On Tuesday night Queen’s Park advanced to the fourth round of The Scottish Gas Women’s Scottish Cup after a 2-0 victory against Bonnyrigg Rose in a keenly contested cup tie under the lights.
Queen’s Park turned their attention to cup action taking to Nethercraigs Sports Complex on a freezing Tuesday night. Coming off a disappointing last minute 1-1 draw with Boroughmuir Thistle at the weekend, The Spiders were looking to right their wrongs and get back to winning ways.
Unlike the SWPL teams entering the competition at this stage, fourth tier Bonnyrigg Rose had already played through a couple of rounds eliminating BSC Glasgow with a convincing 3-0 victory in the first round and cruising past Giffnock in the second round with a dominant 5-0 win.
Craig Joyce made six changes to the starting XI from the Boroughmuir Thistle match just two days earlier. Lucy Inman, Elise Macara, Megan Quigley, Robin Gallagher, Rachael McConnachie, and Sophie McGoldrick stepped in for Lauren McGregor, Taylor Davis, Leah Daly, Monica Harty, Nicole Cairney, and Abby Callaghan, respectively.
Ellie Kane kicked off the proceedings, but the freezing temperatures added an extra layer of challenge, making the game start in a scrappy fashion, with the ball often skidding out of play. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, both teams quickly adapted and pushed forward.
The first chance of the game fell to Bonnyrigg’s Gabrielle Anderson just one minute into the game. The away side had a throw in high up the park which was intercepted by the Spiders. The ball then fell to Anderson who had an ambitious effort from around 30 yards which was comfortably caught by Lucy Inman in the Queen’s Park goal.
The Spiders looked to respond instantly as Lucy Inman rolled the ball out to Ciara Bonner. After some neat interplay between Bonner, Quigley and Craig, Bonner fired the ball up the line for Ellie Kane to chase. Kane fizzed the ball across the face of goal for Sophie McGoldrick to tap in but some brilliant last ditch defending from Bonnyrigg’s Danielle Mason cleared the ball before McGoldrick could get a touch.
In the 9th minute, The Spiders broke through courtesy of Sophie McGoldrick. Eleanor Smith drove up the park from the halfway line before feeding the ball forwards. A clever disguise by Megan Quigley allowed the ball to slip all the way through to MCGOLDRICK who had ample time to calmly slot the ball past Dudgeon, putting The Spiders in the lead.
Bonnyrigg seized a chance on the 20th minute as Danielle Mason threw the ball down the line for Saffron McCabe to chase. McCabe delivered a cross into the box, but it sailed over everyone to the opposite winger, Nicole Selkirk. Selkirk looked to cross the ball back into the box which was well delt with by Lucy Inman.
The rest of the half was flooded with chances for Queen’s Park. The Spiders consistently kept the away side confined to their half, yet the slippery conditions made the final ball difficult. Despite the challenges, numerous shots were attempted by Kane, McGoldrick, Molley, and Craig, but unfortunately, none found the back of the net.
Half-Time: Queen’s Park 1-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
Disappointed not to have a more comfortable lead at halftime, The Spiders came back out for the second half eager to put the game to bed. The game continued much like the end of the first half, with Queen’s Park dominating possession and waiting for the right moment to break through a stubborn Bonnyrigg Rose defence.
In the 60th minute, The Spiders nearly broke through once again as they were awarded a corner. Ellie Kane floated the set piece towards the edge of the 6-yard box, finding Emma Craig who made a brilliant run from the back post into the middle of the box. Craig rose highest and headed the ball goalward, unfortunately her effort rattled the post before going out for a goal kick.
Just two minutes later, The Spiders looked to double their lead as they kept possession nicely. Darcy Molley drove up the park and brilliant turned through two Bonnyrigg players before she released Nicole Cairney out wide. Cairney, inspired by Molley’s run, shimmied off two defenders allowing her to inside and fire the ball towards goal. Despite a great effort, Dudgeon in the away goal made an excellent save to keep the score level.
On the 82nd minute, Nicole Cairney danced down the right flank before drilling the ball into the box. The ball was cleared by the Bonnyrigg defence but only as far as Rachael O’Neill at the edge of the box. Her powerful strike was blocked, rebounding to Chloe Docherty, whose attempt rattled off the post.
Finally, The Spiders deserved goal came on the 84th minute. Chloe Docherty regained the ball in the middle of the park and released Nicole Cairney out wide. A lovely bit of trickery from Cairney allowed her to drive past her maker before fizzing the ball across the box. DARCY MOLLEY was waiting in the middle as she took a great touch forward before stabbing the ball into the back of the net, doubling the Spiders lead.
In the dying moments, Queen’s Park had one more opportunity on the 90th minute. A free kick was awarded after Ellie Kane was fouled at the edge of the box. Kane took the set piece, but her effort was blocked by the Bonnyrigg wall. The ball bounced around the 18-yard box, reaching Robin Gallagher, who unleashed a powerful strike, well-saved by Dudgeon.
Full-Time: Queen’s Park 2-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
Queen’s Park: Lucy Inman, Ciara Bonner, Elise Macara (Rachel Ross, 60’), Eleanor Smith, Darcy Molley, Emma Craig (Rachael O’Neill, 67’), Megan Quigley (Ami Robertson, 67’), Rachael McConnachie (Chloe Docherty, 60’), Robin Gallagher, Ellie Kane, Sophie McGoldrick (Nicole Cairney, 46’).
Subs not used: Lauren McGregor, Taylor Davis, Leah Daly.
Bonnyrigg Rose: Denise Dudgeon, Amy Horn (Ailsa Boyle, 64’), Danielle Mason, Ruth Gorman, Nicole Selkirk, Jodie Sharp (Sophie Douglas, 53’), Saffron McCabe (Kayleigh Robinson, 84’), Aimee Dilworth, Gabrielle Anderson (Alexis Curry, 84’), Niamh Naysmith, Chelsea Lowe.
Subs not used: Caitlin Lowe, Eilidh Weir.
Starting Eleven
