Queens made it through to the 5th round of this seasons Scottish Cup after a superb team effort saw them overcome Premiership side Dundee at a very excited Palmerston. A superb performance from Stephen Dobbie was at the heart of the win as the striker claimed his 5th hat-trick of the season as two goals in the first half, and another 16 minutes from time booked Queens a tie against Aberdeen in the next round.Following our first defeat of 2019 against Partick at the weekend, Queens made 2 changes to the team that started at Firhill. Callum Fordyce and Nicky Low returned whilst Connor Murray and Josh Todd dropped out with Todd`s injury keeping him out of the squad altogether, and as usual, a 4-4-2 formation was the preffered starting formation.

 

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Queens began the game cautiously and it was the away team who started on the front foot although most of the early possession that they had was in the less dangerous areas of the pitch, and in the opening exchanges Queens only real worries came when Inniss got free at a corner but could only head wide, and then moments later a free-kick saw a header from O`Dea shave the near post. Up until that point, Queens had hardly ventured into their opponents half, but all that changed on 12 minutes when they broke the deadlock. Lyndon Dykes found the time and space to work the ball through to Stephen Dobbie and before `keeper Dieng could set himself, the Queens striker had smashed the ball beyond him from 20-yards out to score for the 35th time this season. The confidence of the goal boosted Queens and Dykes could of added another goal when he got on the end of a delightful pass from Low, but after slipping past the `keeper, the ball got caught in his feet and he was unable to get a shot away. Having started the game having the majority of the possession, the visitors were hardly seeing any of the ball, and after a series of successive corners, Callum Fordyce was unlucky to see his glancing header fly off target as Queens increased their domination. The away side were looking very shaky at the back and it was thanks to yet more indecision that saw Queens double their lead. Inniss was short with a pass back to his `keeper, but it seemed as though Dieng had rescued the situation, however under pressure from Stephen Dobbie he lost the ball and the Queens legend was left with the easiest of tasks and was able to roll the ball into the empty net to give Queens a commanding lead.

Dobbie fires home from long range to open the scoring

 

The ball sails over the keeper for the opening goal

Dobbie slots home number 2 as the keeper scrambles and the defender covers his eyes

Queens were at this stage threatening to score with every attack, and another excellent pass from Low found the over-lapping run of Jordan Marshall and although Dykes got to the ball ahead of the covering defender, from a tight angle he could only guide his near post flick over the bar. Dundee made an early change just after the goal when Inniss - at fault for the 2nd goal - was replaced, but in fairness Dundee were struggling to defend and anyone of the back four could have been replaced at that point. Queens were forced into making a change of their own moments later when Michael Doyle succumbed to an injury, with Connor Murray replacing him. Minutes before the break, Queens almost fashioned what would have been a sensational goal. After winning possession midway in his own half, Lynden Dykes spotted `keeper Dieng off his line and went for glory and was so unlucky to see his effort bounce just a few yards wide of the unguarded goal. As the half neared it`s conclusion there were vert strong claims for a Queens penalty when a pacy run from Kyle Jacobs took him into the penalty box, but when a clear push in the back on him by Dales went unpunished, Queens had to settle for just a two goal lead as the interval was reached with many of the home support already thinking about an away day to Aberdeen.

Dales has two hands on the back of Jacobs as he pushes him over in the box

HALF-TIME QUEENS 2-0 DUNDEE

The second half began with Dundee once again enjoying the bulk of the possession, but again they failed to create anything in attack, and although on several occasions the guile and craft of Kenny Miller was on show, he was clearly lacking in support as Dundee continued to falter upfront. Alan Martin was having a relatively quiet game and his only real save of the night came 10 minutes into the half when he got down well to block a snap shot from Dales. Dundee`s continued style of defending with a high line offered Queens several chances to get in behind them, and Stephen Dobbie was only thwarted by the assistant`s flag as he continued to look for further goals. Queens were dominating most of the play and with Nicky Low`s passing, and Lyndon Dykes` industry - he must have covered every yard of the pitch - further goals looked very likely and combined with Dundee`s poor defending it came as no surprise to see Queens virtually handed their third goal of the game. This time the culprit was Kusunga who was woefully short with a pass back to Dieng and even though the angle was tight, Stephen Dobbie possessed the skill and the composure to guide the ball beyond the `keeper to complete the scoring and to claim yet another match ball. There was even time for both Dobbie and Andy Stirling to add more icing to the cake, but both were off target with their shots, before Stephen Dobbie left the game to a standing ovation and was replaced by Owen Bell for the closing minutes.

Dobbie caps off his hat-trick with a precise finish

 

So a Fifth round trip to Pittodrie is the reward for Queens, and for me personally I am really delighted as I have never seen Queens play at Aberdeen before, and even though the home side will start as strong favourites, if Queens play as well as they can do, you never know just what might happen !!