We had a break from league one as we faced St Mirren in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. There were four changes to the starting line-up as Jack Brydon made his long-awaited return along with Paul McKay, Kyle Doherty, and Lewis Gibson. Dropping to the bench from last weeks side that started against Alloa were Kieran McKechnie, Oscar MacIntyre, Jake Hutchinson, and Craig McGuffie.
With the hosts sitting fifth in the topflight and having a good season it was going to be a tough cup tie and with seven minutes played former Queens loanee, Greg Kiltie played the ball across the face of goal from a tight angle but there was nobody up in support.
A minute later Jonah Ayunga turned and from 19 yards out hit a powerful shot that Harry Stone caught at the second attempt. The home side were controlling the ball and as a corner was played in Marcus Fraser got on the end of it and with his header ready to nestle in the top corner, Stone got a hand to it to push it out for another corner.
Queens were resilient at the back and as they looked to hit on the counter, Lee Connelly made a terrific break but as he reached the box, he was closed down and couldnt get the shot away. Minutes later Doherty chased a long ball, and he was round the defender who slipped but Kane Hemmings got there ahead of the striker to clear.
As Saints continued to push, Ayunga got on the other side of McKay before Stone saved his effort. The ball fell to Kiltie who thought he had made the breakthrough when he fired into the net, but the flag was up for offside.
Midway through the first half Gibson was in when ref Nick Walsh played the advantage after Doherty was having his shirt pulled but Fraser blocked for a corner.
Alex Gogic then hit his effort straight into the arms of Stone and Kiltie was just wide of the upright with a good left foot effort. The Premier club piled on the pressure, but Queens were dogged and the final chance of the first half fell to them when a decent move involving Gibson and Connelly set up a chance for McKay but when the ball was laid back, his right foot effort cleared the bar.
HALF TIME: St Mirren 0 Queens 0
The first chance of the second half also fell to the visitors as Doherty homed in on a back-pass but again Hemming managed to get there first.
At the other end Elvis Bwomono got the better of Kyle McClelland but Efe Ambrose was on hand with an acrobatic clearance off the line.
Queens werent giving in but had the woodwork to thank when Scott Tanser fired a left foot shot that crashed off the crossbar. The defender then cut inside from the left, but McClelland and Ambrose were on hand to clear for a corner.
On the hour mark Caolan Boyd-Munce hit a low shot from distance that took a nasty bounce inside the box, but Stone saved.
Queens also wanted that goal and as Doherty latched onto a Gibson clearance and raced towards the box, Connelly had made the run with him but as he cut inside, he opted to shoot instead of pass and fired well over.
The league one side had frustrated the hosts so far, but they eventually broke them down with 19 minutes left. A corner from the left was met by Gogic who rose to head the ball past Stone to give them the advantage.
Five minutes later Kiltie again had the ball in the net but again the flag was up. And in the closing stages, Stone twice denied Kiltie and Bwomons low drive from the right was wide.
In the end, the single goal was enough to knock Queens out of the cup, but they produced a strong spirited performance against a topflight side that they now need to carry on into the league campaign.
FULL TIME: St Mirren 1 Queens 0