2007/08 Season Review

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

Part Five - November

14th June 2008

Queens luck finally started to change in a bizarre game at Palmerston in which the league leaders Hamilton Academical were sent back up the road without any points. Accies scored in the first minute through James McCarthy and dominated the first hour of the match without adding any further goals before the introductions of Bingham and Gilmour changed the course of the game. In two crazy minutes Bingham harassed Mark McLaughlin into turning a long Harris throw into his own net after his keeper completely missed the ball and then Gilmour was allowed time to hit a shot that struck the goalpost and then the back of keeper Halliwell's head before going into the net. The goal was credited to Gilmour though. Defeats for Dunfermline and Clyde and a draw for Stirling Albion meant we climbed up three spots to 7th. Gilmour celebrates his 'goal'.

About this time Neil McGowan, whose move to Palmerston clearly hadn't worked out, went out on loan to Stranraer for an initial month that eventually became two.

The second home defeat of the season followed though as Morton came and played us off the park with a performance the quality of which wasn't seen from another opponent at Palmerston all season. Steve Tosh actually struck us in front fairly early on but returning favourite Peter Weatherson levelled before the interval and earned much respect for his refusal to celebrate the goal on his old stamping ground. Although Morton deserved the win they went in front with a hugely controversial late penalty awarded against Neil Scally for handball. In the final minute Weatherson set up Chris Millar to add a third. We wouldn't lose another game at Palmerston all season after that though. With another week off due to internationals Chisholm took the opportunity to field the first team in the Southern Counties Cup tie at Palmerston against Fleet Star. To no great surprise they ran up a 10-0 victory that could easily have been a lot more. Despite Sean's effort Morton took a deserved victory back to Greenock

And so the great Scottish Cup odyssey began North of Aberdeen at the end of November. 182 days later it would end in the sunshine at Hampden Park but for now it was a trip to Peterhead and a tie many predicted for a shock. There was little hint of one on the park though and from the moment Dobbie seized on Mann's short back header to open the scoring there was no doubt which team was going to win. O'Connor added a second before half time and a third shortly after it before Dobbie and Burns scored late goals to give the scoreline a flattering margin. Peterhead though had missed a penalty at 3-0 that might have made things a little more interesting. The month ended with the news that Paul Burns had signed a contract extension keeping him at the club until May 2010 whilst the next round of the cup would see a visit from the first Junior side to make the 4th round, Linlithgow Rose. In the league we sat 7th but only two points off the bottom.

Part Six - December December started with a quite bizarre match at Broadwood against Clyde. Queens played as well as they had all season and completely dominated yet, at the end, trooped off with nothing to show but a point from a scoreless draw. We hit the woodwork twice and had FOUR efforts cleared off the line, three of them by Carlisle's on loan centre half Dan Kirkup, but couldn't force the all-important goal. A week later and all was rosy at half time on Ian McCall's return to Palmerston with his Partick Thistle side. Dobbie's opportunist strike had us deservedly in front and there was every reason to believe we'd go on and clinch the points. The second half though was the poorest performance we'd put in for a while. Liam Buchanan seized on a JT error to equalise then headed home from a corner to win it. We dropped to joint second bottom. Buchanan wins it for Thistle.

Before the following week's match the club hosted a very successful "Blue Christmas" function at the Cairndale where former favourite George 'Chopper' Dickson proved the star of the show. Chisholm also confirmed that the opening of the transfer window would see David Bingham, Jamie Mole and the unfortunate Jamie Adams all return to their own clubs. David Nixon would also be going back to Motherwell, albeit his loan deal ran to the middle of January.

On the pitch we faced a crucial trip to Stirling Albion. Defeat would have sent us back to the bottom of the league and when Chris Aitken scored first from the penalty spot following Harris' foul on Cramb things looked bleak but a few minutes later Dobbie followed up to score when Hogarth could only parry Tosh's free kick. The game looked to be heading for a draw until Stevie Tosh struck a magnificent volley from 25 yards out into the net. John O'Neill scored a last minute penalty to add to the margin. In the following week John Collins resigned as manager of Hibernian and in so doing scuppered a deal that had been agreed to bring in a couple of young Hibernian players on loan. With Christmas around the corner we travelled to Dunfermline and lost 2-0 though not without a little bad luck along the way. Neil Scally was lost to a season ending broken ankle before the Pars took the lead. Burchill knocked home the rebound after MacDonald could only parry a free header by Simmons, whom the stricken Scally had been marking at corners. Gallacher made superb stops to deny both Dobbie and O'Neill an equaliser before Phinn broke away on a McQuilken error to clinch the points late on. Christmas brought with it a turn in fortunes though. What a second part of the season Queens would have. Dundee were the visitors to Palmerston on Boxing Day and made an 'interesting' start. Derek Lyle was sent off after just 7 minutes for aiming a kick at Jim Thomson but Dundee opened the scoring anyway when Palenik turned in from a corner. However O'Connor hit the post and then Burns equalised before the break and it was Queens who took the points when David Worrell slid Dobbie's cut back into his own net midway through the second half. Sub O'Neill still chasing.

The month ended with another home game, this time the second visit by Livingston. It was in truth an awful game notable only for Queens sneaking it courtesy of a late John O'Neill penalty after Tosh was fouled in the box. It would be the Penalty King's last goal for us. Aitken clears.

The month ended with Queens in a much healthier 6th spot in the league courtesy of six points from two home games at the end of the month. Ewan Lithgow

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