The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Queens just hang on to deny Montrose
Petrie pleased with performance in replay but felt team deserved better
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2 MONTROSE 1
A battling Montrose side took the plaudits in last night’s William Hill Scottish Cup third round replay as they stretched their Championship hosts to the limit and just failed to pull level in a finish that saw Queens desperately hanging on.
Montrose boss Stewart Petrie was full of praise for his League Two players as they finished stronger with the home side on the rack.
He said: “I thought the energy they put in was tremendous and we certainly had Queens worried towards the end.
“The only disappointment was the end result and I felt the boys deserved more.”
Queens had gone for goal from the start and Stephen Dobbie was unlucky not to break the deadlock in the opening minutes with a 25-yard drive which just shaved the outside of the post.
Montrose keeper Allan Fleming was then twice in action, saving a deflected shot from John Rankin before turning another effort from Dobbie around the post. Queens piled on the pressure in the early stages but found themselves up against a tight Montrose rearguard prepared to give nothing away.
But the breakthrough finally came midway through the half when a freekick from the right wing broke to Dobbie 15 yards out and he cut the ball through the defenders to give keeper Fleming no chance.
Montrose just wouldn’t lie down, though, and in a break just before the interval a long cross into the box by Cammy Ballantyne escape the home defenders and seemed to be going wide before Graham Webster nipped in to head beyond the keeper.
Montrose were certainly making a game of it and Queens didn’t look too happy under pressure, particularly from the wings.
But a magic moment from veteran Derek Lyle on 68 minutes put the Dumfries men back in front as the ball drifted over the defence from a corner and the former Dundee striker turned it home from the edge of the box.
Montrose never gave up and kept the game alive with some lively forays down the wing which gave some anxious moments for the Queens defenders who were hanging on at the end to book a meeting with Partick Thistle.
Attendance: 794. Queen of the South: Martin, Rooney, Fordyce, Brownlie, Marshall, Murray (McFadden 65), Jacobs, Rankin, Dykes, Lyle (Tapping 79), Dobbie. Subs not used: Akubuine, Stirling, Leighfield, Mercer, Fergusson.
Montrose: Fleming, Ballantyne, Iain Campbell, Dillon, Fotheringham (Callaghan 55), Webster, Allan, Masson, Steeves, Fraser (Templeman 73), Hay (Johnston 66). Subs not used: McLaren, Ross Campbell.
Referee: John McKendrick.