Queens took on Barry Ferguson's Clyde at Broadwood in a lunchtime kick off today behind closed doors to begin the pre-season friendlies. 23 different players were involved for James Fowler's side as he changed the whole eleven at half time and took the chance to see a few trialists in action. Iain Russell and Dale Hilson sat out with minor knocks but both will travel with the squad for warm weather training at La Manga tomorrow.

For a friendly the match certainly had some spark to it with some meaty challenges from both sides. Clyde have an experienced line up for the coming season and included a number of new signings, one of whom was the very familiar Chris Mitchell in a wide right role. It was the hosts who grabbed the lead just before the quarter hour mark when Kyle Jacobs was deemed to have committed a foul 20 yards out in a central area. The decision was a little harsh but the resulting free kick from their No. 7 was perfectly curled into the top corner of the net and well out of Jim Atkinson's reach. The lead lasted less than two minutes though as Derek Lyle began the season exactly as he'd finished last season, by scoring with a powerful close range header that the keeper simply couldn't keep out. This time he was on the end of a peach of a cross from Steven Higgins, who had himself been released by a tremendous 50 yard pass from defence by Darren Brownlie.

The second half wasn't quite as competitive and Queens controlled play for long spells, though Clyde probably missed the best two chances in the half. Midway through Queens took the lead when a left sided Trialist jinked inside two opponents and curled a lovely low shot round the Clyde keeper from the left edge of the box. The win was clinched two minutes from time when Ryan Conroy latched onto a fine passing move and sprinted clear into the penalty area from where he produced a calm finish to make the final score 3-1.

This was a decent workout against good standard opponents who clearly have their eye on the League Two crown this season. Now the team are off to Spain tomorrow afternoon for a few days warm weather training camp and, hopefully, a bounce friendly with one of the other sides in residence at some point.