Cinch Scottish League One: Three Things we Learned as Queen of the South Clinch Maiden win of the Season
Queen of the South and Montrose were the latest two teams to gain their first three points of the season as the league remains in its infancy…
Doonhammers recover from early scare to triumph in five-goal thriller
A Connor Murray brace alongside goals from Josh Todd and Ruari Paton gave Queen of the South their first three points of the season in a resounding victory over Peterhead at Balmoor.
The visitors endured a nightmarish start as Max Gillies opened the scoring for the hosts in the second minute, however, an equaliser from Todd in the 34th minute levelled the playing field. Murray then slotted home his first of the afternoon with two minutes remaining of the first-half as Queen’s dominated proceedings going into the interval.
Paton doubled the Dumfries side’s advantage shortly after the hour-mark before Murray added his second in the dying seconds of injury time to seal an empathic victory- in what was the first league meeting between the sides.
The win for the Doonhammers sees them get their feet firmly under the table as they climb to sixth. Meanwhile, for the Blue Toon, defeat means they are left with a single point from a possible 12 and remain second-bottom.
Next week, Peterhead take the trip down to face Alloa in Clackmannanshire while Queen of the South visit fellow promotion challengers Falkirk.
Peterhead manager, Jim McInally: “For about 20 minutes we had a good period and our shape was working well but then Josh Todd and Iain Wilson got a real grip of the game in the middle of the park and we could not get near them. They were big strong quick guys and we struggled. We are short of strength in the middle of the park and we don’t really have many options up top.”
Queen of the South player-manager, Willie Gibson: “We knew it was going to be a difficult game and I felt we didn’t start too well with conceding an early goal, which is something we will iron out and improve on. However, apart from that, we dominated the game and 4-1 doesn’t flatter us as I thought we could’ve had a couple more.”
Historic Fife derby falls flat as Kelty and Dunfermline share the spoils
The first ever derby match between Kelty Hearts and Dunfermline Athletic failed to live up to the occasion in a drab stalemate at New Central Park.
Joe Cardle came close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute for the hosts. Rhys Breen had the first real chance for the visitors in the 25th minute which was denied by the ‘keeper. The Pars applied the pressure in the final stages of the match but Kelty held on to secure the point.
The draw means the Maroon Machine finally get off the mark with their first point of the season while the Pars see their 100% record come to an end.
James McPake’s side have conceded top spot to Airdrieonians, albeit only on goal-difference ahead of the two sides going head-to-head at East End Park next Saturday. Meanwhile, next up for Kelty is midweek action on Tuesday night against Forfar Athletic in the second round of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Kelty Hearts manager, John Potter: “I thought we were pretty good first-half, we probably had the better chances and defended well. Second-half, there wasn’t much in it for the first 10-15 minutes, they [Dunfermline] changed a few things and finished stronger, but we defended well and deserved the point.”
Dunfermline Athletic manager, James McPake: “We came away from the game with what we deserved, I don’t think we did enough to win it and defensively the only positive is that we kept another clean sheet. Defensively the record still stands and we have four clean sheets, but it’s the common theme of ‘you need to be clinical at the top end of the pitch’ and it’s my job to work on that. So, we will assess and be ready for next week.”
First league win for Montrose as Clyde’s unbeaten run grinds to a halt
Montrose picked up their first three points of the new campaign and their 1,000th victory in the SPFL as goals from Rory McAllister and Kerr Waddell saw them get the better of Clyde at Links Park.
McAllister’s header in the 28th minute broke the deadlock for the Gable Endies’ as they went into the interval with a slender lead. The Bully Wee equalised through Jordan Allan four minutes after the re-start before Waddell reclaimed the hosts’ advantage in the 52nd minute.
Defeat for the visitors sees them slip to third, above fourth-place Falkirk on goal-difference while the hosts remain seventh as the table begins to tighten at this early juncture.
It is a second successive away trip for Clyde next weekend as they visit FC Edinburgh in the capital while Montrose welcome Kelty Hearts to Angus.
Montrose manager, Stewart Petrie: “It’s been a long time since we got a win, so it’s great to get the three points and the quicker you get them the better. It’s important to get the win at home as we want to make it a bit of a fortress this season and it was a great performance.”
Clyde manager, Danny Lennon: “Disappointing to always lose a game of football, the boys have brought a lot since the beginning of the season and we know it would be a difficult venue. A win against us in the first-half against an energetic Montrose side who didn’t give us a minute or a second, however, in the first 15 minutes we had some good moments where I thought we could have exploited with better decision-making and movement. I felt today we weren’t a big enough influence in both boxes and I’m disappointed that we couldn’t keep that run going.”
Scottish League One: Results
Airdrieonians 2-0 Alloa Athletic
FC Edinburgh 0-3 Falkirk
Kelty Hearts 0-0 Dunfermline Athletic
Montrose 2-1 Clyde
Peterhead 1-4 Queen of the South
Scottish League One Table: As It Stands