2001/02 A Championship Season Reviewed

A serialised account of our championship winning season by our man who has been at almost every match home and away - Ewan Lithgow

Part Seven - February

January had gone well, with a full complement of three wins from three games leading to much optimism. However, February would start poorly. The first game of the month saw Alloa as visitors and once again Terry Christie proved he has the measure of us. To be fair, for once Alloa were excellent. They gave us a real football lesson through the first half-hour and the biggest surprise was that they only had the one goal to show for it. The strike from Robbie Raeside had been well worth seeing though, with sporting applause from some of the home crowd such was its quality. The second half saw the "Wasps" play a more defensive game and, though Queens came back into the game a bit, there was never any real danger of an equaliser arriving. A week later, the team travelled across to Berwick and returned with another single goal defeat. Again we could have little complaint, as we didn't play well at all. We were however badly affected by injury. Both Peter Weatherson and Andy Aitken were carried off in the first half (though the defender would return after half time), whilst Allan Moore and Barry Donald came off in the second. In fact we played about quarter of an hour with ten men as a result of the injuries. The goal was an early wonder strike from well outside the box from our old friend Craig Feroz. I think it's safe to say that Messrs Feroz and Connolly are not each other's number one fan and, having scored, the striker was clearly seen to gesture and shout at his former manager.

With fourteen games remaining and the team having dropped back to fourth, the manager pulled off a double masterstroke in midweek. Steve Bowey was signed from Gateshead until the end of the season and, perhaps even more critically, the services of Derek Lyle were secured on loan from Partick Thistle. The striker was initially signed for a month but would end up seeing out the season with us. Both new signings went straight into the starting line up for the home match with Forfar as Connolly looked to freshen things up a little. The decision worked a treat, with Bowey's strike diverted in by Lyle after just 15 minutes. Two more penalties from the deadly John O'Neill made the points safe after Forfar's Brian McCloy saw red for a two-footed lunge at Joe McAlpine. Ironically this caused him to miss the "Loons" cup match against Rangers the following week.

Queens were due to travel to Morton the next Saturday but the game fell victim to a waterlogged pitch. With the signing of Lyle, Martin Glancy had found himself way out of the first team picture and so, after just three months and four games, he was allowed to join Stranraer on a free. The weekend match at Morton may have fallen victim to the weather but somehow, against all the odds, the home game against the same team got the go-ahead for Tuesday night. The match was played in dreadful weather conditions with a howling gale supplementing constant rain on a glue-pot pitch. However, those of us who braved the conditions saw a game, the likes of which we may never see again. Leading scorer John O'Neill was missing with a virus but goals "rained" in from everywhere, if you'll pardon the pun. The opening goal arrived after just 20 seconds; Joe McAlpine ramming the ball home after Bowey had struck the post. However, Morton equalised within a minute. Sean O'Connor did all the damage with a powerful run up the left side and his cross was steered home by Paul Wright. Another goal burst saw Queens score three more in the 14th, 16th and 18th minutes. Weatherson scored two of them and the other was a first goal from Bowey, finishing calmly after Weatherson, Lyle and McAlpine had harried the defence into an error. Back came Morton with goals from McPherson and O'Connor closing the gap to one. However, Queens were far from finished yet and Lyle provided a brilliant curling finish before setting McAlpine up for a sixth before half time! Nine goals in a half was a Palmerston record. After that, the second half was a bit of an anti-climax. The expected further goal avalanche never occurred though Morton did come back into the game with the wind behind them. John Gibson missed an open goal with quarter of an hour to go and with that Morton's chances went. Redmond and Hawke added consolations in the final moments but the whistle went with Queens winners by the incredible scoreline of 6-5. The month ended with Queens in third position on 39 points from 24 games, behind Alloa on goal difference and two points behind the "Bankies".

Ewan Lithgow

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