Match Report: Queen of the South 1-3 St Mirren

Match Report: Queen of the South 1-3 St Mirren

St Mirren faced off with Queen of the South on what was a cold and Breezy day at Palmerston Park. Two changes to last week's squad, with Jack Baird coming in for Harry Davis, and Gavin Reilly drops out for the return of Lewis Morgan after missing last week due to tonsillitis.

The league leaders knew going into the game that win would take them ever closer to their end goal of winning the Scottish Championship, and that’s exactly what they did, defeating The Doonhamers 3-1 to move 12 points clear at the top. 

It was a slow start to the game, with neither team creating very much. It took to the 9th minute before saints had their first attempt on goal - a 25 yard hit from Mullen which sailed over the crossbar, never troubling goalkeeper Jack Leighfield.

The first big chance of the game fell to St Mirren on the 15th minute, after some nice work down the right by Liam Smith, Ryan Flynn whipped the ball into the box and Kyle Magennis got a head onto it, as it narrowly crept past the post. Seconds later Cammy Smith had a shot from the just outside the box that was directed straight at Leighfield, who fumbled the ball over his own crossbar instead of collecting it comfortably, like he should have.

17 minutes into the game and the deadlock was broken. A jinky run from Lewis Morgan, cutting inside from the right, resulted in Morgan slipping in Danny Mullen who managed to drill the ball across Leighfield to get his first goal for The Buddies. A finish any forward would have been proud of.

After 21 minutes though, The Doonhamer’s equalised, as Jordan Marshall sprinted past Liam Smith on the left wing, and with only Craig Samson to beat he slipped the ball past the Saint’s number one to even the score at 1-1.

Queens nearly put themselves into the lead on 33 minutes, as captain John Rankin found plenty of space in the middle of then park. He continued his run towards goal untouched, all the way to the 18 yard line before his shot drifted wide of Samson’s right hand post.

The Buddies last chance in the half came from another long range effort from Mullen, which went well wide of the target, as St Mirren struggled to get back in the game after Queens equaliser. Just before half time the team from Dumfries had a chance to take the lead through Dominic Thomas, who worked a bit of room on the edge of The Saint’s box, but his shot went straight down the middle and was an easy save for Samson in the end. 

Half Time: Queen of the South 1-1 St Mirren

Right after the restart Saints had a decent chance to restore their lead. Two minutes into the second half the ball was put into the box by Liam Smith and was only half cleared from Queens, before Morgan’s half volley was always rising as it went over the crossbar.

On the 52nd minute a free kick was awarded to Saints 20 yards from goal, after a foul on Lewis Morgan. The winger stepped up to take the free kick himself and made no mistake as he curled it low into the bottom left hand corner to restore the Paisley side’s lead to 2-1.

A big chance for Saints came on the 55 minute mark. A McGinn in-swinging freekick from about 40 yards out landed at the feet of Gary MacKenzie in the six yard box. With the goal at his mercy, the big centre couldn’t turn the ball goalwards, as the Queens keeper collected the ball.

64 minutes into the second period and The Buddies increased their lead to 3-1 and all but put the game out of reach for Gary Naysmith’s side. A delicate little touch from Lewis Morgan in the middle of the park released Kyle Magennis, who managed to storm past the home defence and power the ball across Jack Leighfield in a fantastic solo effort. No question about it being his goal this time.

There was very little in the way of chances for the rest of the game after St Mirren’s third, as Jack Ross’ team remained in full control for the remainder of the match. The only other chance of the game came on the 91st minute, when Gary MacKenzie’s header from a McGinn freekick was goalbound. However, a terrific stop from Leighfield managed to tip the ball wide to prevent The Buddies from extending their lead any further.

Full Time: Queen of the South 1-3 St Mirren 

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, MacKenzie, Eckersley (Stelios 49), Magennis, McGinn, Morgan, C.Smith (McShane 88), Flynn, Mullen (Reilly 80)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Stelios, Donati, Hippolyte, Sutton

Queen of the South: Leighfield, Marshall, Mercer, Fordyce, Cameron, Rankin, Thomson (Dykes 69), Jacobs, Thomas, Fergusson (Todorov 69), D.Lyle
Subs Not Used: C. Lyle, Rooney, Brownlie, Murray, Beerman

Referee: Bobby Madden
Assistant Referee: Andrew MacWilliam
Assistant Referee: George King 

Attendance: 1,902

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography and John Millar © - Millar Pictures

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