Airdrieonians 0 Queen’s Park 3 – Christmas cheer from Spiders

QUEEN’S PARK recorded their biggest league win of the William Hill Championship season so far, with a double from top scorer Josh Fowler and a second in as many weeks from Henry Fieldson.

The Englishman headed his first professional goal against Dunfermline last week, and added the third as the Spiders picked off Airdrie in a game plan masterminded by Sean Crighton and his coaching team.

They allowed Airdrie onto them in the first half and, with a marksman as prolific s Fowler, picked off the hosts just before half time then assumed control after the restart.

The first half was tight, tetchy and for the most part played without the ball. Queen’s allowed Airdrie territory but Calum Ferrie was barely tested.

The Diamonds sent several efforts wide or high and though the volume of possession was in the home side’s favour there was little of note until Grant Gillespie fired Chris Mochrie’s cutback inches wide on the half hour mark.

For the Spiders Louis Longridge had shot over from distance and Grant Savoury had an effort blocked.

Josh Fowler was, for the majority, closed down by two Diamonds defenders but Queen’s kept their heads down and kept playing.

Ferrie did come to the Spiders’ rescue just before half=-time to block Sean McGinty’s close-range header and it’d prove vital as Queen’s led minutes later.

The biggest cheer of the opening 45 had been reserved for the errant Airdrie PA system which issued a rogue emergency evacuation message out for three minutes during play but a bigger one was to come in added time at the end of the first half – from only one corner of the ground.

Seb Drozd fired over after earning a corner that created a stramash and a minute later his strike partner Josh Fowler had found the opener as he so often does.

It was the talisman’s only shot on target after being tightly marshalled and it counted so much for the Sean Crighton at the break. 

The Spiders re-emerged with a spring in their step and though Ferrie had to be low to gather a drive from Mochrie on 53 minutes, the visitors looked a lot more assured than they had for the duration of the first half – a goal to the good and armed with instructions from the head coach and Jim Duffy at the break. 

Airdrie were further disrupted by Sean McGinty’s substitution after coming off worse in an aerial duel with Fowler who added another after some brilliant work from Seb Drozd just after the hour. The Ibrox hero was on the scoresheet midweek and continued his vein of form in North Lanarkshire, wresting possession from Dean McMaster and playing in his team-mate to chop one way and fife the other and score his 17th of the season on the spin.

The only down-side of the win was Roddy MacGregor’s caution that rules him out of next week’s match with Partick Thistle, but he laid on the third with 15 minutes to go.

Fowler wanted his hat-trick and took a close range free-kick after Seb Drozd had been wiped out by McMaster on the edge of the area.

Cade Melrose beat the set-piece clear but MacGregor fired the rebound across goal and Henry Fieldson stabbed in his second professional goal in as many games.

That’s how it ended as Sean Crighton’s side moved level on points with Airdrie but crucially above the Diamonds on goal difference and with a game in hand – a Christmas gift for the away support from a team who have given their all throughout the first half of the season.

QUEEN’S PARK: Ferrie, Pignatiello, Murray, Shiels, Fieldson, Longridge (Friel 90), MacGregor, Savoury (Waugh 85), Connolly, Fowler, Drozd.