Latest News....archived.

Home
Queen of the South FC
Winter 2016
Winter 2015
Winter 2014
Winter 2013
Winter 2012
Winter 2011
Winter 2010
Winter 2009
Winter 2008
Winter 2007
Winter 2006
Winter 2005
Webcam Links
Summer Trips.
Resort Reviews
Chamonix
Canada
Equestrian
Index/Links
About Me
Contact me
Latest News....archived.

.

Queens went down from the 1st Division at end of last season but have remained full-time, we have also made an excellent start to the new season by winning our first league match and progressing to the next round in both cup competitions, keep the good work up.

Its exactly 3 months since I last updated on here, Queens are still bottom of the league with 5 games to go but still have a small chance of beating the drop. We also had a great trip to Canada where the snow at Red Mountain was excellent. Will have a report and pics on here soon. It Easter monday and raining ! but the last 3 days have been fine and we had good fun up at Drumlanrig Castle on saturday and at Threave gardens yesterday.

Now into Feb and the fortunes of QOS have improved, signing of Sam Parkin from St.Johnston looks decent. A great 1-1 draw v Aberdeen in the cup at Pittodrie has earned a replay at Palmerston. Onwards and upwards. Feb has started really cold with some severe night frosts.

Not updated here for so long. Been a busy couple of Months and now Christmas is upon us, at least I have got all my shopping done and Jill is well ahead of schedule with preparations for lunch on Xmas day.
November was one of the mildest months on record but by the second week of December the snow had arrived and all 5 Scottish ski centres were up and running as well as the tows in the north of England. Much anticipated snow eventually came to the Alps and it looks like there will be plenty of decent sport over the festive period. Queens have had a difficult time lately and a bad 5-1 home defeat last Saturday to Falkirk was a hard one to take. Our main objective for this season is to remain in Div 1.

Cant believe its over 6 weeks since I updated this site. We have moved from Summer, if you could call it that into Autumn and as I write this the rain is battering the windows and its a quite miserable day. We spent a few days down in Cheshire/Shropshire and got watching some of the Horses work at Helshaw Grange as well as a nice day out at Chester Zoo.
On the football front QOS are stuck at the bottom of the league with Dundee, our home form has been pretty good and included two fine wins over Morton and Hamilton, but away from home we keep losing late goals and have not picked up a point since the opening day of the season at Livingston.

Its the end of August and the weather has been mixed, its ben a cool month with below normal temperatures but no long settled and dry spells. On the football front QOS have had a difficult start to their First Div campaign and have only 1 point from 4 matches. On a positive note they have been playing some quite good football and with some luck and not conceding late goals, we might have 5 points instead of 1.

The weather has been glorious this week and Spring is certainly here, there is also still plenty of great skiing/boarding to be had at the 5 Scottish centres as well. We had an excellent week out at La Plagne in the French Alps where we enjoyed great sunny weather and fabulous lunches on the mountain.
Meanwhile Queens have lost 4 and won 2 since I last updated but we now have a double header with Stirling Albion and I hope we can pick up maximum points from those 2 games.

Laplagne128.jpg
Laplagne128.jpg
Laplagne128.jpg

Well we are now into August and we have seen much better weather throughout July. We headed out to France in early June and spent a few days at Disneyland Paris before moving up to Normandy. The weather was not scorching hot but pleasant and mostly dry.
Queens have now appointed Gus McPherson and Andy Millen as the new management team at Palmerston and they have assembled a much more competitive squad than I thought possible.
We were knocked out of the Ramsdens cup last Saturday up at Ayr but beat Stranraer at home this week to progress to the second round of the league cup.

We had such a dry, warm and sunny April that the weather so far in May has been a shock to the system...lots of rain and wind and feeling very cold at times, its not what the garden needs. Last month we sat out on the patio virtually every day for either lunch, dinner or to have a BBQ but so far in a month where I'd normally sit outside for breakfast and to read the papers its been a complete non starter ! Maybe June will be better !!
On the football field Queens finished the season in style with a fine win over Dundee at Palmerston, we won 3-0 in what was one of our best performances of the season. The sad part now is that most of the squad have been released and will be playing elsewhere next season.

Well its been a month since I have updated this site. The weather in April has been excellent with lots of dry, warm and sunny days.
On the football front we have had a few bad results including losing the Alba cup final at Perth. We went down 2-0 to Ross County in what was a really poor performance. Our league form also suffered as we conceded 10 goals in our next two games going down 4-1 at home to Morton and then losing 6-1 at Dunfermline. A 2-2 draw with Cowdenbeath steadied the ship but we then lost 1-0 to Ross County in a game played at Stirling as a result of our floodlights failing again against the Dingwall side. Our last game was a 1-0 win at Kirkcaldy against Raith Rovers and we will finish the season with a home match on Saturday against Dundee, whoever wins that will take 4th place in the league.

After a wet and windy week during half-term the weather has settled down again now, high pressure dominating and it was down to -5c when I came home from work this morning.
March started on a sad not when Jills old pony "Geenie" past away, she was well over 40 and will be missed.
Queens have had mixed fortunes since my last update. Another postponement v Ross County for a waterlogged Palmerston pitch was followed by a fine 4-0 win away to Morton. Stirling came to Palmerston next and we looked like picking up 3 points until they levelled with a couple of minutes to go. Last saturday we hosted second top Dunfermline but with a small squad ravaged by injuries and suspensions we went down 3-1. We then played Cowdenbeath up in Fife on tuesday night and were again ahead 2-1 going into injury time but yet again could not hold on and that one finished 2-2. We are scoring goals and creating chances but we are not solid enough at the back.

Well, its all change since my last update.The weather has went from snow and ice to rain and mud but at least we have managed to get a few games going ahead. Queens had a great chance of making the last 8 in the Scottish cup when Brechin were our 3rd round visitors to Palmerston but the second div side were the better team on the night and fully deserved to win 2-1 and as a reward an away tie v Buckie Thistle. We went up to Falkirk not expecting much but on a wet afternoon we beat the Bairns 3-0 to keep us in contention at the top half of the league. A rearrange game at Palmerston against Ross County was level at 1-1 when after 65 minutes we had a failure with the floodlights and the game had to be abandoned which means County will have to make the long journey back down from Dingwall yet again.
We then played a rejuvinated Dundee at Palmerstonbut despite being the better team we went down 2-1. Then on Saturday we had Partick Thistle as visitors and I took my Dad and Craig along with me, the quality of play was poor in the first half and Queens went in at HT 2 goals to 1 down. When Thistle went 3-1 up with just over 5 mins to go we left for home thinking it was all over but switching on the tv we were shocked to see we had scored 2 late goals to earn us a 3-3 draw.

Not updated on here for ages, mainly due to lack of any football. Its been the coldest December on record in many parts with temps down below -20c at times. Had a day down at Yad Moss snowboarding at start of December when conditions were excellent and all 5 Scottish centres have had  an excellent couple of months with great sport during the festive season.
Craig and Anya enjoyed Christmas but got far far to much stuff and were spoiled yet again.
Lookinfg forward to a game of football at Palmerston on Saturday when Queens are due to take on Brechin City in the Scottish cup 4th round. This will be the first game at home since we beat Cowdenbeath on the 13th Nov.

Anya had a really good Birthday and on a fine evening we had the BBQ out followed by fireworks.
On the footballing front Queens got a 1-1 draw up at Dingwall against Ross County with a goal from Colin McMenamin. The next week we picked up a fine 3 points with a win over league leaders Raith Rovers thanks to a fine finish from Ryan Conroy.
On Saturday Cowdenbeath were the visitors to Palmerston and we made fairly easy work of beating them 3-0.
Also on Saturday (13th Nov) snowsports started up again on Cairngorm where it was possible to ski from the top station to the carpark via the funicular, a great start to the season so here's hoping its a sign of another fine season ahead.

A 2-0 defeat at Morton was followed by a 5-1 home loss to Falkirk but we got back on track this Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Ross County up at Victoria Park,Dingwall with trialist Colin McMenamin getting our goal.
The SFL also today announced that Dundee would be deducted 25 points for going into administration for the second time in 7 years.

Since my last update we went out of the League cup with a 3-0 defeat to St.Johnstone at Perth but in the league we have had a 2-1 win over Partick and a 2-0 victory over Dunfermline at Palmerston as well as a 0-0 draw up at Stirling. Then on Saturday we made the long trip to Peterhead for the Alba cup semi-final where we won 2-1 to take us to the final v Ross County.
Jill and I have also had a midweek break down in Wales with the kids near Porthmadog then we spent last week at the Hilton Coylumbridge Hotel in Aviemore where we had fine Autumn weather.

An emphatic Alba Cup quarter final win over East Fife where a Paul Burns treble helped us on our way to a 5-0 victory was followed by a 3-1 league defeat up at Falkirk on Saturday, to make matters worse Bob Harris also got a red card.

A good week for Queens with a comfortable 4-1 win in the CIS cup against Forfar on Wed night then a fine 3-0 win over Ross County on Saturday with Willie McLaren scoring as good a goal as will be seen in the 1st Div all season.

Three league games played and we have two defeats and a win at Cowdenbeath to show for our efforts so far. A small squad which has a few injuries does not make things easy and adding to that is the fact we have had two defenders sent off in our last two league matches. Back in cup action at Palmerston on Wed night when we take on Forfar in the CIS cup....an important match as a victory would see us in with the chance of a potential money spinning tie in the next round.

Well Queens are now safely through to the next round in both the Alba and CIS cups following a 2-1 win over Albion Rovers and a 5-1 win over Dumbarton. The league season starts this Saturday with a tough away trip to face Dundee. I wont be at Dens Park as its Dumfries show day.

The pre-season games are over and Jim Thomson had his testimonial against Rangers where we went down by a single Kenny Miller goal to a strong side. We are though through to the second round of the Alba cup following a 2-1 win over Albion Rovers at Palmerston on Saturday. Next up is another home tie,this time in the CIS cup v Dumbarton this Saturday.

We had a great day for Anya's Christening which was in Terregles Church on Sunday 20th June. We had a reception afterwards in the Aberdour Hotel then back to the house for a party and BBQ in the garden. The weather was fine and everybody had a good day.
Pictures from the day are on my other website. (smcwilliam.com).

Yesterday (July 10th) we had a great away day to Northern Ireland to watch Queens take on Dungannon Swifts. We came away with a 3-1 victory with goals from Quinn,Weatherston and McLaren.
Next up in our list of pre-season friendlies are Hibs at Palmerston on Tuesday night.

.

Well the 2009/10 season ended for Queens with a  0-0 draw at Kirkcaldy against Raith Rovers followed a few days later with the last game up at Firhill v Partick Thistle. It was the QOS fans fancy dress day and the New Bazaar Doonhamers were all dressed up to the theme of "Kellys Heroes". As for the game it ended 1-0 to Thistle thanks to an injury time strike from Doolan. So we ended up 4th in the league with our highest points total since we were promoted to Div 1 back in 2002.
10/6/10.

Since my last update the weather has again played havoc with the football fixtures. On a positive note though,the 5 Scottish Ski centres are all having a fantastic season and it looks like it is going to continue. Since the two Dunfermline postponements Queens played a friendly against a young Celtic side at Palmerston but lost 4-1. The following week it was back to league business when our bogey team Morton came to Palmerston and yet again went away with all 3 points in a 2-1 victory. Queens were very poor in that game especially in the first half but the midweek fixture at home to Ayr Utd saw us back to winning form with a comfortable 3-0 win. It was good to see ex Queens favourite Steve Bowey back at Palmerston playing for the visitors.
Last Friday the pitch at Inverness was unplayable but the home team assured us it would be fine for the Saturday as the undersoil heating was on. We left Palmerston with the travel club at 7am and got to Aviemore when the Referee called the game off at 11am. We had a few refreshments in the Cairngorm Hotel then it was back down the road. This Saturdays game at Airdrie must also be in doubt with the weather forecast being for more snow and frosts.

I cant beleive that QOS have played 5 games since I last updated this site. We have lost at home to Champions Inverness but got back to winning ways 2 days later with a 1-0 win at Airdrie Utd thanks to a late Willie McLaren strike. We than had a further 3 home games where we beat Raith Rovers 3-0, then Ross County 1-0 and on Saturday a last minute goal from Davie Weatherston gave us a 2-2 draw against bottom of the table Airdrie Utd.

The weather has been decent these last few weeks and things are starting to grow in the garden and there is also still good skiing on offer at Cairngorm
.

For the second match in a row Queens concede a late goal in stoppage time turning victory into a draw. At Dingwall they had taken the lead through Paul Burns, this was against the run of play after Jordan McMillan had been sent off for a second booking but County levelled at the end to make the final score 1-1.

After a full month on holiday I returned on Saturday and have had a quiet couple of days with it being Easter weekend. Queens looked like picking up the 3 points at Cappielow on Saturday against Morton but leading 3-2 going into stoppage time they conceded and it finished a draw. Hopes of winning the league all but gone now after Inverness got a late winner in their 4-3 win over Raith Rovers.
Ross County away on Tuesday night but wont be going as I am working.

Well its over a month since I last updated this site and a lot has happened in that time.
We are just back from an excellent,if not tiring 3 week Canadian road trip and I will be writing a full report on that with lots of pics over the next few weeks.
On the football front I missed the 3 defeats that Queens suffered on the road at Inverness,Dunfermline and Ayr as well as the draw at Dundee and the home victory over Dunfermline at Palmerston last Saturday while on holiday. In that time manager Gordon Chisholm has left to take up the hot seat at Dundee and Kenny Brannigan is now in charge until the end of the season, Kenny has made a fine start with the point at Dens and win over the Pars on Saturday ( our first home win against them since 1986). I now wonder if the 3 defeats in a row were due to the fact that Chisholm had already been asked to take over at Dundee.
Last nights game at Airdrie was yet another postponement due to a waterlogged pitch and heavy rain/snow.
Its been snowing all morning here in Dumfries and the Scottish ski centres look set for a bumper Easter and there is a chance we might just see lift served sport all the way through to June.
Its been an excellent winter at home for snowsports but a terrible one for football.....bring on summer football is what I say !

On the Racing front down at Helshaw Grange stables  Nicky now has a stable of around 20 Horses under his care at present. The new website is now up and running and looking good.
I have also taken a share in Cavendish Road who should win a Hcp or two during the summer.
Check out the link below.

Last Saturday we set out with the travel club buses for Dunfermline, it was a lovely sunny morning and although there had been an overnight frost we were not concerned as there is undersoil heating at East End Park. We had just arrived when the news came through that the game was off as the pitch was frozen. Back home a little earlier than usual. The game was then rearranged for Tuesday night but as I was working I could not go but what happened next was unacceptable, the travel club were up there again when the game was called off for a second time at short notice after being assured that the match was safe. Dunfermline Athletic have made some real blunders over the last few weeks and seem to be getting away with it !
No game this weekend as we are out of the cup,so Gordon Chisholm has arranged a friendly at Palmerston against a Celtic X1.

The cold wintery spell of weather has now been with us for a month, there is a thaw started here now but the ground is still pretty frozen under a blanket of snow. I have made the most of the weather by getting Craig out at home for a few ski lessons and also having a day up at Glenshee last Friday when conditions were excellent. I was also up Criffel in deep snow last week when my TLS snowshoes came in real handy.
Pictures from both days are on my smugmug website.

On the football front tommorows game up at Dingwall v Ross County has been called off this morning because of the weather and the state of the victoria park pitch. When we meet leaders Dundee at Palmerston next Saturday it will be a full month we have gone without a competitive game. The good news this week is that Manager Gordon Chisholm will be staying at Palmerston for the time being as the vacant Kilmarnock Managers position went to Jimmy Calderwood.

We have went from heavy rain and severe flooding to lots of snow and ice, we have had temperatures dropping as low as -16.7c in some parts of Scotland and there has been chaos on the roads.
Queens had to postpone the home league game v Raith Rovers at Palmerston because of a frozen pitch
We have had 2 away league games played, we won 2-1 at Greenock v Morton and on Boxing day came away from Firhill after a 2-2 draw with Partick Thistle. The game at Palmerston on 2nd Jan must be in doubt already because of the continuing cold spell.
I managed a days snowboarding down at Yad Moss near Alston and Craig has been having a few ski lessons at home as well as getting out on his sledge.
All 5 Scottish centres are up and running over the Xmas/New Year holiday period.

Knocked out of the Scottish Cup before Xmas , thats twice in 2009 we have been put out of this competition at the first attempt ! The game at Airdrie was as poor as I have seen Queens play in a very long time and when they went 2-0 down they made no real effort to get back into it and suffered an embarrasing 4-0 loss. They had to then get themselves sorted for the league visit from Dunfermline, the game rearranged due to the flooding the week before. We played much better and had the right attitude in this game but despite taking the lead with a fine goal from Davie Weatherston we found ourselves losing 2-1 to the Pars with ex Queens winger Willie Gibson netting the winner from the penalty spot. Some poor refereeing cost us a point in my view.
On Saturday we got the chance to bounce back when Inverness Caley Thistle were the visitors but this one ended 1-1. ICT lead at the interval despite Queens having the better of the game but a stunning free kick from Bob Harris won us a point. This was a tough physical game with 3 players plus the ICT manager Terry Butcher being sent off.
Next up is a trip to Greenock on Saturday to face Morton.

Rain,Rain and more Rain.....The last two weeks have seen this region suffer from severe flooding. The River Nith has burst its banks onto the Whitesands and a lot of the surrounding countryside has been covered in water with communities cut off,Greenhill,Heck and Hightae were particularly badly hit.
The game at Palmerston on Saturday against Dunfermline was also called off and it has been rearranged for next Tuesday night. This Saturday we hit the Scottish Cup trail once again with an unglamerous tie up at Airdrie.

On Guy Fawkes night we saw the arrival of Anya Elizabeth Margaret McWilliam, a wee Sister for Craig. She arrived in the world at Cresswell Maternity Hospital,Dumfries at 15:12 weighing in at 7lb 7oz.

On the football front Queens have had 3 wins and not conceded a goal since the game at Kirkcaldy. We had a 3-0 home win over Airdrie then another home victory over Ross County (2-0) then on Saturday we went to Somerset park,Ayr and a header from Derek Holmes gave us a 1-0 victory, this sets us up for a top of the table clash with Dundee at Dens park next weekend.

On a beautiful sunny Autumn day up at Kirkcaldy Queens took the field against last seasons second division champions Raith Rovers. We were confident of another victory following the 3-1 win at Inverness last week and for the first 75 minutes it looked as if we would certainly head back down the road with at least a point. The home side were forced to make a few changes with injuries and in 78 minutes our defence failed to clear the ball and it fell to on loan striker Russell (from Dundee Utd) and he finished to keep thepoints at Starks Park. We had a few decent chances but ex Morton keeper David McGurn was in fine form to deny us a goal. Two home games coming up against Airdrie Utd and Ross County where we have a chance to get back to winning ways.

What a difference a week makes, last Saturday we turned in a terrible performance at home to Morton. We were 3-0 down and only two late goals made the scoreline less embarrasing. Then on Saturday it was an early start for the long bus ride north to the highland capital to take on Inverness Caley Thistle. Big Derek Holmes scored "the perfect hat trick" , left foot,right foot and a header as we ran out 3-1 winners. The trip back down the road was a pleasant one.

25th Sept 2009.
Its been a very busy few weeks for us. We had our cousins over from Canada and had a fine time showing them round Scotland, this included a few days in the highlands where we took in the Ross County v QOS league match up at Dingwall. The result was not so good with Queens going down by 3 goals to 2.
Since then we have had a fine 2-0 win over big spending Dundee at Palmerston followed by a near full house for the CIS cup match with Rangers, it was a great night under the Palmerston floodlights but despite creating the better chances we lost out 2-1. Bob Harris scored a cracker of a goal for us at the end but it was too late to change the result.

Yesterday Queens were across the Forth in the Kingdom of Fife to play Dunfermline at East End Park, in an astonishing 12 minutes before the interval 5 goals were scored, the good news for us being that we got 4 of them.
The final score ended up Dunfermline 1 QOS 4.
The team are playing well despite the squad being stretched to the maximum with injuries, the worst being the leg break suffered by Stevie Tosh during the Rangers cup tie.
Next week we welcome Morton to Palmerston.

Sat 29th August 2009
Queens continued the recent run of good form and results with a convincing 2-0 win over Ayr Utd at Palmerston this afternoon. We had lots of chances and it was ex Queens keeper Craig Samson that kept the score down with a string of fine saves.

We are off to Cartmel races tommorow....just hope the weather is not as bad as the forecast is predicting !

Wed 26th August 2009.
What a great 4 days for QOS. On Saturday we beat old boss Ian McCalls Partick Thistle 1-0 at Palmerston thanks to a late goal from sub Davie Weatherston then last night a double from the same player,including a last minute winner gave us a 2-1 victory in the 2nd round of the CIS League cup.
This weekend we have a home league match against local rivals Ayr Utd.

Thursday 20th August.
Last Saturday we went to Airdrie and we came away with a 1-1 draw. Queens played nowhere near as well as expected. Kean put us ahead with a header but the home side levelled the match with 10 minutes to go.
On Tuesday evening Queens made the trip across the Forth to face Dunfermline in the 2nd round of the Challenge cup and in an exciting game came away with a 2-1 victory thanks to another headed goal from Keano and a fine injury time strike from Stevie Tosh.
Partick at home on Saturday in the league.

Last week we spent a few days away, stayed at the MacDonald Inchyra Hotel near Falkirk and then the Belleisle Hotel, Doonfoot near Ayr. Had a fine day at Blair Drummond Safari park and a lovely warm summers day at Culzean Country park.

Sat 8th Aug 2009
After a 4-1 win over Queens Park at Hampden last Saturday we started our league campaign at Palmerston this afternoon against Raith Rovers. Last years 2nd Div champions  made it difficult for us and went away with a point following a 1-1 draw. Stevie Tosh was sent off in the first half and Rovers scored just before the interval, they then had a player red carded in the 2nd half to even things up and after a lot of pressure Derek Holmes hit the leveller in the last minute

Sat 25th July 2009.
Queens made it through to the next round of the Alba cup at Palmerston with a 1-0 win over Livingston thanks to a tremendous strike from Barry Wilson after only 9 minutes. This could well be Livis last ever match as they look certain to go into administration this week.
I was not at the game as we were down at Dundrennan enjoying the Wickerman festival. The weather was fine and the music excellent.

Thursday 2nd July
Had a fine days walking in the Lake district when 4 of us left Glenridding and climbed Helvellyn via Striding edge and returning via Swiral edge and Greenside.
Pictures from the day are on the link below.

Sunday 19th July.
Queens won the Scottish Brewers cup at Annan with a 3-0 win over Newcastle Benfield.

Saturday 18th July.
Queens were held 1-1 by last seasons 3rd Div Champions Dumbarton on day 1 of the Annan tournament but went through to the final after a 7-6 penalty shoot out win with David Hutton making a couple of fine saves.
In the other game host club Annan Athletic lost to Newcastle Benfield 1-0.

AnnanTournamentday1001r.jpg
Galabank. Home of Annan Athletic FC.

AnnanTournamentday1031r.jpg
Barry Wilson strikes the opener for Queens.

AnnanTournamentday1067r.jpg
David Hutton saving a penalty during the shootout.

AnnanTournamentday1090r.jpg
David Hutton makes the winning save v Dumbarton.

After beating Clyde hopes were high for another good performance in the final home game of the season v Dunfermline, but it was not to be and we were well beaten by the Pars. The last game of the current campaign saw Queens travel to Almondvale to play Livingston. Queens went two down within 10 mins on a rain soaked pitch but fought back after the break to draw 2-2 thanks to a Tosh penalty and a fine strike from young defender Gerry McLaughlin.
 

QOS are ending the season in style, a week past on Sunday they went to McDermid Park,Perth to take on league leaders St.Johnstone and came away with a 3-2 win courtesy of two Stephen Dobbie strikes and a great injury time winner from Stewart Kean.
Then back at Palmerston on Saturday we saw a quite brilliant display of goalscoring as Queens ran riot beating Clyde 7-1. Stephen Dobbie got 4 with singles from Kean,Tosh and Harris. All the goals were top quality strikes. Stephen Dobbie will most likely be moving on to pastures new after the summer but he has now scored 24 league goals this season which is quite some feat.

The 2-1 home defeat to Ross County was a real low point in the season for me but on Saturday the team played really well and beat Partick Thistle 2-0 at Firhill. Goals from Dobbie and sub Tosh gave us victory over 2nd placed Thistle and all but ended their chances of winning the league.

3-1 up with 2 minutes to go yesterday against Livingston at Palmerston and looking good for 3 points....then we gift them 2 goals and we go away with just a point. Excellent goals from Wilson and Dobbie for Queens but yet again our defending let us down.
 
Pictures from our recent North American road trip are on the links below.
 
 
 

We are just back from a great trip to Canada and the USA. Lots of pics and a trip report to sort out now.
While we were away Queens had mixed fortunes, draws with Clyde and Morton and then a great 3-2 midweek win over Dundee at Dens looked to have us in a fine position to climb up the table but in typical QOS fashion we were brought back down to earth with a thump on Saturday with a 2-0 defeat away to bottom club Airdrie Utd.
Home to Livingston on Saturday so looking to get back to winning ways.

A cracking game of football at Palmerston on Saturday between Queens and league leaders St.Johnstone.
We were 2-0 up with goals from Barry Wilson and a top quality finish from Stephen Dobbie,but the visitors fought back to level before Paul Burns cracked home a cracking third goal for Queens. It looked like we were about to end the Perth sides impressive unbeaten run when 3 minutes from the end we failed to clear the ball and it broke to Derek Holmes who crashed it home past Lee Robinson.
In the end a draw was about fair but I felt we did not defend very well at the Saints goals. Away to Clyde next.

It was great to get back to winning ways at Palmerston yesterday with a 4-0 win over bottom club Airdrie Utd.
Queens took the lead after 35 minutes when Stephen Dobbie converted a penalty after Paul Burns was brought down by the Airdrie keeper.The visitors were then reduced to 10 men before the interval when Kevin MacDonald got a red card for a two footed tackle on Neil Scally.
After the break Queens really took control and scored a great goal when Bob Harris headed home a perfect Jamie McQuilken cross from the left. Dobbie then slotted through the keepers legs for the 3rd before sub David Weatherston finished the scoring with a low shot past the keeper. Stephen Dobbie was excellent today. Bring on the league leaders St Johnstone next week.

After our great 2-0 win at Dunfermline we found ourselves without a game last weekend as we were already out of the cup, this weekend we host bottom of the table Airdrie at Palmerston. We have not scored against them so far this season in two attempts so heres hoping our strikers have their shooting boots on.
After the recent severe cold spell of weather we are all hoping that the Palmerston pitch thaws out in time.

A 2-2 draw away to Morton might not sound like too bad a result but we were leading until injury time when former Queens favourite Peter Weatherson netted his second of the game to level things.
Queens have also lost Gary Arbuckle for the rest of the season after he ended up with a triple leg break following a challenge from Morton defender Dominic Shimmin.
 
Last Sat we were back on Scottish Cup duty with a trip to Falkirk. Conditions were terrible with a strong wind and driving rain making it difficult for players and fans alike. We came in at half-time level at 1-1 then Bob Harris fired us in front after the break with a superb free kick, but the home side struck 3 further goals in the second period to run out worthy 4-2 winners.
No trips to Hampden for us this season.

The terrible run of form continued last Saturday when we went down 1-0 at home to Dundee. The whole team is lacking confidence at present and we just dont look like scoring goals. Fresh new faces are urgently required in the January transfer window to help ensure we maintain our 1st Division status for next season.

 
Four defeats from our last 5 games since we thrashed Livi at Palmerston. We are leaking goals at the back and until we sort that out we are going to continue to fall down the league.
Home to bottom of the table Clyde on Saturday so heres hoping we get back to winning ways. Edit Text

We have now had 2 away games on the bounce, at Airdrie in the first of those the team just did not perform and went down by 2 goals to nil but last Saturday at Dingwall the they got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Ross County at Victoria Park. The game was played in terrible conditions but goals from Dobbie and McGowan gave us the 3 points. Our 3rd away game in succession is this weekend when we travel to Firhill to take on former manager Ian McCalls Partick Thistle.
We are sitting proudly at the top of the table a point clear of St.Johnstone. Edit Text

What a result last Saturday, our 6-1 victory over Livingston taking us to the top of the table for the first time in 5 years.
A double for Steve Dobbie early on set us on our way before Davie Weatherston scored on the stroke of half time, he scored his second and Queens 4th after the break before a brilliant Jamie McQuilken long range effort and a Paul Burns strike made it 6. It was also good to see Sean O'Connor make his comeback after injury when he came on for the final 10 minutes. Its international weekend next before 3 difficult away games come along at Airdrie,Ross County and Partick. Edit Text

Its 4 games since I last wrote on here. After the cup defeat to Morton we met them again the following Saturday at Cappielow on league business. The game ended 0-0 which was a bit disapointing as we dominated for long spells. The following Saturday saw St.Johnstone visit Palmerston and it ended up in another draw, this time 2-2. Big Jim Thomson scoring for both teams. We then went up to Westfield Stadium for the CIS cup 3rd round tie v Falkirk. We gave them far too much respect in the first half and fell behind to an excellent strike from Neil McCann. In the 2nd period we were much better and levelled through Stewart Kean before Falkirk got the winner from Steve Lovell, this goal should not have stood as two players were well off-side.
On Saturday we travelled up to Broadwood to take on Clyde, the first half was a spoor as I have seen in the first division for a long time but after the break Queens took control and ex Bully Wee player Gary Arbuckle gave us the lead. Within 4 minutes we were two up when Stephen Dobbie poked the ball home. Craig Sives then had a headed goal chalked off as Queens strolled to their first league win on the road this season. Edit Text

 
Queens crashed out of the Alba Challenge cup on Sunday when Morton scored 2 second half goals to ease into the semi-finals.
An injury hit Queens never played to anywhere near their best and the less said about this poor match the better.
A chance for revenge comes on Saturday when Queens visit Greenock on league duty.

 
Queens picked up the 3 points last night at a rain soaked Palmerston against Ross County with a late strike from new boy David Weatherston. It was not the eventful, action packed sort of game we had watched on Saturday and Queens left it till the 87th minute to take the lead. County had a lot of the ball and played  some nice p[assing football without ever posing any real goal threat.
Craig Sives,on loan from Hearts slotted in at the back alongside Craig Barr in place of the injured Jim Thomson and did really well. Although we got the points it was not without a cost as Sean O'Connor was stretchered off with a nasy injury and Paul Burns also limped through the last 10 minutes as Queens had by then used all their subs.
Another good crowd of over 2500 and I managed to count 27 County fans who would not have the happiest of trips back up the A9 to Dingwall.
Morton next on Sunday in the Challenge Cup QF and Gordon Chisholms biggest problem will be having enough fit players!

What an excellent game of football at Palmerston this afternoon. Queens certainly didnt suffer a Danish hangover and were well worth the 3 points. After going a goal down with 14 minutes gone the lads got stuck in and Craig Barr levelled before Stephen Dobbie scored a fine goal just before the interval following excellent work from big Sean O'Connor.
Queens might well have scored another couple in the first period but for two excellent saves from Rab Douglas in the Dundee goal.
In the second half we still looked strong and the result was put beyond doubt when Dobbie scored the 3rd following a fine run and cross from David Weatherston.
Both Weatherston and our other new signing Tom Parrat had fine debuts and fitted in well. This was a fine performance from Queens with no failures today.
I thought Jamie McQuilken and Neil MacFarlane were excellent and Seans effort and workrate as well as what he was creating for others was outstanding. Dobbs took his goals well but was not allowed the chance for a treble as he was replaced by Stewart Kean with 15 minutes to go.Only downside today was seeing Jamie Adams going off injured, just hope it is nothing too serious.
A decent crowd again today of 3646 and I cant wait for the visit of County on Wed night

Yesterday we played host to former Manager Ian McCalls Partick Thistle and in front of a decent crowd of over 3200 we picked up our first 3 points of this league campaign with a 2-0 win. A Stevie Tosh penalty after Paul Burns had been bundelled to the ground inside the box then a fine individual effort from Stephen Dobbie gave us a 2-0 interval lead. Thistle had a lot of the ball in the second period but a couple of fine saves from young keeper Cameron Bell kept them at bay.
 
 
We lost 2-1 at Dunfermline last weekend after taking a first half lead and playing some excellent football,maybe the players minds were on our UEFA cup tie against FC Nordsjaelland.
That match was in doubt up until 7pm because of heavy rain and water laying on the pitch at Airdrie. There was terrible traffic congestion getting to the car parks and a lot of our fans missed the start of the match which really should have been delayed to allow people in. It was a disaster for Queens as we fell behind within 2 minutes from a corner when the FCN striker had acres of space to volley home. We fought back well and levelled when Sean O'Connor headed home a Jamie McQuilken free kick but another defensive lapse 4 minutes later saw the Danes score a second.We fought hard in the second period and might have snatched a draw but the Danes might also have scored more. So we are off to Farum in Denmark trailing FCN by 2 goals to 1 but the tie is far from dead.
 
Queens started the 2008/9 league campaign at home to Airdrie Utd but had to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw. It was an uninspiring match and watched by a large crowd of nearly 3000. Few real chances were created and Queens ended the match with 10 men when Jim Thomson was red carded for pulling down an Airdrie striker who was heading in on goal. A disappointing start but it just goes to prove how hard this league will be this season.

Following a 2-0 win over Queens Park at Hampden in our final pre-season friendly it was onto the first round of the Challenge cup at Sheilfield Park,Berwick. Queens ran out easy winners with doubles from O'Connor and Kean and a first goal for defender Craig Barr. Queens played some good football and could well have had double figures. Next up its Airdrie at Palmerston on Saturday for the seasons first league game.
 
On Saturday Owen Coyle brought his Burnley side to Palmerston and in a good workout for both teams it ended in a 1-1 draw. The Clarets took the lead just before half time but Stewart Kean headed home an equaliser after 83 mins . Queens created the better chances but in the end a draw was a fair result.
 
Queens began a series of pre-season friendlies with a 5-0 win over Annan Athletic at Galabank on Saturday.
Dobbie scored twice with the other scorers being Tosh,Harris and new signing Stewart Kean.
 
It has been announced that Queens will play their home UEFA Cup matches at Airdrie Utds Excelsior Stadium  as Palmerston only has 3500 seats.
The draw for the 2nd Qualifying round takes place on Aug 1st.
 
 
What a performance and what an effort from the lads on Saturday as they gave Rangers a real fright in the Scottish Cup final. They came back from being 2 goals down at the interval with goals from Stevie Tosh and Captain Jim Thomson and for a while the biggest shock in cup final history looked as though it would happen. Kris Boyd came to the Glasgow sides rescue with just over 15 minutes to go with a powerful header to give his side a 3-2 victory.

.

.