Five goals, three off in Palmerston thriller
QOS 2
Awokoya-mebude (11), East (37)
ALLOA ATHLETIC 3
Murray (20), Connelly (44), Buchanan (77)
A delighted Peter Grant hailed his side’s character after an action-packed 3-2 victory at Palmerston Park.
Grant’s men are now four points from Championship safety and he believes his team can put a run together.
He said: “I thought we played really well and I’m proud of the boys. It was a fantastic day all-round for us and we’re all delighted to get the victory.
“We want to win games of football and we’re the only ones who can do that. We don’t want to be in a position that we are depending on others. The win will put pressure on the teams above us.
“At this moment in time, it’s still in our hands, we have to keep going. We have to put a winning run together.”
The hosts edged ahead on 11 minutes when Connor Shields cleverly played through Euan East, who squared to Dapo Mebude and he slammed home from 10 yards.
Queens almost immediately doubled their lead when
Shields used his strength to break free, but his low shot was turned wide by Neil Parry.
Alloa nearly levelled the contest five minutes later when the impressive Innes Cameron cracked the bar with a header inside the box.
Cameron continued to cause the Queens defence problems and played a huge part for the equaliser. The on-loan Kilmarnock forward used his pace and power to get past his marker and his low cross was tapped in by Innes Murray on 20 minutes.
The Doonhamers pushed forward once more and it was Shields again who delivered a tremendous cross into the path of East, who nodded past Parry on 37 minutes.
Not long after, Shields broke forward on the left, but his sublime effort hit the post.
Alloa then moved up the field and Lee Connelly perfectly struck his effort into the top corner.
But the drama didn’t end there as referee Greg Aitken sent Queens midfielder Ayo Obileye off for a challenge on Raymond Grant.
The second period didn’t take long to burst into action as Alloa were awarded a penalty-kick after Willie Gibson handled in the area on 54 minutes. However, Queens stopper Rohan Ferguson got down low to save Andy Graham’s spot-kick.
But the Wasps weren’t to be denied as substitute Liam Buchanan fired a long-range effort into the bottom corner.
More drama unfolded near the end as Rhys Mccabe was sent off for an apparent elbow on Murray on 85 minutes. The Queens midfielder was trying to take a quick throw-in when Murray jumped on his back and Mccabe caught the Alloa man on the face.
The decision prompted Queens boss Allan Johnston to sarcastically applaud the referee and he, too, was shown a red.
Queens assistant manager Sandy Clark said the club will have a look at both red card incidents before they decide to appeal the decision.
He added: “We’re hugely disappointed to lose the game, but, to be fair, we didn’t start that well enough. However, we managed to score two goals. In the balance of play I thought we could score more.
“But the events that happened within the match like going down to 10 men and certain other decisions went against us. It’s not easy being a referee as they make mistakes like everyone else.
“I think some of the decisions had a major factor in the outcome. I spoke to the ref after the game about the decisions as I think he’s a top referee, but I don’t think he had his best game today.”