The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Barren run goes on for Lichties but Campbell happy with position
Arbroath goalkeeper Derek Gaston pulled off a string of fine saves but was unable to prevent his side slipping to defeat and below Queens in the table on goal difference.
Gaston was in top form to stop Stephen Dobbie celebrating his new contract extension at Palmerston with a goal.
The veteran striker put pen to paper before the match and looked determined to add to his impressive haul of goals for the club by testing Gaston from all angles.
Gaston came out on top in that personal duel, but he was beaten by Dan Pybus who diverted a Dobbie cross into the net on 33 minutes.
The keeper could then only look on in horror as Ricky Little guided a Scott Mercer cross into his own net to seal the points with three minutes remaining.
Disappointed Gaston said: “It kept me warm anyway. It tends to be like that when you come here. Sometimes he (Dobbie) gets the upper hand, sometimes you do.
“I think our biggest problem was we played well in wee spells but didn’t really test their keeper or create too much.”
It might have been different, though, had Michael McKenna’s free-kick gone in rather than striking the bar shortly before Little’s unfortunate intervention.
In truth, though, Arbroath barely deserved to take anything from the match as their barren run extended to five games without a win.
There were few complaints from Gayfield boss Dick Campbell who said: “Queen of the South had a good few chances but it’s quite ironic that they scored two of the worst goals I’ve seen this season.
“One has hit the boy on the backside and gone in and the other one is an own goal.
“Christmas might have come early for Queens with the type of goals they got, but they deserved to win the game.
“We did not create enough and I’m very angry at that; before this game, we’re three points in front of them but you come down here and don’t create a chance in 90 minutes?”
However despite slipping to seventh in the table, Campbell was able to take positives not only from Saturday’s performance, but from the season to date.
He added: “We had a lot of pressure and a lot of passing but we never created enough. How can you go through a game of football and not create chances?
“Having 22 points halfway through the season is a magnificent effort from everybody at my club. We’re part-time, remember.
“I wouldn’t say we need to look over our shoulder because we’ve always been doing that. I fell out with one or two people because they were talking about play-offs.
“I’m thinking nobody’s ever heard Dick Campbell talking about the play-offs, never. I’m only interested in finishing third-bottom so we can develop this football club.
“We want to consolidate and I think that has always been the aim.
“I think over the course of the first half of the season we have got to be happy with where we are and how many points we’ve picked up. We have to try and maintain that.”