Match Report

The opening 10 minutes were keenly contested with neither keeper being seriously tested . The opening goal arrived in the 21^st minute when Swinglehurst was adjudged to have handled a cross ball, it seemed a harsh decision but Iain Russell made no mistake by tucking the ball in the corner of the net giving Kenny Arthur no chance. Annan worked their way into the match and won a free kick on the edge of the box after MacKay was brought down in the 26^th minute and trialist keeper Callum Antell did well to tip Matthew Flynn’s  free kick  over the bar for a corner. Minutes later Sloan was presented with an opportunity when he picked up a lose ball but his well struck shot failed to hit the target. Annan’s promising spell continued with Antell pulling off a point blank save to deny Kenny MacKay in the 35^th minute.

Queens finished the half strong  and they were rewarded with a second goal  in the 39^th minute. There appeared to be little danger when Michael Paton picked the ball up on the edge of the box but the striker finished with a glorious shot when he curled the ball into the top corner of the net out of the reach of Kenny Arthur.

Queens dominated the possession in the second half with Annan having to work hard to contain the slick moving Queens . Arthur in the Annan goal pulled off a good save to deny Mark Durnan in the 65^th minute, both teams made a succession of changes in an effort to give all the players game time but there were no more goals in what was a good workout for both sides.

Queens boss Jim McIntyre was happy with the progress to date , it was a good work out for us we passed the ball well, we could have been more ruthless but our decision making process was good , the players are working hard and the work rate is there in abundance. We have a couple more pre season matches ahead and at this stage of the season results are not important it is all about game time for the players and preparing them for the opening Ramsdens Cup tie.

Jim Chapman also complimented his players, we are seeing signs of improvement on the areas where we were exposed over the last couple of matches. We are playing quality opposition and exposing our younger players to the standards that they will have to attain to if they are to have any chance of progressing. It has been a tough week with 4 games in 7 days on the back of a demanding pre season which is designed to prepare the players for the season ahead. The younger players will get an opportunity against East Kilbride Thistle on Tuesday evening and on Friday evening we entertain Carlisle United when we will give game time to Ally Love , David Hopkirk and Peter Weatherston who were all missing today along with Chris Jardine.

Annan Squad – K Arthur , I Chisholm, G Thorburn, G Anderson,  P Watson, S Swinglehurst, P Bradley, S Black, D Graham, K Chrystal, S Sloan, J Moffat, Z Caldwell, J Johnstone, K Brannan, K McCrudden, D Wood, K MacKay, M McAnespie.

Queens Squad – Trialist, C Mitchell, K Holt, P Slattery, M Durnan, A Dowie, I McShane, D Young, D Lyle, M Paton, I Russell, J Atkinson, D Orsi, D Carmichael, G Reilly, C Higgins, R McGuffie, S McKenna, P Burns.