clear.  As the home side broke, Young cut the ball across but it was cleared as Charters went to pull the trigger. Young was then inside the box and kept the ball well but as he tried to create an opening, Bah hooked it away. 

Queens were pushing for a second and Smith played the ball in from the left for Coughlin who did well to break but Ewan McLeod got the ball away.  Johnstone tried to get in back in to the danger zone but it was again knocked out.

Charters then had his shot smash off the back of Hamid Seisay. Charters took the corner himself and Johnstone played it across but it bounced about and Young couldn’t get the shot away.

With fifteen minutes remaining, Johnstone hit a right foot shot from 25-yards that flew just the wrong side of Gaston’s left-hand post.  Nine minutes later, Mehmet made a terrific save when he used his right hand to punch the ball clear after Connor Dow was in space. As the corner was played in Easton hit it from close range and protested as the ball was cleared.

Into the dying embers and substitute Dair was being held but kept control and played the ball to Young, he kept his shot low but it was wide of the upright.

The final chance came with minutes remaining when Olu Joseph floated in a corner but it was an easy take for Mehmet.

FULL TIME:  Queens 1 East Fife 1

Teams:

Queens: Mehmet, Goldie, Charters, Smith, Mackenzie, Young, Want, Johnstone, Rogerson, Coughlin (Dair 84) & Davis (Ellis 83).  Subs not used: Petry, McQueen, Gary, Morton, Kelly & McColm.

East Fife: Gaston, Millar, Easton, Peggie (Newton 76), Austin (Gaffney 76), Ross (Dow 76), Milne (Seisay 62), Munro, Bah, McLeod (Joseph 72) & Ballantyne. Subs not used: Rollo, Healy, Hamilton & Fairley.

Ref: Iain Sneddon

Crowd: 792

Over the past few months, we have been actively seeking a Supporter’s Liaison Officer (SLO) and we are delighted to announce that our current Disabled Access Officers (DAO), Tom King and Stephen Richards have offered to combine the two roles.  They will work alongside the club and will be the point of contact for supporter and accessibility related queries.

A year ago, Stephen and Tom were appointed to the role of DAO for the club and during that time they have been working closely with Dan and we are pleased to say that they have now found our feet.

They went on to say “Earlier this year, as part of our duties as DAOs, we attending a meeting with our peers at McDiarmid Park in Perth where we picked up some really good information regarding accessible access to stadiums. 

We have now shared a few ideas with Queens, including the possibility of erected a wheelchair shelter.

Fundraising has been strong with a number of people including the Queens Trust, Queen of the South Community Trust, Neil Robson, Pat Geddes and a multitude of others, we sit at over £5000 as we look to target £10,000 and match funding can then be sought after.

We are also about to launch an accessible document; this will contain information on how to access Palmerston and to share awareness of the accessible facilities we have.  It will also include an accessible survey to give people the opportunity to suggest ways that we can improve match day experience for disabled fans. 

Also, the club have already secured funding to change the current accessible toilet into a changing places unit. This will happen in the near future and will give fans a suitable area to provide personal care for any supporters who require it.  

During discussions we’ve had with the club regarding accessibility, the vacant SLO position came up and we have agreed with Dan that we will fill the role and combine it with our current duties. 

Therefore, if anyone would like to contact us regarding supporter or accessible issues, please send us an email to [email protected] and we will reply as soon as possible with an answer. Or alternatively, one of us will always be on hand at all home games and can be contacted by approaching your nearest steward.   

In the meantime, we hope to see as many of you as possible at Palmerston during the season to support Nicky and the players.

Best wishes, 

Tom and Stephen

Following our game at Edinburgh City in the cup midweek, its back to Palmerston tomorrow as we host East Fife in league one.

On Tuesday, as we drew one all with City at Meadowbank, Ewan McLeod grabbed a double for tomorrow’s visitors in a four-one victory away at Clyde.  In the league we have a game in hand but moved off the bottom of the table as we halted our run of defeats with a comeback win over Airdrie last weekend, while Dick Campbell’s side sit fifth with seven points from six matches, four draws, a defeat and a win.

Looking ahead to the game, manager Nicky Clark said “They will be hard to beat they’ll be big and physical so we need to be brave enough and big enough to go and accept that challenge. If we can do that, then add our side of the game, when we play the balls forward, moving it quickly, then we should have enough but we need to make sure we're bang on it if we are going to get the three points.” 

 Supporters Information

HOME supporters will be located within the main stand, BDS Stand, sections 1-5 and the Oakbank Terracing. While, section 7 of the BDS has been allocated to AWAY fans.

To gain entry to the BDS stand – ALL supporters should use turnstiles 1 & 2. Disabled access for fans is via Gate H on the south side of the BDS stand. Entry to the Oakbank Terrace will be via turnstiles 16 & 17 only. And for the main stand, supporters should use turnstiles 3 & 22 on the west side of the ground.

Turnstiles will be open for spectator entry at approximately 1345.

Entry is by ticket. Season Tickets are valid for this match; season ticket holders should use match day 4 ticket. 

On the day ticket prices are:

Adults: £20
Concessions: £12

Students /16-21-year-olds: £10

U16s: £5

Accessible tickets: £12 (includes a carer)

Tickets are on sale now and will be available online https://qosfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/queen_of_the_south_v_east_fife-26 until kick off or at the ground on the day of the game from the ticket office located within the QOS Arena which will open at approximately 1230. There will be no ticket office at the BDS stand for this match.

The only way to buy tickets in advance will be online.

Tickets purchased are non-transferable or refundable.

Car parking will be available to all spectators within the Queen of the South Arena car park on a first come first served basis. Supporters’ buses including minibuses will not be allowed to park in the Arena car park. Instead, they should drop off their passengers in Terregles St/King Street and thereafter park on College Mains Road just off the roundabout with the A76 on the town bypass (adjacent to Curry’s/PC World, as the other side at Aldi is the access road to the ambulance depot and is extremely busy). Pick up should be the same location as drop off.

Those travelling to the game should be aware that there is roadworks in and around the town may cause some delays. People travelling should check Traffic Scotland website at http://trafficscotland.org/index.aspx for confirmation of any road closures or delays.

Shared catering outlets within the supporter’s areas of the ground will be open for use. Fans should note that these kiosks are cash only.  If you are looking for catering before entering the ground, The Queen of the South café within the Arena will be open and will have a range of food/snacks on offer and will accept card. The lounge bar under the main stand will be open to both sets of supporters from noon.

For safety reasons, QOS have adopted a robust and thorough search policy for spectators entering the ground to ensure that ground rules and regulations are strictly adhered to, especially in relation to pyrotechnic devices and controlled containers. We would like to remind supporters that letting off smoke devices/ pyrotechnics is a criminal offence, and anyone found doing so will be referred to Police Scotland. Not only is it against the law, it is also extremely dangerous and a health hazard to other spectators. No bottles or cans will be permitted through the gates, so anyone bring juice should bring cartons. All bags will be searched and spectators presenting themselves for entry may also be subject to search. Spectators who refuse to be searched by stewards will be denied entry to the ground.

Palmerston Park is a non-smoking venue; this includes e cigarettes and other such devices. Stewards are empowered to eject spectators who disobey these rules. No persons will be admitted to the ground who are deemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

The club shop located in the Arena will be open until kick off where you can purchase our club merchandise, including this season’s home and away tops, half-time draw tickets and the latest edition of the official Queen of the South magazine.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 3pm

Our under 17s welcomed Falkirk to Palmerston last night for their CAS League match.

The boys knew it would be a stern test against an Academy side from the Performance tier. However, they started the game well and competed with their opposition. The visitors went on to open the scoring, after a long ball evaded the home defence for the forward to finish. The youngsters steadied themselves and created chances of their own in what continued to be a competitive half.

HALF TIME: Queens 0 Falkirk 1

The second half was played in a similar fashion with both sides willing to have a go. Falkirk were ever dangerous with good movement from their midfield and forward lines but Queens stood up to the task and were composed and kept the ball well too. As they pushed for an equaliser, they were undone by another longer pass down the side with their forward finishing well into the corner.

FULL TIME: Queens 0 Falkirk 2

Coach Ross Newlands said “We knew Falkirk would pose a different threat to other teams. The boys stuck to their task really well and can be proud of the way they played. Compared to the Dunfermline match four weeks ago it was night and day. They continue to progress well and should take belief from this performance that they can compete and cause teams problems at this level.”

This seasons home and away tops are now available for general sale in the club shop and online - https://store.qosfc.com

Tops are priced at £45 for adults and £38 for kids.

All pre-orders have been processed and everyone who pre-ordered should have had an email confirming the order is ready for collection, or been posted for delivery. Anyone who hasnt had an email can enquire by email or phone, or in person in the shop.

Eligible children from our summer Soccer Camps can also now collect their home tops by bringing in their season ticket to the club shop.

While the first team were in the capital to take on Edinburgh City in the KDM Evolution Trophy the under 19s were at home to Livingston.

As they continued their CAS League fixtures the boys fell behind early on when the visitors fired home a free-kick after seven minutes.

That was the only goal of the first half and although they found it difficult against a strong Livingston team the boys worked hard to compete for large spells in the game but conceded a further two goals in the final twenty-minutes and ended up losing three-nil.

FULL TIME: QOS u19s 0 Livingston 3

Coach Eddie Warwick said “As each game comes along the players are understanding and learning the levels required. It was a tough night but again we take many positives from the game both individually and collectively and we will keep progressing.”

Our youth sides continue their fixtures this week when the under 17s take on Falkirk at Palmerston on Thursday night.  Kick-off 7.45pm.