Queens were beaten for the first time at home in the league this season after their recent good run was ended by visitors Morton as the Greenock side recorded a 2-1 victory to claim all three points. All of the goals came in what was a highly entertaining first half with the visitors going 2 ahead, and Queens halving the deficit all before 22 minutes had passed, but although we created enough chances to have least taken something from the game, unfortunately it wasn`t to be.
Two changes were made to the side that began at Livingston, Alan Martin returned in goal, and Derek Lyle replaced Lyndon Dykes in attack. Visitors Morton included former Queens players Oliver, McHhugh, and McManus in their squad as they looked for their first league win on the road since March.
Todays VIPs
Queens kicked off attacking the Portland Drive end and a promising opening spell saw Chris Kane having a shot charged down, and our pressure led to two early corners the second of which saw Morton `keeper Gaston,just reach the ball ahead of Jason Kerr,dealing with the cross with a commanding punched clearance.
The visitors responded well and won their first corner which Queens initially cleared but when Morton regained possession, Tidser was only just off target with his attempted chip beating Martin, and thankfully for Queens, beating the crossbar as well.
The away side were just edging the possession at this point and the lively Quitongo was starting to become more of an influence, and it was his pace and awareness that helped set up the game`s opening goal on 16 minutes. After gaining possession out on the left Quitongo showed blistering pace to get beyond Fordyce and in behind the Queens defence and although his cross was blocked it fell kindly for Morton as Forbes was on hand to thump the ball past Martin from 12-yards out.
The effort from Forbes beats the defence and is admired by Harkins
The goal clearly boosted the visitors and as they continued to have the upper edge, it came as no surprise to see them extend their lead just 4 minutes later, and what a goal it was. After collecting a pass from Oliver on the left, Quitongo showed good close control before unleashing an unstoppable angled drive from 25-yards out that simply flew past Martin into the far corner off the underside of the bar, and unlike Harry Kane`s recent similar effort, this one was clearly meant - a truly stunning finish.
Martin can only admire the effort from Quitongo
At this point there was a real danger that Queens might collapse and it was vital that they scored the next goal, and almost straight from the re-start, the deficit was halved. Good approach play involving Rankin, and Tapping released Dobbie and once inside the area and with an option to shoot himself, Dobbie slipped the ball sideways into the path of Derek Lyle who finished confidently from 10-yards out. The goal was number 115 for Lyle, a goal that takes him into third place in the overall standing of Queens scorers.
Lyle nets and moves up the all time goalscoring chart
This time it was Queens who were given the boost by scoring and Kane might have got clear of the backline had he not been hauled to the ground by Tidser, who received the game`s first yellow card for his indiscretion. Queens next attack developed through Dobbie who had Fordyce in support and although his cross was cleared, Jordan Marshall collected the ball and delivered a deep cross to the far post where Fordyce was only able to guide a header straight at `keeper Gaston. Derek Lyle was next to be cautioned for a foul and moments later a lung bursting break from Kane took him into the Morton penalty box, but he was unable to find a finish as his mis-kicked effort trundled wide of the far post.
Ten minutes before the break Morton went extremely close to regaining a two goal lead when following a corner that was cleared to the edge of the box, Tidser`s half volley went narrowly wide and from their next attack a misplaced defensive header from Kerr gave Harkins a chance from close range, but his header bounced against the bar before being collected by a relieved Martin.
There were no further noteworthy events and the half ended with Morton having had just the better of proceedings and taking a single goal lead into the break.
HALF-TIME QUEENS 1-2 MORTON
The second period began with Queens on the front foot, and in the opening attack of the half, Dobbie threatened to go it alone as he broke into the penalty box but from an almost impossible angle his shot was parried clear by Gaston. Former Queens loan player, McManus was booked for dragging back Dobbie and as the home side continued to chase an equaliser, two good opportunities in quick succession almost led to Queens gaining parity. The first effort came from a free-kick and although Dobbie`s effort looked as if it was heading towards the top corner,`keeper Gaston had other ideas and pulled off an excellent save to push the shot onto the post and keep his side ahead, and then Queens followed that up by producing their best move of the half when Dobbie found Fordyce on the right and the full back picked out Lyle with a perfect cross but he could only guide his header over the bar.
On 66 minutes Queens made a double change when Stirling replaced Tapping, and the home fans got their first glimpse of James McFadden in Queens colours as he replaced Chris Kane. Although Queens were enjoying plenty of possession, the visitors were coping well and we started to become a bit more predictable with our play with most of our attacks being easily nullified by a well organised defence.The intoduction of McFadden failed to change the impetus as along with the other substitutes, they were hardly involved in the game.
McFadden looks for a decision
Our final throw of the dice came with 12 minutes left when Lyndon Dykes replaced Rankin and for those final minutes of the game we opted for a more direct approach as we looked to find a way back into the game.
We almost got our reward courtesy of referee Newlands when the official gave us a throw-in that quite clearly should have gone Morton`s way, and when Lyle got on the end of a left wing cross to flick a header goalwards, Gaston once again pulled off a smart stop diving to push the ball to safety.
With time running out Dykes was well off target with a speculative shot from distance, and with almost the last kick a free-kick from Dobbie from a couple of yards outside the penalty area cleared not only the crossbar, but also the Terregles Street terracing which just about summed up the afternoon for most in the crowd of 1725.
So after a disappointing return to Palmerston it`s back on the road for Queens with trips to St.Mirren, Inverness, and Montrose coming up before Dunfermline visit in the middle of November.