Albion Rovers 3 Queen’s Park 3

QUEEN’S PARK drew 3-3 away at Albion Rovers as Josh Fowler hit a double to take his tally to four in the Spiders’ strip.

Tyrece McDonnell also hit a cracker into the top corner in the first half as Sean Crighton mixed it up with personnel.

This wasn’t a proverbial game of two halves – it was a literal one with two entirely different Queen’s Park teams playing 45 minutes each.

Hosts Rovers also had a very different look too with all 19 players listed as trialists on the official teamsheet, and three named by the club.

The first half got off to the worst possible start for Jack Wills as the Queen’s Park keeper conceded a penalty seconds after kick-off and, within a minute was picking the ball out of the net after a strike from Barry Duncan.

It took another 39 minutes for Queen’s Park to respond, although Aidan Connolly did rattle the crossbar and Michael Ruth tested the trialist keeper twice with headers.

In truth it was a slow first half, however, when the equaliser came, it was worth waiting for.

Tyrece McDonnell sent a strike sailing into the top corner from more than 20 yards, five minutes before the interval.

Playing off the left-wing, he shot from a central position and continues his run in Sean Crighton’s first-team squad this summer after spending last season on loan at Alloa.

The goals weren’t over though as Rovers headed down the tunnel ahead again after restoring their lead with the last kick of the game.

Wills was caught off his line after rushing out to head a through ball clear – but it fell to Rovers’ No.7 who found the empty net from even further out than McDonnell’s strike minutes earlier.

A whole new Queen’s Park emerged for the second half, and substitute goalkeeper Calum Ferrie barely had a touch throughout the following 45 minutes.

He did have to pick the ball out of his net late on though as Rovers rallied to a draw.

All of the action was in Albion’s half and mostly around the penalty area as Louis Longridge and Jamie Bradley provided a midfield platform for the bright attacking play of Josh Fowler and Timam Scott.

The latter earned a penalty after the striker had crafted an opening on the right, but Fowler’s kick was saved by the home side’s trialist goalkeeper.

Not to be outdone Fowler would convert a neat goal AND another spot-kick before the end of the evening at Cliftonhill.

Eight minutes after his saved spot-kick Fowler clipped in the final close-range touch after some lovely fluent passing in midfield and on the left side including Josiah Sowa and Henry Fieldson. The left-back’s overlapping run was picked out and he cut back for the striker to turn in a second equaliser for the Spiders.

He sent them ahead a little while later, with ten minutes to go. This time there was no mistakes from the earlier miss and Fowler finished high into the net to send Sean Crighton’s team ahead.

But that lead didn’t last long either as Calum Ferrie – a virtual spectator in the second half – was beaten in the air on the hosts’ next attack and the header found the net for the sixth goal of the encounter.

Queen’s Park – First half: Wills, Trialist Smith, Fox, Carrick, Pignatiello, McDonnell, Waugh, Collie, Connolly, Drozd, Ruth.

Queen’s Park – Second Half: Ferrie, Fieldson, Murray, Burke, Clark, Bradley, Longridge, McGinley, Sowa, Scott, Fowler.