The points were shared in tonight`s Ladbrokes Championship game under the lights at Palmerston, and with the BBC Scotland cameras in attendance, neither side could produce the goal that would have won the game and so the sides had to settle on the 1-1 scoreline.

A bright opening to the game - in which both teams scored in the first 11 minutes- eventually petered out, so much so that the second half was almost completely devoid of any creative football, and although both teams created a few half chances that could well have changed the outcome, the final composure was missing and a share of the points was certainly the right outcome.

 

Click here for the match photo gallery.

 

Queens made 2 changes to the team that started against Inverness, Jack Hamilton replaced Gary Oliver up front, and Michael Paton started ahead of Connor Murray as we lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation with Lewis Kidd sitting deep and Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Paton, and Dan Pybus taking the midfield positions.

 

The game also saw Jordan Marshall return to Palmerston for the first time as an opposing player, and to be honest it took some getting used to seeing him play against Queens.

 

VIPs tonight

 

A bright start to the game saw Queens win an early free-kick for a foul on Dan Pybus, and although El Bakhtaoui whipped in a driven cross the move was ended when we were penalised for pushing at the far post. Former Dundee man Kevin Holt was the first to test Dundee `keeper Jack Hamilton with an angled drive that was comfortably saved, and good hold up play from Jack Hamilton saw him link well with Stephen Dobbie, but his low shot was off target. 

 

Still looking for his first league goal this season, Dobbie went very close to making the early breakthrough on 6 minutes when he was given far too much space by the retreating Dundee defence, and as they backed off his low drive beat the dive of Dundee `keeper Jack Hamilton and smashed against the post, but fortunately our own Jack Hamilton was alert enough to react quickly and turn the ball into the empty net from close range to score his first goal for the club.

 

Hamilton celebrates his strike

 

The visitors had hardly ventured into the Queens half during the opening few minutes, but on 11 minutes, and following their first attack of the game, they equalised. Good work from Robertson sent Hemmings on a run down their left, and after skipping beyond Scott Mercer his cut back picked out Nelson waiting on the penalty spot and although his firmly hit shot was certainly , Robby McCrorie produced an excellent save to tip the ball away for a corner. Unfortunately the resulting set-piece was to be our downfall as although we cleared the initial delivery, Dorrans was on hand to return the ball into the danger area where his cross was met by Dundee captain McGhee who guided a perfect header beyond McCrorie to level the scores.

 

McGhee beats McCrorie

 

The opening to the game had been pretty frantic and after a brief respite where both teams slowed the pace for a time, Queens responded with a quick attack that saw Pybus, and Hamilton create a chance for Dobbie, but the Dundee `keeper was smartly across his goal to keep the shot out.

 

After falling behind,and then levelling the game,the away side were gradually having more of the possession, and Robby McCrorie was called into action again when Kerr`s pass fell nicely for McPake who saw his deflected shot well dealt with by the on-loan Queens shot stopper.

 

A foul on Hamilton some 30-yards out led to a free-kick opportunity for Queens, and with both Holt and Dobbie both standing over the ball, it was Dobbie`s attempt that smashed into a well constructed Dundee wall.

 

The visitors replied when McDaid ended a promising run with a low shot that fizzed past the post, and in our next attack a driven cross from Mercer picked out Dobbie on the left and after bringing the ball under his control he then lifted a pass into Holt whose acrobatic effort looked impressive, but was actually quite wide of the target, and so ended a half that began at full throttle and slowly fizzled out to nothing much.

 

Holt goes for a goal of the season contender

 

HALF-TIME QUEENS 1-1 DUNDEE

 

The start of the second half mirrored how the first half had ended, and there was hardly any penalty box action for anyone to get excited about as the half just trudged on aimlessly. An effort from McGhee was well off the target, and a lunging tackle by Kevin Holt saw him given a `final` warning from referee Collum as the game continued in it`s scrappy format.

 

Holt failed to heed the warning from the referee when a further foul, this time on former team-mate Kerr, saw him become the game`s first booking, and from the resulting free-kick, Dorrans saw his effort beat the wall, but fail to beat the impressive McCrorie, who moved quickly to his left to push the ball away.

 

Our first corner of the game arrived on 66 minutes and having waiting for so long to be able to load the box and try and force something from a set-piece, the delivery was poor, and was headed clear by the first defender.

 

Then twice in as many minutes we went close to taking the lead. Firstly a cross from Mercer was cleared into the path of Dobbie, and as he snatched at his shot it went wide of the near post, and then when El Bakhtaoui`s finely weighted pass slipped Dobbie in, his shot from a very tight angle only found the side netting. Chances were few and far between, and following a corner, McDaid skied his attempt as clinical finishing on the day was nowhere to be found.

 

A free-kick midway inside the Dundee half saw Lewis Kidd pick out the runof Holt, but although the left-back rose well to connect with the ball, his header was comfortably saved.

 

The one real quality move of the game from a Queens perspective very nearly brought us the winning goal when Mercer and Dobbie combined brilliantly down the right and when Mercer`s cut back picked out El Bakhtaoui the Frenchman`s low strike was cleared off the line,and when Holt followed up he saw his shot blocked into the path of Paton who couldn`t keep his shot on target and it went inches wide of the near post.

 

Scott Mercer seemed to be struggling with a slight muscle pull and was replaced by Darren Lyon for the final 6 minutes and as time started to run out so did the hopes of Queens looking like making it back to back home league wins.

 

A final half chance came for Hamilton who got his head to a fine cross from El Bakhtaoui, but there was no power in the header.

 

Hamilton heads goalward

 

The final moments of the game saw a flurry of bookings as Paton, El Bakhtaoui,Forster, and Robertson were all booked in separate incidents during the last 6 minutes, as the points were shared in a game that won`t stay long in the memory.