Queen’s Park 0 Airdrie 0 – Chance missed in stalemate

QUEEN’S PARK passed up a great chance to register their first home league win over the season after carving out plenty of chances against Airdrieonians.

However the Spiders just couldn’t take one of many and settled for a point against Danny Lennon’s bottom side.

The gap between ninth and tenth remain at five points – but Queen’s should have extended it by taking one of their many chances, particularly in the first half.

Grant Savoury had the best on the cusp of half-time, seeing a low drilled effort hacked off the line by Sean McGinty.

Prior to that though the patched up Spiders squad created many more – Henry Fieldson bursting up the left side to test Matthew Connelly and his fellow winger Matty Shiels also spurned a tempting ball across the box

Shiels also went close in the tenth minute when Aidan Connolly dropped a brilliant ball into the box, but his namesake Matthew punched clear and denied Shiels in the process.
After 18 minutes Henry Fieldson – the stand-out Spider in the first-half – nipped between three players and tested Connolly then Jake Hastie did similar at the other end a few minutes later but slashed his shot high and wide of Callum Ferrie’s goal.

Seb Drozd then turned on the style on the right wing but scuffed his final strike at goal – a theme of the Spiders’ early promise.

Fieldson had another go at goal, taking on Aidan Wilson and sending a shot narrowly past the post. Yet it seemed a matter of time before the Spiders scored but they really were guilty of passing up some great chances.
Shiels – later revealed to be suffering with illness throughout the game – should have buried a brilliant weaving run and cut-back from Savoury but waited for the ball on his favoured left and couldn’t connect.

With seven minutes left of the half, Cooper stung the palms of Ferrie with a Diamonds corner routine straight off the training ground, and in the follow-up Sean McGinty headed well over.

The Diamonds defender had had a difficult first half against  the Spiders but he came to his side’s rescue a few minutes later. A brilliant pass down the wing from Fieldson sent Shiels racing. He pushed into the box and cut back for Grant Savoury to drill at goal but McGinty hacked a certain opener off the line.

That was it for the first half. Plenty of Spiders play but no end product.

Airdrie threatened early in the second, Louis Longridge conceding a free-kick that was reverse headed off the line by Euan Murray. The clearance from Shiels was unconvincing too, but Murray played a captain’s role with a brave block at close range.

Sean Crighton later picked out his backline and goalkeeper for praise and they barely looked like conceding – but at the other end the Spiders simply couldn’t take their chances.

Seb Drozd was next in referee Colin Steven’s book after a promising break broke down and his attempts to regain possession were penalised. Drozd did well to battle out a chance with half an hour to play, but held on just too long to possession and the chance was cleared by the Diamonds.

Head coach sent on Tyrece McDonnell in an attempt to unlock a frustrating stalemate, and he forced Connelly into a one-handed stop after being released clear by a clever Cal Ferrie kick-out. The move couldn’t reap reward though and nor could Timam Scott sent on to run at some tiring legs from North Lanarkshire.

The Spiders had put plenty into the effort so far, with nothing to show for it and were caught when Lewis Strapp’s ball into the six-yard box was steered high past Ferrie by Aaron Reid. The home side were spared though, by the offside flag.

Still they made chances and still they couldn’t benefit from their creativity and a driving run from Grant Savoury conjured up an opening for Timam Scott in the closing stages, but a desperate lunge from Strapp blocked and denied the teen two goals in two games.

By this stage a draw seemed inevitable to those in The city Stadium stands but Josiah Sowa had other ideas, using his pace to hurry the visitors’ defence and he helped make the last chance of the clash for McDonnell, sending him clear, but Connelly gathered at the midfielder’s feet and it finished goalless.

QUEEN’S PARK: Ferrie, Friel (McDonnell 62), Murray, Fox, Sheils, Longridge, Pignatiello, Fieldson (Scott 74), Savoury (Sowa 89), Connolly, Drozd.