Queens stretched their unbeaten run to nine games with a well deserved point against league leaders Hamilton. Enforced changes saw Gordon Chisholm thrust ex Celtic youngster Craig Reid into defence in place of suspended Jim Thomson and John O’Neill into midfield in place of the injured Bob Harris with Jamie McQuilken slotting into left back spot.

The 'Annan Lad' warms up

The first 20 minutes of the game saw Queens match the league leaders with the only excitement being a Paul Burns shot which was well saved by Accies keeper Cerny. However, when a team has a striker the size of Richard Offiong you are always going to have your work cut out, and so it proved in the 22^nd minute when Offiong went up with newbie Reid and saw his touch out toward the edge of the box turned in by Grady. Queens looked shaky for a while but, as has been the case in recent months, they dug deep and in the 30^th minute a stinging free-kick from Jamie McQuilken was palmed out to Stephen Dobbie who made no mistake from 6 yards out.

McQuilken corner nearly catches out the Hamilton defence

It was a McQuilken free kick five minutes later that saw Queens take the lead as John O’Neill flicked on to Dobbie who pounced for his second and his 16^th of the season so far.

Queens almost went in at half-time 3-1 up but Stephen Dobbie saw his snap shot from the edge of the box flash just wide.

Sean gets stuck in

In the second half Queens were forced back on their heels playing right into Hamilton’s strength, namely their physical strength at set plays. Fair do’s to Queens , they dug deep and survived a cornucopia of corners and free-kicks. Stephen Dobbie had a further chance to wrap things up when he found himself one on one with Cerny but the Hamilton goalie stood up tall and thwarted the Dobster’s effort.

Just as Queens seemed to be homing in on 3 points their inability to defend higher up the pitch resulted in McCarthy prodding home in the 90^th minute for Hamilton. To add insult to injury, having been booked already for a daft swipe in the first half, Steve Tosh saw red for yet another bout of dissent towards the ref. An extremely unprofessional end to what had looked like a good win and 3 pts for Queens.

Dobster nearly seals it

However, that’s nine games unbeaten and after the last two seasons most Queens fans will take a top half finish with glee. There is no doubt going full time has made a difference but as the last couple of games has proved this is a tough league to win with only a playing squad of 20. Losing even one or two key players can mean the difference between running for promotion or relegation.

Tosh sees red

Now it’s the Cup and a chance to play in the Semi-finals for the first time in living memory. Hopefully Bob Harris will be back in the squad and Queens will be able to pay their strongest team for what will be an almighty battle against the Dees.

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