After the SWPL awarding Queen’s a 3-0 win due to Spartans non-compliance with Sky Sports Cup rules last weekend, it was onto Airdrie on Sunday to face Gartcairn in the second match of round 1 in the Sky Sports Cup.
Gartcairn beat newly promoted Falkirk 4-2 at The Falkirk Stadium last Sunday, so Queen’s knew they were in for a tough test.
Head coach Ross Stormouth made four changes to last Sunday’s starting eleven with Natalie Angelini, Ciara Bonner, Olivia King and Hannah Cairns replacing Jasmine McPhie, Abbie Cusack, Rebecca McAllister and Summer Thomson.
Queen’s started the game in attack with a shot which narrowly missed the bar. However, it was the home side who began to dominate play, pushing up the park, denying Queen’s the space and time to play their pass and move style of play.
Natalie Angeline, in goal for the Spiders, was soon called into action. On more than one occasion she prevented Gartcairn taking the lead with a series of fine blocks and saves.
Queen’s had absorbed the early pressure from Gartcairn and were beginning to move the ball wide to Hannah Cairns, making her debut for the club. Hannah used her speed to good effect down the right wing, where she was getting to the bye-line and cutting the ball into the Gartcairn penalty box. Good defending by the Gartcairn back line prevented any real goal scoring chances for Queen’s.
27 minutes into the first half Gartcairn opened the scoring when CLAIRE DOCHERTY scored from an acute angle after good play down their left side.
A couple of minutes later Olivia King was replaced by Rebecca McAllister.
Freya Ashmead and Hannah Cairns were swapping positions in an attempt to get behind the Gartcairn defence who looked compact and well organised.
Half-time: Gartcairn 1 Queen’s Park 0
Queen’s made one substitution at the interval with Summer Thomson replacing Rachel Wright.
Whatever was said in the dressing room at half-time had an effect with Queen’s forcing play in the opening minutes. But it was Natalie Angelina who had to look sharp to push a Gartcairn shot away when it looked destined for the net.
Just when the Spiders were looking dangerous, Gartcairn doubled their lead. Isla Gourley smashed the ball into the postage stamp from outside the Queen’s box. A spectacular goal.
Queen’s responded with Rachael O’Neill bringing the ball out of defence, then passing to Rachel Wright. Rachel played a defence splitting pass for Hannah Cairns to run onto. Hannah took the ball to the bye-line and delivered a superb cross to the head of Summer Thomson. Summer got her head to the ball but couldn’t direct the ball into the net. A really encouraging play by the young Queen’s side.
Gartcairn responded by pushing forward and in the 68th minute had three attempts on goal, one after the other. The post, good goalkeeping and good defending miraculously stopped them going further ahead.
Queen’s pushed for a goal and were rewarded ten minutes later when Summer Thomson was brought down inside the Garcairn box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot. Ellie Kane stepped up to take the kick. Her low shot to the left was well saved by the Cairn keeper, but ROSIE McQUILLAN was first to react and fired the ball into the far corner of the net.
Queen’s pushed for an equaliser with Rosie McQuillan denied a goal by fine shot stopping by the Gartcairn keeper.
Just when it looked more likely that Queen’s would equalise, Gartcairn added a third when CLAIRE DOCHERTY took advantage of hesitation in the Queen’s defence to smash the ball into the far corner of the net.
That third goal for Gartcairn seemed to deflate the Queen’s players and the game continued without any real action until the final whistle.
Full-time: Gartcairn 1 Queen’s Park 0
Queen’s Park: Natalie Angelini, Rachael O’Neill, Ciara Bonner, Ellie Kane, Charley Dickson (Evie Swann), Darcy Molley, Rachel Wright (Summer Thomson), Olivia King (Rebecca McAllister), Freya Ashmead (Rosie McQuillan), Hannah Cairns, Murron Cunningham.
Subs not used: Abbie Cusack, Lila Sallis, Zoe Mooney
Starting Eleven
