Dismal start downs Queen’s
Ten-man Spiders struggle at Balmoor
Queen’s Park manager Gus MacPherson rued his side’s slow start as Peterhead ran riot in the opening 45 minutes at Balmoor.
Ryan Strachan powered in a 10th minute header before Grant Anderson marked his debut with a superb volley from just outside the box in the 25th minute.
Rory McAllister added Peterhead’s third from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute after he was brought down by Ryan McGeever, who was sent off for picking up a second yellow card.
McAllister netted again in the 63rd minute with a well-taken individual goal to complete the scoring and the Spiders’ misery.
MacPherson said: “You take credit from the fact the players kept going in the second half but if you start the game in the fashion that we did, losing the goals in the manner we did, it was always going to be a long afternoon.
“That was disappointing but it is how you react in the next game, that is the most important thing.”
Peterhead manager Jim McInally was probably the neutral with the biggest smile on his face at Hampden last Tuesday as Queen’s ran their guts out in the Scottish Cup defeat to Ayr on penalties.
And he had reasons to be cheerful as his team started the weekend’s game on the front foot. Within the first 20 seconds, William Muir came to the rescue of Queen’s twice, saving well from Jamie Stevenson and McAllister.
The Spiders did threaten briefly themselves after four minutes, winning a corner which saw Jamie McKernon get a brief glimpse at the home goal but shot wide.
The next Peterhead attack saw McGeever pulled up for a foul on McAllister, and more significantly, the defender also earned a yellow card.
A couple of minutes later, he was at the heart of the action again as the home side won a corner. Queen’s were all over the place as the ball came in and Strachan had space to nod past the helpless Muir.
It got worse after 25 minutes when Anderson was left on his own to volley home following a break on the right.
At this point, Queen’s feared the worst; shortly after the half hour, they knew there was no way back. McAllister broke clear and tangled with McGeever. Referee Graham saw it as a second yellow offence and a penalty. The big defender walked, McAllister scored – and it was 3-0 and game over.
MacPherson made one change at the break, bringing on Gavin Mitchell for Sean Burns. It made no difference in an instantly forgettable opening 15 minutes.
The home side knew the points were safe and Queen’s knew they were gone.
Muir tipped a great effort from Nathan Blockley round the post after 54 minutes.
But McAllister struck the final blow to put the home side 4-0 ahead with a fine strike from outside the box.