LATEST NEWS
For previous news articles see the monthly archive at the foot of this page.
Ups and downs 30th April 2002
Some former Queens players have been in the news recently as their respective teams are enjoying success or suffering.

Mark Angel for instance was instrumental in setting up both goals in Boston United's victory over Hayes at the weekend that saw the Lincolnshire side step up from the Conference as Champions to the third division of the English football league, it was also interesting to note that big Neil Tarrant formerly with Ross County and Aston Villa also plies his trade with the Pilgrims, Queens fans will certainly remember him as he always performed well against us. If you are interested then you can catch a programme on BBC 2 on Thursday evening at 7.30pm about Boston.

Steve Preen has settled in well since returning to Gateshead after his unsuccessful spell at Palmerston last season, the big striker has again topped the north east sides scoring charts and walked away with their player of the season award.

Both Warren Hawke and Des McKeown left us during the season and both joined sides that were ultimately relegated, Morton and Stenhousemuir respectively, commiserations to them both. Paul Harvey and David Milne also facing the drop with the Warriors.

Gareth McGhie, Phil Nixon and Alan Hogg all returned to Ashington after spells at Queens, unfortunately though after winning promotion under new manager Cec Irwin last season they could not sustain their position in the Northern League First Division and have this term been relegated after the shortest of stays.

Coming in the opposite direction may be Esh Winning who Stuart Connolly now plays for, however it will be a close run thing as Esh will have to wait for the results of the Penrith v South Shields and Prudoe Town v Shotton Comrades games, if both Penrith and Prudoe win then Esh loose out on goal difference.

Finally on a high note congratulations to Jon Sunderland and his new side Whitley Bay who have made it to the FA Vase final, normally played at Wembley, this year will take place at Villa Park, good luck to Jon and to Whitley Bay.

If we've missed anyone let us know.
Championship Merchandise 30th April 2002
Look out later in the week for a Shop update when we will be adding a section just for the items produced to celebrate the championship complete with photo's.
Player of the Season 29th April 2002
What a nail-bitting climax to this season's Internet Fan Club Player of the Season award, prior to the game on Saturday Andy Aitken held a 0.02 point lead from Peter Weatherson, both put in tremendous performances, Nellie scoring once and Andy keeping it tight at the back. The Man of the Match award went to the Geordie striker with a very high 8.83, second place was taken by PFA Player of the Season for the second division John O'Neill, third though was Andy Aitken with a score of 7.95, but would it be enough to hold off Nellie?

The scores have been tallied up and the averages arrived at this evening, the gap between the two reducing to a mere 0.008 and we have had to drop to one more decimal place to split them, the winner by the slimmest of margins is Andy Aitken. Congratulations to the big man from Annan who held his nerve, won his way back into the side and proved again that he is the linchpin of our defence. Check back later in the week when we hope to have an interview with the man himself and thanks to all of the fans for taking the time to vote and making this years contest the closest yet.

The votes from Saturday were as follows and remember that you can download the full spreadsheet used for calculating the scores via the Man of the Match link.
Scott
Rating: 7.73
Atkinson
Rating: 7.75
Thomson
Rating: 7.87
Aitken
Rating: 7.95
Anderson
Rating: 7.31
S1 1
Moore
Rating: 7.46
1
O'Neill
Rating: 8.24
Connell
Rating: 7.45
S2
McAlpine
Rating: 7.89
S3
Lyle
Rating: 7.76
1
Weatherson
Rating: 8.83
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 67 - 1
O'Connor
Rating: 7.00
S2 - 67
Bowey
Rating: 6.57
S3 - 72
Crawford
Rating: 6.28
Donald
Dawson
SPFA Awards 28th April 2002
Congratulations to our very own John O'Neill for winning the Scottish Professional Footballers Scottish Second Division Player of the Year award, arguably the most prestigious of the national awards as it is voted for by the players themselves, Jonjo won the award ahead of Paul Tosh of Forfar, Gary Wood of Berwick and Graeme Brown of Cowdenbeath.
Video Clips 28th April 2002
Here are some video clips to bring back yesterday's celebrations and see a couple of the goals, click on the link and wait a few minutes until it downloads or right click and save to disk before playing
John O'Neill Scores

Sean O'Connor Seals it

Some fans are on the pitch.....

All clips courtesy of David Gow
Shirt Draw 28th April 2002
It's the time of the year when you need to convince your boss or yourself that the profile of your company needs to be raised both within the local community and nationally, the best way of achieving this is of course via the annual Queen of the South Shirt Draw where your company could end up on the shirts of the Doonhamers for a full season in the Scottish First Division.

The details have now been released and you can check them out by clicking on the 'Shirt Draw' box on the right hand side of your screen, you can also download an entry form print it and send it in with your cash.
Paddy is a Music Man 28th April 2002
Mr Versatile Paddy Atkinson famed for his regular Saturday morning slot on Teamtalk 252 has now released a dance track cassette which is on sale at £3. It features Paddy himself and ITV commentator Guy Mowbray now known as the Safri duo. Apart from the music it features four of our most crucial matches on our way to the championship - the 1-0 win at Clydebank which took us to the top of the table, the memorable 6-5 victory over Morton, the promotion winning 3-1 win over Hamilton and the 3-0 romp up at Forfar which gave us the title.

Paddy provides the music with Guy giving the commentary of the four matches. It is also hoped to release a CD in the near future but meanwhile you can order your cassette via the Club Shop on the website.
FAN..tastic 28th April 2002
Queens historian Ian Black and Press Officer Bill Goldie have been doing some research today and from the records that they hold have come up with some answers to the question that everyone is asking;

When was the last time we had more than 6158 at Palmerston?
August 1985 versus Celtic in the Skol Cup

What about in the league?
January 3rd 1966, 7500 to watch the neerday derby versus Ayr United
Great Honour 28th April 2002
Speaking today to Queen's Press Officer Bill Goldie, Travel Club Player of the Year Alan Gray said, "It was a great honour to receive the award, especially in such a successful and competitive season when quite a few players could well have been chosen, it came as a real shock as I thought John O'Neill would be favourite.

Yesterday was the greatest day of my life and I'd like to thank all those fans that who voted for me. I also received a beautiful Player of the Year award from the Globe Inn (Howff) fans, so I'd like to thank them as well, it's been a tremendous season but it's a pity I missed the final game with an injury I picked up late in the match against Forfar. I think I featured in every game up until then and I would love to have played in the last one as well.

We had a great time last night and tonight we're off up to the PFA Player of the Year awards, there's over a dozen of us attending and we're all wearing full highland dress in the Queen of the South tartan and will be rooting for John O'Neill to win as he is in the four nominations in our division.

By the way I do qualify to wear the kilt since I'm half Scottish - my mothers a Scot, she's been trying to get me into a kilt for years and she's finally succeeded and is so proud."
Player of the Year Awards 28th April 2002
A fantastic night was had by all at the Nith Hotel following the final league match of the season. At the Doonhamers Travel Club Player of the Year night, the awards given were as follows:-

Goal of the Season (Ian Corbett Memorial Trophy)
1 - George O'Boyle v Cowdenbeath away (2nd goal of game)
2 - Peter Weatherson v Hamilton Accies home
3 - Joe McAlpine v Stranraer away.

Rear of the Year (Female Supporters Award)
1 - John O'Neill
2 - Peter Weatherson
3 - Paddy Atkinson

Away Day Player of the Year (Langley Muir Memorial Award)
1 - Jim Thomson & Joe McAlpine - tied award
2 - Colin Scott
3 - John O'Neill

Young Player of the Year
1 - Joe McAlpine
2 - Andy Aitken
3 - Peter Weatherson

Player of the Year
1 - Alan Gray
2 - John O'Neill
3 - Peter Weatherson

Celebrations went on well into the night but, whilst Joe McAlpine was the man of the evening, it was Alan Gray who went to bed with the big trophy. A fantastic achievement in his first season with the club. In his speech, he paid tribute to manager John Connolly and looked forward to next season in the First Division. Credit where credit is due, a tremendous end to the season and a fitting tribute to the squad and manager.

Ewan Lithgow
Reaction 27th April 2002
John Connolly was a happy man after the game, "It's just a perfect end to a perfect season", he said, "now it's time to relax, go out and party and enjoy a few beers. We won promotion and also the championship so we've achieved more in two years than we ever hoped to achieve in three years.

The crowd today was tremendous - over 6000 - far more than anyone expected, I only hope they'll support us as well next season when we move up a level to division 1. Our objective would be to stay up and if we could manage a mid-table place in the league it would be great."

Asked if he could pick out any really crucial games which turned the tide he admitted, "There were a few critical times throughout the season but I think the end of February and the beginning of March were the most important, we beat Clydebank 1-0 away from home when they were top of the table and after losing at Hamilton we beat Stranraer twice in four days, we then won the next two games against Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir and I think we were the only team in the league to win four on the trot throughout the entire season."

Next week it's time to sort out contracts for next season which is never an easy job but I reckon we'll need to sign about five or six new players to compete in the higher division."
Paddy's Patter 27th April 2002
One of the happiest players following Saturday's victory at Forfar was Paddy Atkinson. When asked what winning a Scottish League Championship medal meant to him the Geordie joker said, "It's just great! My medal will be one of my most treasured possessions, right up there with the autograph of Kenny Crichton - the country's top physio (pictured right).

"Seriously though, it does mean a great deal to me. My great great grandfather was a Scotsman and he collected an F.A. Cup Winners medal with Notts County way back in 1894 (Team Group below).
These past two weeks must rate as the most memorable of my football career and it's a great honour to be part of such a successful team. However I'll never forget my debut for Hartlepool when I scored two goals - also my first game for Newcastle Reserves, (under Kevin Keegan) when I netted a "hat trick".


The team spirit, both on the park and in the dressing room has been great all season and the manager and backroom staff have also been brilliant. If there is a 'fall-out' we get it off our chests and it's usually all over in five minutes. John Connolly knows when to let us have a laugh and joke but he also knows where to draw the line.

And the fans. For a small club they've been absolutely tremendous - particularly the support away from home. It makes every away match feel like a home game. I can tell you all the lads really appreciate it.

I'm really looking forward to Saturday now. There will be a real buzz at Palmerston and we'll be all out to win and make it a day to remember."
Press..ing Engagements 25th April 2002
If you like to make sure that you get to hear everything said about Queens this weekend then here's a short guide of those that we are aware of and are in addition to the usual outlets and is probably not exhaustive:

West Sound : Ronnie Bradford live interview tomorrow morning between 9.00am and 10.30am.

BBC TV : Feature on Queens between 6.30pm and 7.00pm Friday evening.

BBC Radio Scotland : Feature on Queens between 6.00pm and 9.00pm Friday evening.

BBC Radio Scotland : Feature on Queens Saturday morning.
Goodies 25th April 2002
Bring with you a large supply of cash or a cheque book, remember no credit or debit cards can be accepted at Palmerston, to the match on Saturday as there will be lots of Championship celebration merchandise available at the Club Shop.

The window opens at 1.00pm and you will find new T Shirts, button badges, flags, miniature bottles of whisky, (if you are after full size commemorative bottles then T B Watson are supplying those from their shop in English Street, 01387 256601, at £20.99 for a good malt) and other items specifically designed to celebrate the Second Division Championship. Here's a samples of the new designs.

Polo top design

Button badge design
STOP PRESS
A new championship team group photograph will also be available on Saturday, make sure you get there early!
Saturday - What's On 25th April 2002
Everyone associated with the club is looking forward to their being a carnival atmosphere at Palmerston on Saturday, the gates will open at 1.00pm and children that are accompanied by an adult will be admitted for just £1.

Kirkcudbright pipe band will provide the pre-match and half-time entertainment and the players will be kicking balls into the crowd for the kids before kick-off.

Present on Saturday will be the Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Honorary Life President of United Distillers who produce Bell's Scotch Whisky and sponsor the three Scottish Football Leagues. Lord Macfarlane will present the Bell's Scottish Second Division Trophy to Queens after the game.

Also in attendance will be Peter Donald and Jim Oliver from the Scottish Football League and Alison Gray from Bell's representing the sponsors.

There's lots happening so come early.
Team News 25th April 2002
A couple of injuries have been picked up ahead of Saturday's match against Morton with George O'Boyle definitely missing out and Alan Gray looking very doubtful, Alan has featured in all of Queens matches this season and following a knee injury last week at Forfar it looks very doubtful that he will be able to complete the season on Saturday.

Steve Bowey and Joe McAlpine are also struggling with minor knocks although both should be fit enough for the match.
QOS Fan Club 25th April 2002
The Queen of the South Fan Club awarded their prizes for this season to the recipients at Palmerston earlier this evening.

Player of the Season - John O'Neill

Young Player of the Season - Joe McAlpine

Remember that the Doonhamers Travel Club will make their awards, traditionally the major award, at the end of season dance on Saturday evening.
Man of the Match 25th April 2002
No doubt this week who was favourite for the Man of the match award from the Internet Fan Club, Peter Weatherson with a two goal all action performance takes the honour in some style, his average score of 9.42 being the highest ever recorded by a Queens player in the three years that the voting has been taking place. Runner-up was strike partner Derek Lyle with wing-man Joe McAlpine taking third place.

Nellie's performance means that the player of the season award will be decided on the las day of the season as her has reduced the lead over him held by Andy Aitken to just 0.02, make sure that your vote counts and check on Monday evening to see who will be this years Internet Fan Club Player of the Year. The rest of the voting went as follows and the player of the season league table has also been updated and can be found via the Man of the Match link.
Scott
Rating: 7.49
Atkinson
Rating: 7.64
Thomson
Rating: 7.63
Aitken
Rating: 7.92
Anderson
Rating: 7.25
S2
Gray
Rating: 8.05
O'Neill
Rating: 8.13
Connell
Rating: 7.70
S3
McAlpine
Rating: 8.34
S1
Lyle
Rating: 8.47
2
Weatherson
Rating: 9.42
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 76 - 1
O'Connor
Rating: 7.47
S2 - 80
Bowey
Rating: 6.78
S3 - 87
Crawford
Donald
Dawson
Shock Result 22nd April 2002
Annan Athletic this evening booked their place in the final of the South of Scotland Challenge Cup with a 2-0 victory over Queens at Palmerston, the first goal for the Galabank side came in the fourth minute through Gary McMennamin and the second in the last minute through Graham Moffat, in between times Queens had the bulk of the pressure but could not break down a tight Annan defence. First team players having an outing for Queens tonight were Stuart Davidson, Derek Allan, Jon Crawford and Barry Donald.

Good luck to Annan Athletic in the final.
See the Goals and Celebrations 21st April 2002
Click on the link and wait a few minutes until it downloads or right click and save to disk before playing
Nellie scores with the head

Nellie scores with the foot

Sean drives his into the top corner

Time to celebrate

All clips courtesy of David Gow
Site News 21st April 2002
There may be some delay on Monday and Tuesday evening in bringing you updates of the site and including the MoM voting, this will hopefully not be an issue however if nothing appears for the next couple of days then please accept our apologies in advance.
Reaction 21st April 2002
Speaking after the match yesterday John Connolly admitted to being overwhelmed and overjoyed at the reaction at the end and who could believe that two years ago at this time we were on the verge of relegation, said John, "I can only repeat what I said last week, I'm absolutely thrilled for everyone, we came up here with a big challenge in front of us but we showed a positive approach to the game and won it well, our aim this season was first and foremost promotion but after last Saturday a lot of attention was off the players and we could go out and play an attacking game. It was a very good performance and had it not been for their keeper it could well have been four or five nil but much of the credit must go to my backroom staff who have worked so hard this season, the directors for their backing and last but by no means least the fans who have been brilliant."

Interviews went on for some time yesterday afternoon, listen out for Nellie being interviewed on West Sound, he was actually in the shower at the time!
Championship Downloads 20th April 2002
Customise your PC now with the latest most up to date Queen of the South downloads; two options for windows wallpaper and one new championship screensaver, follow the instructions below:

SCREENSAVER
All that you need to do is click on the picture of the still that we have taken from the screen saver, a box will open on the screen asking what you want to do with the file, chose the 'Save to disk' option and when asked specify a location on your hard disk that you will remember easily. The screen saver program will then download to this location. Once downloaded use Windows Explorer to locate the file on your machine, the name will be the same as we have named it below the graphic, and double click on the program name when you find it. Follow the on-screen instructions to set it up as your default screen saver.
[Official QOS Screen Saver]
FILE NAME = setup.exe

WALLPAPER
To set your computer to use one of the Queen of the South wallpapers provided below just click on the small picture of the wallpaper that you prefer with your mouse. The full image will then download and display on your computer, when it has completed click on the image with your right mouse button, a box will appear and you should then click on the 'Set as Wallpaper' option. Your computer will then set this image as your wallpaper.

If you ever want to change it back then click on 'Control Panel' in the 'Start' menu 'Settings' directory and choose the 'Display' icon, you will find all the options there. You may need to visit this area of the control panel if the Queens logo in the top right of the screen is not fully displayed, to correct this choose the stretch option, this will ensure that the screen is filled with the full wallpaper.
[Official QOS Wallpaper]
Official QOS Champs 1 Wallpaper
Set with the STRETCH option in control panel
[]
Official QOS Champs 2 Wallpaper
Set with the STRETCH option in control panel
International Footie 19th April 2002
If you can't get up to Forfar tomorrow you could still see a couple of Queens players in action as both Liam McDougall and Ross Kerr appear for Scotland Under 18's against Wales at Palmerston in the Victory Shield competition, that England have already won, with an 11:00am kick-off.
Team News 19th April 2002
Apologies for the lack of an update last night and the lateness of tonight's update however both were unavoidable.

The team news for this weekend is very simple, all players are fit and available for selection, no injury worries and no suspensions to contend with.

For those travelling tomorrow check out the advice from Bradley Harrison on the message board, it may save you a lot of time!
Could it Happen Again? 17th April 2002
Following a run of sixteen unbeaten league games stretching as far back as December Queens travelled to Station Park, Forfar for the last game of the 1950/51 season on the 28th April 1951. A win was required for the team to lift the championship and they duly delivered with a 2-0 victory. This secured Queens only league championship to date. On Saturday history is given the chance to repeat itself as a win at Station Park in the penultimate game of this season would ensure that the Bell's Scottish Second Division Championship was brought back to Palmerston, indeed depending upon Alloa's result even a defeat could be enough to win the championship.

Not many Queens fans will be able remember the last time the championship was secured and even fewer will be able to say that they were there, one man who was however is well known face and Club Shop Manager John Paterson. As a teenager John made the trip to Station Park and joined in Queens only ever Championship celebrations as he helped to carry the team shoulder high from the pitch. John will be there again on Saturday as he has continued his home and away support for the Doonhamers ever since and is hopeful of making his second championship celebrations on the same ground as the first.
Leave Plenty of Time 17th April 2002
If you plan to travel to the match versus Forfar at Station Park on Saturday then please leave plenty of time, road works around Cumbernauld could add a significant delay to your journey, possibly up to one hour.
Nominations 17th April 2002
The nominations have been announced in the race for the Second Division Players Player of the Year, keeping with tradition the players have tended towards the more attack minded of their colleagues and the shortlist includes, Paul Tosh - Forfar, Gary Wood - Berwick, Graeme Brown - Cowdenbeath and finally our own John O'Neill.

Good luck Jonjo.
Captain's Thoughts 16th April 2002
One of the most emotional players in the dressing room following Saturday's promotion clinching win was club captain Jim Thomson, Jim took some time out today to share his thoughts with Queen's Press Officer Bill Goldie, said Jim, "Words just can't explain what winning promotion with Queens means to me.

I know we won it at Arbroath last season but this time around means a great deal more to me, I never really wanted to leave Queens in the first place but personal circumstances at that moment in time left me with little alternative. I now accept Dumfries as my adopted home, I love the town, I love Queen of the South and I love the fans who have been absolutely brilliant this season, the last time we had support like that was at the Challenge Cup final.

I also won promotion with Clyde a few years ago and that season we went on to win the championship as well, so here's hoping I can do the same with Queens."
Rumours Denied 16th April 2002
Rumours were circulating around Palmerston on Saturday that Peter Weatherson would be joining a variety of clubs south of the border next season, however Chairman Ronnie Bradford dismissed the news and said, "I know several clubs have had Peter 'watched' over the past two season but we have not had one serious offer."
Under 18's Game 16th April 2002
The Under 18's will be playing a crucial match tomorrow evening at the Keswick Centre when they take on Queen's Park in their League Cup mini-league section, a win will put the side top of the league and put them into the semi-finals of the competition. A significant feat as their group contains the Ayr United side that reached the final of the Scottish Youth Cup this season. Good luck lads.
No Plans 16th April 2002
There are no plans to make the last game of the season versus Morton all-ticket.
Cup Success 15th April 2002
Following a convincing 6-0 win over Wigtown on Saturday, Queens won through to the semi-final of the Southern Counties Challenge Cup with a 4-1 victory over Threave Rovers at Palmerston tonight.

Scorers for Queens were Gordon Connelly in the first half, George O'Boyle, Lennie Walker and Paul Burns, they will now meet Annan Athletic, who defeated Stranraer 2-1 tonight, Ian Harty missing a penalty, in the semi-final at Palmerston next Monday night.

In the other semi-final Tarff Rovers will play Gretna.
Man of the Match 15th April 2002
The moment in the fortieth minute at Palmerston on Saturday when Colin Scott dived full length to his right hand side to push away the spot kick with the scores standing at nil nil was enough to ensure that he was rewarded by the Internet Fan Club as the Man of the Match, second place in the voting went to Peter Weatherson for his goal of the season contender and third to Derek Lyle for another outstanding performance for the Doonhamers.

The Player of the Season league table has been updated and remains very finely balanced between Andy Aitken or Peter Weatherson whilst the remaining scores were as follows:
Scott
Rating: 8.67
Atkinson
Rating: 7.04
Thomson
Rating: 6.70
Aitken
Rating: 7.14
Anderson
Rating: 6.66
Gray
Rating: 7.38
S1
O'Neill
Rating: 6.97
Connell
Rating: 6.82
McAlpine
Rating: 6.84
S3 1
Lyle
Rating: 8.01
S2 1
Weatherson
Rating: 8.15
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 75
Bowey
Rating: 5.61
S2 - 78
O'Connor
Rating: 5.17
S3 - 86
Moore
O'Boyle
Dawson
Reaction 13th April 2002
Manager, John Connolly, was naturally delighted with the result, said John, "I am absolutely thrilled, thrilled for everyone at the club who have worked so hard, thrilled for the fans, again they were brilliant and thrilled for the local community.

For the past few weeks we have been so close to the finishing line but today we have crossed it and clinched promotion. I've told the players to go out and celebrate tonight, they deserve it, then to come back fighting next week and win the championship which would really be the icing on the cake, it's been a great day and one I'll never forget."

Penalty save hero Colin Scott who was deservedly named as the sponsors Man of the Match said, "It was a soft penalty but I just had a feeling he was going to put it to my right and fortunately I guessed correctly."

In the dressing room after the game the players celebrated with beer and soaked the three photographers present in their excitement, what about the champagne they asked, we're keeping that for the championship the players shouted.

Chairman Ronnie Bradford who has done so much to make promotion a reality was greeted with a huge cheer when he ventured into the dressing room, and how Ronnie deserved it.
Team News 11th April 2002
Ahead of Saturday's clash with Hamilton Accies at Palmerston the Queens team news sees two players returning to the squad from injury as both Paddy Atkinson, after missing three games, returns and George O'Boyle, after missing two months, also makes a comeback. This leaves only Derek Allan on the sidelines and provides John Connolly with the largest squad that he has had for some time to select from as there are no suspensions to contend with either for what is another crucial match.
Win Tickets 10th April 2002
Our match ball sponsor for Saturday, Stuart McLaren of "The Only Team in the Bible" website is offering a chance to win free tickets for Saturdays match versus Hamilton at Palmerston. For a chance to win visit Stuart's site at www.qosfan.co.uk
Programme Award 9th April 2002
Congratulations to Editor Bruce Wright and all who contribute to the Queens matchday programme after the publication came third in the Second Division programme of the year awards announced recently. Only the full-colour programmes of Hamilton Accies and Stenhousemuir came above, "The Queens", and this when the Accies recently didn't produce a programme for a match stating financial reasons.
Man of the Match 8th April 2002
In the words of Jimmy Greaves, "It's a funny old game", well that is certainly true of the voting for the Man of the Match this weekend following a game that saw the four man defence leak more goals in defeat this season than in any other whilst still managing to produce the top three performers in the side.

Goalscorer Alan Gray topped the averages with his second Man of the Match award, the first also against Alloa, Jim Thomson was second and Andy Aitken third.

The Player of the Season league table has been updated and can be found via the Man of the match link whilst the rest of the side scored as follows:
Scott
Rating: 5.02
1
Gray
Rating: 6.57
Thomson
Rating: 5.83
Aitken
Rating: 5.32
Anderson
Rating: 4.09
S2
Connelly
Rating: 3.85
S1
O'Neill
Rating: 4.17
Bowey
Rating: 5.13
McAlpine
Rating: 4.79
Lyle
Rating: 5.04
O'Connor
Rating: 4.74
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 65
Connell
Rating: 4.86
S2 - 78
Weatherson
Rating: 4.45
Crawford
Donald
Dawson
Reaction 6th April 2002
A disappointed John Connolly said after the game, "The difference between the two sides today was they appeared to want to win but we didn't, they beat us well and truly in the battling department that's the bottom line. However we're still top of the league with only three weeks to go and there's still a lot to play for but we've got to be positive. One win would be enough for us to go up but the longer it goes before we get that win the more the pressure is on us and I certainly don't want to leave it until the last kick of the season.

Clydebank are now out of the equation as far as we are concerned but Forfar are still in there fighting and we play them in two weeks time, but I'd like to think that the promotion issue would be all settled by then.

But once more a big thank you to all the travelling fans,; again you were great."

Added Alan Gray, scorer of our only goal, "It was my first goal for Queens but it's a pity it didn't come in more positive circumstances, I would gladly have sacrificed the goal if we could have come home with a point, however it wasn't to be. Like all of the other lads I'm bitterly disappointed"
Tomorrow 5th April 2002
The situation regarding what can and can't be achieved tomorrow can be clarified as follows:

Queens can't win the title tomorrow.

Queens can be promoted tomorrow in the following circumstances:
Queens Win

Forfar Draw or Lose
Queens Draw

Forfar Lose
AND
Clydebank Draw or Lose
Manager of the Month 5th April 2002
John Connolly has picked up his third Bell's Division Two Manager of the Month award of the season for his side's performances in the month of March, a month that saw Queens take over top spot and build a five point lead over their nearest challengers with five victories a draw and one loss.
Team News 4th April 2002
A bit earlier tonight than usual following a visit to the training session, here is the team news for Saturday as follows:

Out - Calf strain

In - But not pretty!

Out - Long term

Out - Long term
Some major good news this evening is that Derek Lyle has had his loan deal extended until the end of the season.
Man of the Match 4th April 2002
Steve Bowey returned from injury with a vengeance on Tuesday evening as he won his third in Man of the Match award in only his fourth start for the club, second place went to Sean O'Connor who notched his first goal for Queens and against his previous club. Third place went to two goal John O'Neill. This was a first in terms of the top three players for Queens as all three scored an average of over 8 points, normally more than eight would guarantee a MoM award.

The player of the season league table has also been updated and can be found via the Man of the match link on the left, the rest of the scores were as follows.
Scott
Rating: 7.55
Gray
Rating: 7.24
Thomson
Rating: 6.33
Aitken
Rating: 7.98
Crawford
Rating: 6.91
S1
Connelly
Rating: 6.84
2
O'Neill
Rating: 8.13
Bowey
Rating: 8.42
S2
McAlpine
Rating: 7.13
Lyle
Rating: 7.58
1 S3
O'Connor
Rating: 8.16
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 73
Moore
Rating: 5.44
S2 - 79
Connell
Rating: 5.77
S3 - 87
Weatherson
Donald
Dawson
Jonjo Scores 3rd April 2002
Thanks to Queens fan and regular website contributor David Gow we can bring you a video clip showing John O'Neill's first goal and Queen's second from last night's match at Cappielow. To view, click on the still from the clip shown below and the video should download and start to play in your preferred media player, e.g. Windows Media Player or Real Media Player. Alternatively right click and 'save as' specifying your preffered location.
[Download Video Clip]
Doonhamer Dogs 3rd April 2002
Physio Kenny Crichton's girlfriend Lisa is the owner of a seven-year-old West Highland Terrier called Bobby, the little fellow can now be spotted sporting the name of his favourite football team as Lisa has him kitted out in a Queen of the South dog coat.

If you fancy something similar then you can see some other examples at the suppliers site at soccerdogs.co.uk, amongst the other coats available are a range of English sides the usual Scottish sides and the company will design a coat to your specification.
Reaction 2nd April 2002
Speaking to Queen's Press Officer Bill Goldie from the team bus as it made its way home from Cappielow a delighted John Connolly said, "Another tremendous result, the effort shown by the players tonight was just out of this world and the fans; they were magnificent as well.

We are still very much in the driving seat and the teams below us can't afford to lose a match, we are almost there but we've a big match against Alloa on Saturday and it's my job to bring the lads back down to earth from this one.

We had no serious injuries but Gordon Connelly got a nasty knock on the face by the guy that was sent off. It was quite a bruising battle out there tonight but we were worthy winners."
Who are we playing? 2nd April 2002
There was some debate recently as to who tonight's opponents were, some said plain Morton some said Greenock Morton, well the answer, according to the Scottish Football League can now be revealed as one helpful fan has taken the time to write off for the definitive answer, the SFL's response was as follows:

"For your information, although the club have been commonly referred to as "Greenock Morton Football Club" over the years, up to and including season 1992/93 the club had been registered at the Scottish Football League as "Morton Football Club". For your information, the terms of SFL Rule 70 state as follows:-

"Any club wishing to make any alteration to the designated name of the club or ground must first obtain the prior written consent of the Management Committee."

The club at that time had been under the misapprehension that they had always been registered at The Scottish Football League as "Greenock Morton Football Club" and after they had been advised by this office that this indeed was not the case, they made an application to the SFL Management Committee to change their registered name to "Greenock Morton Football Club" with effect from season 1993/94 onwards. However, during the course of season 1998/99 the club made an application to the League Management Committee to delete the word "Greenock" from their registered name and with effect from season 1999/2000 and at the time of writing, the club is still registered at the Scottish Football League in terms of SFL Rule 70 as "Morton Football Club".".

Contributed
Team News 1st April 2002
Both Paddy Atkinson and Colin Scott will undergo late fitness checks to determine if they will be fit enough to start against Morton tomorrow evening. Derek Anderson misses out with a straight red card meaning an automatic one match ban and both George O'Boyle and Derek Allan are both still sidelined through injury. Morton are reported as having a full squad to pick from.

Despite newspaper information the game tomorrow will kick-off at 7.45pm at Cappielow.
Man of the Match 1st April 2002
Andy Aitken has now produced a string of top class displays since regaining his position in the side, indeed the combination of Aitken and Thomson is seen by many as the cornerstone of our success this season, as a result of an impressive display on Saturday Ackers wins another Man of the Match award from the Internet Fan Club and moves ahead in the Player of the Season league table. In second place came Derek Lyle who performed tirelessly as usual and third this week was shared between Alan Gray and Peter Weatherson.

The Player of the Season league table has been updated and can be found via the Man of the Match link and the rest of the side scored as follows:
S1
Scott
Rating: 5.79
Gray
Rating: 6.63
Thomson
Rating: 6.60
Aitken
Rating: 7.30
Anderson
Rating: 5.40
Connolly
Rating: 5.30
S2
Davidson
Rating: 4.81
Connell
Rating: 5.67
McAlpine
Rating: 6.40
Lyle
Rating: 6.86
S3
Weatherson
Rating: 6.63
SUBSTITUTES
S1 - 45
Dawson
Rating: 5.49
S2 - 45
O'Neill
Rating: 5.19
S3 - 75
O'Connor
Rating: 4.24
Moore
Bowey
Sun Stats.! 1st April 2002
Put it down to the date but the Sun today reckoned that the 2758 that attended Palmerston on Saturday was our largest league crowd since 1978, just a wee bit out there then as it was our largest league crowd since 2001!
Reaction 30th March 2002
Said John Connolly after the match, "Considering all of the things that went against us this afternoon, a draw was a great result and with both Alloa and Clydebank drawing it keeps us out in front at the top.

Just before kick-off we lost Paddy Atkinson with a calf strain then at half time we had to take off Colin Scott with a hamstring injury, this meant that we had to play the whole second half with a new 'keeper who had only met the rest of the squad at training on Thursday night for the first time. To make matters even worse Derek Anderson was sent off and we had to play the last fifteen minutes reduced to ten men.

So all in all it really was a great result. We are not going to score three or four goals every week but I believe that's our first goalless draw this season, which can't be bad. We created a lot of chances out there but just couldn't find the net.

From now on in every game is going to be like a cup final and although we're five points clear with only five games to go it's not over until the fat lady sings."
Youngest Ever 29th March 2002
The Internet Fan Club has been growing apace recently with over 1500 members now registered, this afternoon though we were joined by the youngest member yet and at only one and a quarter hours old Holly Iona Pearson has made her way into the hoards of Doonhamers all over the world, her Uncle Paul Pearson registered Holly who was born at 2pm UK time in Cairo, Egypt. Congratulations to all.

So can anyone beat the one and a quarter hour record then?, maybe if laptops are allowed into maternity wards eh Sandy!
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