Match Report

Annan and Queens Park fought out a hard earned draw in an evenly contested match at the National Stadium on Saturday, it was the Spiders fourth consecutive match that they have not conceded and it was Annan’s third consecutive match that they have not conceded and with both teams on form going into the match. The only thing lacking in the match was goals with neither team doing enough to lift all the points.

Pictures by Fraser Marr

Annan boss Peter Murphy once again made changes to the line up following the previous weeks victory over Elgin City with Ayrton Sonkur being given the green light at the centre of his defence in place of the injured Swinglehurst and Chris Johnston starting up front at the expense of Ross Fergusson who was relegated to the bench.

Marc Roberts Queens Park team were on a rich seam of form following 4 successive victories and not surprisingly his team was unchanged and with home advantage the spiders were slight favourites by the bookmakers to win this match.

The match turned out to be game of two halves which saw Annan dictate the flow of play in the opening half but despite their obvious control of the game in this period Annan could not open up the well drilled Queens Park defence. The second half however was a different story with Queens Park very much on the offensive and asking questions on the well organized Annan defence. In the end both teams did not do enough to earn the victory.

The early signs looked good for Annan when they had a goal correctly chalked off for offside in the 10th minute after Sinnamon set up Tony Wallace. With 25 minutes on the clock neither keeper had been seriously tested. Annan were looking like the team likely to break the deadlock and in the 37th minute Chris Johnston came very close when he finished a penetrating run with a glorious effort which beat Jordan Hart but the shot crashed off the cross bar.

It was the closest either team came to scoring in an entertaining first half.

After chasing the match for the majority of the first half Queens Park were more adventurous in the second half and it came as no surprise that they started to impose their mark on the match as Mark Robert’s side started to probe the Annan defence.

Scoring opportunities however were at a premium for both teams and the nearest that Queens Park came to breaking the deadlock followed a corner kick in the 65th minute when Kiaran Moore’s well directed effort was cleared of the goal line by Ryan Sinnamon.

The introduction of Aidan Smith in the 68th minute was a welcome addition to the Annan attack and it was Smith who came very close to breaking the deadlock in the 80th minute when his lob went agonisingly wide of the goal.

Annan finished the game with a free kick 27 yards out but David Wilson’s effort failed to hit the target.

It was an excellent match advert for the Ladbrokes League 2 by two in form teams and the only aspect lacking was goals. Annan’s will no doubt look back on the game as an opportunity lost where they failed to put a clear gap between them and Queens Park but the hosts did enough to deserve a share of the points.

Queens Park – Jordan Hart, James Grant, Ciaran Summers, Jamie McKernon, Gearald McLauchlan, Dominic McLaren, Euan East ( Smart Osadolor 74 min), Kurtis Roberts, Lewis Hawke, Josh Peters (Kiaran Moore 54 min), Scott McLean ( Adam Martin 80 min) ,Subs not used Gregor Fotheringham, William Mortimer, Lewis Magee, Kiaran McDougal GK.

Annan Athletic – John Jamieson, Scott Hooper, Lewis Strapp , David Wilson, Owen Moxon, Ayrton Sonkur, Chris Johnston (Maxwell Wright 83 min), Ryan Sinnamon, Scott Roberts, Tommy Muir ( Ross Fergusson 61 min), Tony Wallace (Aidan Smith 68min). Subs not used Alex Mitchell GK, James Creaney , Kyle Bradley ,Ruaridh Langan,

Referee – Barry Cook Assistants – Graham Chambers and Ross Birrell.

Crowd 495

In the other matches played in SPFL 2 Clyde lifted the points and moved up to 3rd in the league with a 34th minute John Rankin goal scored against the in form Edinburgh City. Peterhead leap frogged City to go top of the league with a narrow 2-1 victory over bottom of the table Albion Rovers. Stirling Albion lifted the points with a 3 goal victory over Berwick Rangers and Elgin City scored a late goal deep into injury time to overcome Cowdenbeath 2-1.