Portstewart, bottom of the league with no points were the visitors to Glen Road on a bright showery day.
After just 10 minutes Portstewart’s James McLaughlin broke clear of the Queen’s defence and tried to take the ball round Gerard Duff who managed to grab the ball. Both teams were putting a lot of effort into the game but there wasn’t much good football, too many misplaced passes. On 28 minutes McLaughlin was brought down by Queen’s Matt McManus and James Pedan dispatched the spot kick with ease. Five minutes later it was 2-0 when Queen’s defender Stuart Harper’s misdirected header fell nicely for Sam Boylan who slotted the ball wide of the advancing Duff, into the bottom corner.
After the break, Queen’s finally came to life and dominated the second half. Numerous times the ball came into the Portstewart box but resolute defending kept their goal intact. With 15 minutes left Queen’s finally scored, Tony Tumelty sliding in at the far post to hammer the ball into the roof of the goal. More pressure followed but Queen’s couldn’t get what would have been a deserved equaliser.
We were in third position in the league before this game so defeat to the bottom club was a very disappointing result. As it turned out a win today would have put us top of the table. We are normally tight in defence but too many mistakes are costing bad goals and lost points. With difficult games coming soon against strong sides this will have to improve if we are to maintain a challenge this season. Next game is against PSNI at Newforge next Saturday ko 3pm.
Teams: -
Queen's:
G. Duff, R. Budden, S. Harper, M. McManus, P. Prenter, M. Allison, A. Keenan, P. Donnelly, G. Higgins, C. Mulholland, J. Lavery.
Subs: M. Vernon, F. McBride, T. Tumelty, C. Millar, J. Elliott
Teams: -
Portstewart: J. Madison, C. Bradley, A. Todd, I. Todd, A. Gaston, M. Nicholl, J. Dinsmore, J. Pedan, S. Boylan, J. McLaughlin, S. Mason
Subs: G. Taylor, T. Parsons, R. McAllister