Despite long spells of possession, Queen’s Park were narrowly defeated by city rivals Partick Thistle, at what was ultimately a rain soaked National Stadium.
Head Coach Callum Davidson welcomed back Jack Turner to the Spiders’ starting line-up, replacing Liam McLeish who moved to the substitutes bench. It was a cagey start, as both teams probed looking to make a positive impact from the first whistle.
The first real opportunity for the home side came in 12 minutes. A long ball up the middle created panic in the Thistle defence, with Zak Rudden battling to gain possession and run clear. Unfortunately for Queen’s fans, Zak failed to get the ball fully under control and the chance was lost.
Queen’s were made to pay just a minute later when Thistle took the lead. The Queen’s defence failed to deal with a high cross into the box. First to react to the loose ball was Logan Chalmers who fired home from close range, scoring his first goal for The Jags.
The home side controlled much of the play for the next period, with a shot from Roddy McGregor after half an hour deflected for a corner, which the Thistle defence comfortably cleared. Visiting keeper Myles Roberts made a smart save in 38 minutes, and from the resultant corner a header from Will Tizzard sailed over the bar.
Both sides battled hard, however there was no more scoring when referee Napier blew for half time.
Half-time – Queen’s Park 0 Partick Thistle 1
The general flow of play continued as the first half ended, with the home side, now attacking the Mount Florida end of The National Stadium, keeping the pressure on the visiting defence. Keeper Myles Roberts saved a shot low down to his left two minutes in, and 5 minutes later a MacGregor free kick for the Spiders didn’t trouble the visiting defence.
A short corner from Queen’s nearly caught out the Jags defence after 55 minutes, however the snap shot from Sean Welsh didn’t hit the target.
With nearly an hour played, a rampaging run forward by Queen’s centre half Dane Murray gave the Thistle defence something new to contend with, however the resulting corner was cleared.
Shortly after, Thistle created their first real chance of the second half, forcing Queen’s keeper Calum Ferrie into a good save low down to his right.
Brian Graham had the ball in the home net after 62 minutes, however the celebrations of the large travelling support were cut short as the assistant’s flag was raised and the goal was chalked off.
Both sides made a number of substitutions in an effort to freshen things up, however neither keeper was over worked as the clock moved towards 90 minutes.
Despite a minimum of five additional minutes being announced, there was no further scoring and Thistle went back across the city with the three points.
Full-time – Queen’s Park 0 Partick Thistle 1
Queen’s Park – Calum Ferrie, Sean Welsh, Louis Longridge (Liam McLeish 76), Roddy MacGregor, Will Tizzard, Zak Rudden, Jack Turner (Seb Drozd 70), Ryan Duncan (Josh Hinds 81), Dane Murray, Cammy Kerr (Zach Mauchin 81), Henry Fieldson
Unused substitutes – Jack Wills (G/k), Reece Evans, Rocco Hickey-Fugaccia, Magnus Mackenzie, Darryl Carrick
Partick Thistle – Myles Roberts, Harry Milne, Kyle Turner (Robbie Crawford 70), Stuart Bannigan, Brian Graham (Ricco Diack 85), Logan Chalmers, Scott Robinson (Luke McBeth 61), Daniel O’Reilly, Aidan Fitzpatrick (Liam Smith 86), Lee Ashcroft, Kanayo Megwa
Unused substitutes – Mason McCready (G/k), Aaron Muirhead, Charlie Sayers, Ben Stanway, James Lyon,
Referee – Craig Napier
Starting Eleven
