Queens continued their run of home games as they welcomed Cove Rangers to Palmerston.  With one point separating the sides at the bottom of league one it was an important fixture for both teams.  After a confidence boosting victory over Rangers in the Challenge Cup last weekend, manager Nicky Clark made only one change to the side with Caleb Goldie returning from injury, Aaron Davis dropped to the bench.

It was the visitors who got the game underway and within the opening minute could’ve been ahead. Queens keeper Deniz Mehmet was caught as he threw the ball down to kick it up the park and Jordan White nipped in to take it away from him.  Mehmet reacted and blocked on the edge of the area but the ball spun to Chris Maguire and he chipped it towards the empty net but fortunately for Queens, it landed the wrong side of the upright.

The shaky start by the home side continued and three minutes later, Joseph Teasdale had a chance to shoot but he laid it back to the edge of the area instead and Niall Rogerson blocked. And within minutes Edimond Oppong rounded Mehmet again but Shaun Want got back to cover. 

Cove continued to push forward and Teasdale got away down the left but Chris McQueen got across to knock the ball out for a throw-in.  They soon won a corner and Jospeh Chalmers played it short to Oppong who in turn found Maguire who saw his effort blocked.

It had been one way in the opening ten minutes but as Queens made an attempt to get forward, Taylor Charters’ cross was knocked back to Goldie who played it back in but Robbie Mutch collected. With twelve minutes played, Clark opened the scoring.  Goldie’s throw found Zander Mackenzie at the near side of the box and as he laid it off for the Gaffer, his right foot attempt hit off the defender but as the ball fell for him again, he fired a left foot shot down the middle past the keeper.

Cove had been on top and the goal came against the run of play and Cove quickly restored the upper hand.  A mistake in the middle of the park allowed White to use his long legs to get away to play a low ball across goal, he was under pressure from McQueen and the delivery trundled past with Teasdale in space waiting.   With quarter of an hour gone, Cove had had enough chances to be well ahead but found themselves behind, as Chalmers floated in a free-kick from the right wing, Want headed out for a corner.

The visitors had been unable to make their pressure count and against the run of play again, Queens doubled their lead.  A long ball forward by Rogerson was headed on by Jamie Mercer and Connor Young nipped in to take the ball forward before he fired a left foot shot under the keeper.

Midway through the half, Oppong collected a pass from White and cut inside but his shot was too high.

Half an hour in, Queens played some good passing football with Mackenzie, Young, Liam Smith and Clark all involved as they worked their way towards the Cove box but the end product didn’t match.

A minute later, McQueen made a mistake and Max Barry headed for goal but the defender manged to recover and got back to help clear. In the closing stages of the first half, White had another chance for Cove but he curled his shot wide instead of into the top corner.

On the stroke of half time, Smith looked to find a way into the box but he was crowded out.

HALF TIME: Queens 2 Cove Rangers 0

Six minutes after the restart, Goldie did well at the by-line to get it across but Clark couldn’t make it count. Jack Stott then made a good run and found Charters but Taylor’s shot could’ve done with a bit more power as Mutch collected.

At the other end Mehmet punched clear and Smith made a break he played a good pass to Young but he was well offside. 

Queens had made a better start to the second half but ten minutes in it was Cove who scored to pull one back.  As Goldie and Stott collided in the middle of the park, the visitors moved the ball forward and as it made its way out to Oppong, he crossed from the right and the unmarked Maguire was at the opposite side of the box to volley home from around six-yards.

Just after the hour mark Queens were living on the edge again when Mehmet came out to the edge of the box and missed allowing White in but McQueen managed to cover and the striker turned the ball just the wrong side of the post.

Queens survived and had a few chances of their own as the game moved back up the field.  Mackenzie played in a free-kick that was taken down by Clark, it wasn’t the smoothest take but he managed to get it out to Rogerson. His shot was blocked and knocked out for a corner.  Smith played it in, it wasn’t the best delivery but Barry cleared for another corner, this time as it came back in Arron Darge got his head on the end of it ahead of Clark for yet another corner.  But the pressure came to an end as Mackenzie was too strong with his delivery.

Unable to make use of the set-pieces, Queens paid the price when Paul Hartley’s side levelled on 67 minutes.  Rogerson’s header in the middle of the park was wayward and as Destiny Oladipo held of McQueen, he rattled a shot of the post. It wasn’t cleared and with it still in play, White got there ahead of Want to force the ball past Mehmet.

Four minutes later, Stott who had just returned from injury went off holding his hamstring and was replaced by Coughlin. And within two minutes the Kilmarnock loanee had one cleared off the line by Darge. And as Cove broke, Oladipo fired the ball across goal and a corner was awarded. Chalmers played it in and as it bounced off a couple of defenders, Oladipo managed to stab the ball over the line to give the north east side the lead.

Having been two goals up, albeit against the run of play, Queens now found themselves trailing but they responded well and Smith created a chance for Mackenzie who hit a right foot shot off the post. 

Sixty seconds later, Mackenzie was again involved as Queens found an equaliser.  As Goldie laid the ball off into the path of the midfielder, he lifted the ball over the top into centre of the box, where Coughlin peeled off his markers to catch it with his right boot to volley the ball into the net.

The rollercoaster game continued and three minutes later, with ten minutes of the game left, Mackenzie did well in the middle before finding Coughlin on the wing with a pass, his cross into the box was exceptional and was met perfectly by Young at the back post as headed home his second, a fourth for Queens to regain the lead.

As Cove looked to hit back, Oladipo took a good touch before finishing well but the whistle had already blown for offside.

The game was still on an edge and as Queens scrambled to clear a corner, Oladipo and White both had chances.  And in added on time, Oladipo was lucky to escape a booking for simulation as he threw himself down inside the box hoping for a penalty.

It was certainly a crazy afternoon but fortunately it was Queens who came out on top and moved themselves off the bottom of the table.

FULL TIME: Queens 4 Cove Rangers 3

Teams:

Queens: Mehmet, Goldie, Charters, Stott (Coughlin 72), McQueen, Smith, Mackenzie, Young (Ellis 83), Clark (Hutton 63), Want & Rogerson. Subs not used: Petry, Dair, Davis, Luissint, Gray & McColm.

Cove Rangers: Mutch, Bisland, Ross (Parker 80), Mercer, Barry, Chalmers, Darge, Teasdale (Harrington 57), Oppong (Oladipo 61), White & Maguire.  Subs not used: Demus, Francis-Burrell, Keir & Fraser.

Ref: Lloyd Wilson

Crowd: 802

Our under 17s travelled to Scotstoun in Glasgow on Friday for a "home" fixture against Inverness. 

They opened the scoring in the first minute when Ben Walden headed home from a corner. The boys went on to enjoy the best of the first 25 minutes before the visitors equalised. Inverness then controlled the rest of the first half. 

After the break was a bit of a goal fest that no team could be proud of in terms of defending. Queens restored their lead through Murray Williams and should have put the game to bed with a clear-cut chance. But they didn’t take it and Inverness went up the pitch and scored from the penalty spot before edging in front from another crossed ball. 

Williams scored his second of the night with a header from a free-kick to make it three each. It looked like that would be the final score until a costly defensive mix up lead to another free-kick for Inverness and as they headed the ball into the net from a yard out to win the game.

Full Time: Queens 3 Inverness CT 4

Coach Ross Newlands said “It was a tough lesson for the boys in terms of giving away cheap and silly goals and the boys are rightly disappointed with the end to the game.”

The Academy sides have away games this week when the under 19s travel to face Queens Park on Tuesday (6^th) before the u17s head to Almondvale for their game against Livingston on Friday (9^th).  They then have a break from the league campaigns when they take on Fraserburgh in the second round of the SFA Youth cup on Friday 23^rd of October.

The under 19s had a tough night at Palmerston as they faced Partick Thistle in their latest CAS League fixture.

Queens were four down at the interval, but Billy Gray scored two goals in the second half to reduce the deficit. His first came nine minutes after the restart and he added a second with sixteen minutes of the game remaining. However, the visitors also found the net again to secure a five-two victory.

Full Time: Queens 2 Partick Thistle 5

Coach Eddie Warwick said “Performance wise it was much improved from our game last Sunday. We were very good in periods and put them under pressure and forced some good saves from their goalkeeper and on another night, we could have scored more goals and would’ve deserved it. But again, we are kicking ourselves over the mistakes that lead to the goals against us.”

We continue our run of home games tomorrow when we welcome Cove Rangers to Palmerston for our latest league one fixture.  It’s a massive game for both sides as we round off the opening quarter of the campaign, tomorrow’s visitors sit one place and a point better off than ourselves at the bottom end of the table.

Both sides go into the important league fixture on the back of wins in the KDM Evolution Trophy last weekend. Liam Smith’s hat-trick and a goal from Cole Coughlin secured us a four-two victory over Rangers B while earlier in the day, Jordan White and Joe Chalmers scored for Cove as they saw off Aberdeen by two-goals to one.

Ahead of the game, Queens Manager Nicky Clark is looking for the cup victory to kick start a run. “We need to build on the Rangers game. We all know the position we're in and we want to get out of that situation, we want to get out of this league, it's going to be very difficult, as everybody knows, but that's still where we want to get to. We go into every game looking to win and get three points, especially at home, so Cove at home is a massive game for us.  We got a good win, albeit in the cup, but it was a win and we need to go and make it two or three and see where it takes us.”

Supporters Information

HOME supporters will be located within the main stand, BDS Stand, sections 1-5 and the Oakbank Terracing. While, section 7 of the BDS has been allocated to AWAY fans.

To gain entry to the BDS stand – ALL supporters should use turnstiles 1 & 2. Entry to the Oakbank Terrace will be via turnstiles 16 & 17 only. And for the main stand, supporters should use turnstiles 3 & 22 on the west side of the ground.

Disabled facilities are located in the BDS stand, access for these are via Gate H on the south side. Anyone wishing to make use of the area should email [email protected] in advance.

Turnstiles will be open for spectator entry at approximately 1345.

Entry is by ticket. Season Tickets holders should use match day 5 ticket. 

On the day ticket prices are:

Adults: £20
Concessions: £12

Students /16-21-year-olds: £10

U16s: £5

Accessible tickets: £12 (includes a carer)

Tickets are on sale now and will be available online Queen of the South v Cove Rangers until kick off or at the ground on the day of the game from the ticket office located within the QOS Arena which will open at approximately 1230. There will be no ticket office at the BDS stand for this match.

The only way to buy tickets in advance will be online.

Tickets purchased are non-transferable or refundable.

Car parking will be available to all spectators within the Queen of the South Arena car park on a first come first served basis. Supporters’ buses including minibuses will not be allowed to park in the Arena car park. Instead, they should drop off their passengers in Terregles St/King Street and thereafter park on College Mains Road just off the roundabout with the A76 on the town bypass (adjacent to Curry’s/PC World, as the other side at Aldi is the access road to the ambulance depot and is extremely busy). Pick up should be the same location as drop off.

Those travelling to the game should be aware that there is roadworks in and around the town may cause some delays. People travelling should check Traffic Scotland website at http://trafficscotland.org/index.aspx for confirmation of any road closures or delays.

Shared catering outlets within the supporter’s areas of the ground will be open for use. Fans should note that these kiosks are cash only.  If you are looking for catering before entering the ground, The Queen of the South café within the Arena will be open and will have a range of food/snacks on offer and will accept card. The lounge bar under the main stand will be open to both sets of supporters from noon.

For safety reasons, QOS have adopted a robust and thorough search policy for spectators entering the ground to ensure that ground rules and regulations are strictly adhered to, especially in relation to pyrotechnic devices and controlled containers. We would like to remind supporters that letting off smoke devices/ pyrotechnics is a criminal offence, and anyone found doing so will be referred to Police Scotland. Not only is it against the law, it is also extremely dangerous and a health hazard to other spectators. No bottles or cans will be permitted through the gates, so anyone bring juice should bring cartons. All bags will be searched and spectators presenting themselves for entry may also be subject to search. Spectators who refuse to be searched by stewards will be denied entry to the ground.

Palmerston Park is a non-smoking venue; this includes e cigarettes and other such devices. Stewards are empowered to eject spectators who disobey these rules. No persons will be admitted to the ground who are deemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

The club shop located in the Arena will be open until kick off where you can purchase our club merchandise.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 3pm

We're delighted to announce the signing of Zander Hutton on loan from Rangers until the end of the season.

The 20 year old fullback made over 30 appearances for Hamilton last season and joins after impressing for Rangers "B" on Saturday.

Zander has been with Rangers since he was 12 years old, winning youth trophies and being included in several first team squads over the years.

He will go into Saturdays squad for the home game against Cove Rangers.

The under19s played host to Montrose in their latest CAS League match and it was a disappointing afternoon for them as they lost six-one. The visitors raced into a three-goal lead within the opening quarter of an hour before Anthony Harris pulled one back for Queens but the visitors added another three to run out convincing winners.

Coach Eddie Warwick said “I was really disappointed with our performance today we absolutely gift-wrapped Montrose four goals with give aways inside our own 18-yard box. We made too many individual basic errors which was very frustrating for us to understand and made it hard to get back into the game.  Arguably we probably scored the best goal of the game after great work from Noel Kylie and finished well by Anthony Harris, but at this level you cannot give teams a three-goal start after 15 minutes. We were the masters of our own downfall today.”

The boys have a chance to put things right on Thursday night, the first of October when they welcome Partick Thistle to Palmerston.  Kick-off 7.30pm.

Rangers B were the visitors to Palmerston for the fifth of our KDM Trophy group matches.  With Caleb Goldie and Ben Johnstone both picking up injuries against Annan on Tuesday night they missed out along with Brodie Dair who drops to the bench in the three changes made to the starting eleven.  Shaun Want and Jack Stott returned to the line-up along with the manager, Nicky Clark himself.

Liam Smith got the game underway but it was the visitors who made an early move as Callum Young on the right crossed into the box for Alexander Hutton on the left-hand side and as he played it back in for Lucas Rankin, he stood on the ball and Smith was able to clear.

With five minutes on the clock, Smith out on the right, cut the ball back for Clark who tried to chip it into the top corner but was just over.  Two minutes later, Zander Mackenzie was inside the box and played the ball across for Connor Young, but the flag went up.

Minutes later the two combined again when Young played the one – two with Mackenzie to open up space before firing a low ball across goal from the right-hand side of the box.

Apart from the early move from Rangers, Queens had been in control and it paid off on eighteen minutes when Mackenzie played a free-kick to Smith who ran from about 40-yards barely challenged before hitting a left foot shot low that beat Greg Thackray at his left-hand post to give Queens the lead.

Midway through the half a cheeky cross from the right by Aaron Davis almost caught out the visitors, they got away with that but some slack play in their defence resulted in Smith intercepting a clearance by the keeper and as he ran through the middle, he took a touch to take the ball away from Jack Wyllie before firing a left foot shot under the body of Thackray to double the lead.

As Queens attacked again, Young then fired a low shot across goal, but he was wide of the target.  Taylor Charters then got on the end of a long ball forward to set up a chance for Smith but this time his shot was too high.

Twenty-nine minutes had been played when Deniz Mehmet made his first save of the night when he got down to save from Hutton who hit a left foot shot from outside the box.

Five minutes later Clark forced a save at the other end with a long-range right foot effort. 

Queens then started to let Rangers into the game, they forced a few corners and kept the ball in Queens half and as the home side struggled to clear, Josh Gentles hit a terrific strike from 25-yards that nestled in the bottom corner and the visitors had pulled one back six minutes before the break.

They pushed for an equaliser, and Zebedee Lawson played the ball across goal, but Charters watched it to make sure it went out for a goal-kick.

On the stroke of half time, Charters cut the ball in from the left for Mackenzie, but his shot was tame and an easy take for the keeper.

HALF TIME: Queens 2 Rangers 1

Into the second half and a long cross field pass by Mackenzie was just out of reach of Clark.

It was an early chance for Queens, but Rangers started to take control and as Gentles got away from Want with some good play on the by-line, he cut the ball back for Ashton Patton who knocked it just over.

Ten minutes after the restart substitute Cameron Fernie had a shot from distance but was well over. Back at the other end Thackray blocked with his feet to halt Young, but it wouldn’t have mattered as the offside flag was raised.

One the hour mark, Patton was allowed to cut inside from the left unchallenged and he curled a right foot shot past Mehmet into the bottom corner to level the match at two all.

Rangers had been on top for much of the game after the break but as Queens hit on the counter, Cole Coughlin who had replaced Stott raced down the left-hand side and found Young with his delivery.  As the striker crossed, Smith was standing ready inside the box, but the visitors managed to cut out the pass for a throw-in.

Midway through the half, Charters made a clearance to Young at the halfway line and as he played it forward to Clark, he waited for Coughlin to make the run into space before playing the through ball and the youngster held off the challenge at the corner of the six-yard area to fire the ball across the keeper into the net to restore Queens lead.

It was game over, with fifteen minutes of the game left to play when Smith dropped his shoulder to create an opening for himself and managed to hit a left foot shot past the keeper into the bottom corner for his hat-trick and Queens fourth of the game.  

As Queens ran down the clock, Dair came on for Young and within minutes he found himself inside the box, but his shot ended up the wrong side of the post. 

The Ibrox youngsters kept going and as Daniel Owoyomi looked to control inside the box, Chris McQueen cleared. Gentles then played the ball over the top for Ben Hutton, but Coughlin was back to cover and with the final chance of the game, Wyllie’s header was knocked out for a corner.

FULL TIME: Queens 4 Rangers 2

Teams:

Queens: Mehmet, Charters, Stott (Coughlin 60), McQueen, Smith, Mackenzie, Young (Dair 83), Clark (Ellis 85), Want, Rogerson & Davis.  Subs not used: Petry, Luissint, Gray, Morton, Kelly & McColm.

Rangers B: Thackray, Young (Barr 85), Wyllie, Kerr, Owen (Fernie 46), Rankin (Owoyomi 77) Patton, B Hutton, Gentles, Lawson & A Hutton.  Subs not used: Millarvie, Caldwell, Ramage, Reid, Wark & Molloy.

Ref: Sean Murdoch

Crowd: 484

The youngest of our sides, the u17s travelled to Port Glasgow last night (Friday) for a CAS League Match against Greenock Morton. Going into the game, the hosts sat second in the table, so the players knew the task ahead.

The game started quite open, with both sides creating chances and putting the respective defences under pressure. It was the home side who opened the scoring midway through the half when the striker was allowed to turn and play in the winger who finished well. This didn't deter Queens from continuing to put pressure on and they could have felt disappointed going in at the break one down.

Half Time: Morton 1 Queens 0

The second half started much like the first. However, it was Queens who capitalised on their chances. A fine free-flowing move from Wykes, Hunter and Pike was cut back to Hunter whose shot was parried by the home goalie and Ben Walden headed home to level the match. Queens were on top but were dealt a blow when some loose play resulted in a Morton corner; the corner was headed home at the back post to restore the lead. As Queens pushed for a late equaliser, Morton rounded off the scoring with a great finish into the top corner.

Full Time: Greenock Morton 3-1 QoS 

Coach Ross Newland said “We knew before the game how good Morton could be, so it's testament to the boys that they went toe-to-toe with them for 90 mins. On another night, this scoreline could easily have been different. We were caught out by fine margins, and they punished our mistakes, but we couldn’t do the same. The boys will have learned a lot from the game and should be proud of their performance.”

 Next week the u17s have a 'home' match v Inverness which will be played at a neutral venue.