Queens

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Heart of Midlothian

Obileye (42' pen)

Boyce (90' pen)

Queen of the South were moments away from their first victory over Hearts since 1963 after Ayo Obileye put Queens ahead in the first-half. But a last gasp Liam Boyce penalty levelled things for the Jambos as the two sides walked away with appoint a piece.

Allan Johnston made three enforced changes to the side with Aidan Fitzpatrick, Connor Shields and Rhys McCabe all dropping out. Gregor Buchanan and Nortei Nortey returned, while Dapo Mebude made his first start for the club.

Queens lined-up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ayo Obileye in the unusual role of holding-midfield along side Nortei Nortey. Mebude led the line, whilst Buchanan partnered Rhys Breen in centre-back for the first time.

The Jambos? side was littered with international experience with the likes of Craig Gordon and Boyce both starting.

Click here for the match photo gallery.

The opening 15 minutes were largely a non-event. Both sides enjoyed spells on the ball with neither ?keeper being particularly busy.

The main talking point was another injury for Queens and another central midfielder.

Already without Joe McKee and McCabe, Dan Pybus was forced off after 16 minutes with a hamstring injury that looks like it may keep him out for a few weeks.

The end of the match for Pybus

Calvin McGrory was thrust into the action to replace Pybus.

The home side continued to put in an astute defensive display limiting to Hearts to virtually no attempts on Rohan Ferguson?s goal.

Boyce received the ball on the turn in the box, firing at goal, but Breen was tight to the striker and blocked the effort.

Jamie Walker had Hearts? best effort of the opening period with a powerful shot from 18-yards tipped onto the post by Ferguson for his only save of the half

After 42 minutes though the deadline was broken by the coolest man in the stadium, Obileye.

After Isaiah Jones was brought down by in the area by Stephen Kingsley, Ayo Obileye stepped up and showed brilliant composure to slide past Gordon, sending the international goalie the wrong way.

Obileye strokes the penalty home

HT: Queens 1-0 Hearts

A sensational first-half performance that limited Hearts to scraps throughout. A late Obileye penalty gave Queens the lead but there was still a long way to go.

The second period was similar to the first. Hearts dictated proceedings but struggled to create anything.

Walker had Hearts? first chance of the second-half, albeit a lucky one at that. After working his way in-behind Queens, Buchanan put in a magnificent challenge, although his tackle ricocheted off of Walker only for the ball to fly narrowly wide.

The away side continued to control the game with sideways passing but offered virtually nothing in the final third. A trio of quickfire bookings for Craig Halkett, Gordon and Andy Irving added some sort of bite to the game.

Halliday and Willie Gibson had a war of words after 81 minutes with the Queens man coming out on top (in my unbiased opinion).

Gibson and Halliday have a frank exchange

After an outstanding 90 minutes though, disaster struck.

Some brilliant work from Boyce to get ahead of Breen in the box resulted in the Queens defender bringing the Northern Ireland international down.

Liam Boyce stepped-up to take the penalty and sent Ferguson the wrong way.

Boyce sends Ferguson the wrong way to tie the scores

FT: Queens 1-1 Hearts

With a much depleted squad, that wasn?t helped by Pybus being forced off, a point against the Hearts was a good result for the Doonhamers.

The point takes Queens up to 7^th in the league before Saturday?s clash between Alloa and Arbroath.

It?s the long journey north for the South next as they take on Inverness on Wednesday with a 6.30PM kick-off.

Finlay Jack

0
Ferguson
0
Gibson
0
Buchanan
0
Breen
0
Maxwell
0
Obileye
1
0
Nortey
0
Jones
(Sub2)
0
Pybus
(Sub1)
0
East
0
Mebude
(Sub3)

Subs

1
Rae

1
Goss
Sub3-94

1
Dobbie

1
McGrory
Sub1-16

1
Joseph
Sub2-93

7
McKechnie

1
McMahon

For Real Time Updates Go To Our Updates Page

	Pre-match	Good evening and welcome to a chilly Palmerston as Queens welcome last season relegated side Hearts to Palmerston. The Jambos sit top of the league going into tonight’s match. Full teams to follow.
	Pre-match	3️⃣ changes from last weeks team ↪️ Buchanan, Nortey, Mebude ↩️ Fitzpatrick, Shields, McCabe And a return to the bench for the
	Pre-match	2️⃣0️⃣ Ferguson 2️⃣ Nortey 3️⃣ Maxwell 4️⃣ Buchanan 5️⃣ Obileye 8️⃣ Pybus 1️⃣6️⃣ East 1️⃣9️⃣ Breen 2️⃣5️⃣ Jones 2️⃣9️⃣ Mebude 3️⃣3️⃣ Gibson
	Pre-match	Subs: 0️⃣9️⃣ Goss 1️⃣1️⃣ Dobbie 1️⃣5️⃣ McGrory 1️⃣7️⃣ Joseph 1️⃣8️⃣ McKechnie 2️⃣1️⃣ McMahon 3️⃣1️⃣ Rae
	Pre-match	Hearts: 1.Gordon 2.Smith 7.Walker 10.Boyce 16.Halliday 17.Mackay-Steven 19.Irving 21.Kingsley 26.Halkett 28.Popescu 29.Kastaneer
	Pre-match	Hearts subs: 13.Stewart 5.Berra 6.Haring 14.Naismith 16.McEneff 24.Frear 31.Henderson
	Pre-match	Queens come into the game the form side having only lost 1 of their last 6, whilst Hearts have lost 2...
	Pre-match	The Doonhamers have also scored 1 more goal than tonight’s visitors, with 13. Both defences have conceded 7 in their last 6.
	Pre-match	There’s a return to the bench for skipper (and former Hibs man) Stephen Dobbie after a short spell out with a groin injury! Will the King of Queens have an impact today...?
	Pre-match	There’s no sunshine on Dumfries this evening as it’s a freezing -2 degrees here at Palmerston! Can Queens get a big three points?
	Pre-match	Despite what’s shown on TV we’re pretty sure Ayo Obileye isn’t playing CB tonight...
		First half begins
	1%27	Never mind, I was wrong. Ayo Obileye is CM along with Nortey as Queens continue in a 4-2-3-1 shape...
	2%27	Dapo Mebude leads the line for Queens with Pybus in attacking- midfield.
	6%27	Both sides have had spells on the ball in the opening five minutes at Palmerston. Hearts have gone closest through a Mackay-Steven header. (0-0)
	8%27	Jones goes on a lovely mazy run through the middle of Hearts but East’s shot is blocked. (0-0)
	16%27	Pybus has pulled up with what looks like a hamstring injury. Not what we needed. (0-0)
	16%27	SUBSTITUTION QOS: Pybus OFF REPLACED BY McGrory
	17%27	McGrory replaces Pybus. Queens are now without three CM’s tonight. (0-0)
	25%27	The game is being mainly played in the middle third with neither team able to create much. (0-0)
	27%27	Boyce turns and fires at goal but Breen does well to block. (0-0)
	30%27	Walker fires powerfully at Ferguson but the ‘keeper more than matches his effort. (0-0)
	36%27	The entire Queens back 4 have been exceptionally disciplined in the opening 35 minutes or so as the score remains goalless. (0-0)
	43%27	PENALTY QUEENS AS JONES IS BROUGHT DOWN
	43%27	AYO TO TAKE...
	43%27	GOAL QUEENS! AYOOOOO
	44%27	AYO OBILEYE. THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE TWEET.
	45%27	Just the FIVE goals for Ayo Iniesta this season. (1-0)
	47%27	Hearts have 5 corners in a row but Nortei Nortey is a man mountain in the box and defends most them! (1-0)
		First half ends
	Half Time	The boys in the blue are the talk of the tooon as Queens go in 1-0 up after a GLORIOUS first-half! (1-0)
		Second half begins
	49%27	Buchanan slides in to prevent a Walker shot but the ball hits off the Hearts man and flies narrowly wide. (1-0)
	52%27	Hearts win a free kick in a dangerous position on the right hand side of the area. (1-0)
	55%27	Jones leads a dangerous Queens break but can’t quite curl his effort on target. (1-0)
	57%27	SUBSTITUTION Hearts: Kastaneer OFF REPLACED BY McEneff
	59%27	Halkett (Hearts) is booked for bringing Jones down on the break.
	60%27	Gordon (Hearts) is booked for dissent.
	63%27	Irving (Hearts) is booked for bringing Jones down on the break. Jones is causing mayhem down the right!
	65%27	SUBSTITUTION Hearts: Irving OFF REPLACED BY Henderson
	76%27	Halliday floats in a dangerous free-kick but it goes well wide. (1-0)
	81%27	Halliday fouls Gibson and gives the Queens full-back a bit of chat, Gibson gives it back in typical fashion. (1-0)
	81%27	SUBSTITUTION Hearts: Halliday OFF REPLACED BY Naismith
	83%27	East fires from range but Gordon does well to hold! (1-0)
	86%27	Smith has a good chance at the back post but Queens are defending with everything they’ve got and the score stays the same! (1-0)
	88%27	Queens have been tireless on the counter this evening and it’s been spearheaded by the PHENOMENAL Isaiah Jones. (1-0)
	90%27	Penalty Hearts. (1-0)
	90%27	Goal Hearts. Boyce the scorer
	90%27	Boyce equalises at the death. Heartbreak for Queens. (1-1)
	93%27	SUBSTITUTION QOS: Jones OFF REPLACED BY Joseph
	94%27	SUBSTITUTION QOS: Mebude OFF REPLACED BY Goss
		The game ends
	Full Time	FT at Palmerston 1-1. The fact that it feels like two points dropped at home to Hearts tells you all you need to know about this team. A truly superb team performance.