News

Following last week’s impressive win at Montrose, the team is determined to put on another five star showing when Queen of the South make the long trip to Balmoral Stadium.

Having emerged unbeaten from their group in the Viaplay Cup, the Dumfries outfit lost their league opener against Alloa Athletic, but have bounced back with successive wins over Edinburgh City and Annan Athletic.

They head north looking for a hat-trick, but off the back of his side’s outstanding display at Links Park, Paul Hartley is hoping the team can replicate that on home territory:

“The victory over Montrose was as convincing a performance as I have seen since returning to the club and it was great to send our loyal fans home happy, it must have been an enjoyable trip back up the coast.

“I thought we were terrific from start to finish.”

“Our forward play was so good, we looked a real threat, and if I’m honest, the winning margin could and should have been even greater. The combination and movement of the strikers caused them all sorts of problems and the work rate was excellent.”

Paul says it was not just about the front men, it was a strong showing right across the pitch, and he hopes to see that replicated throughout the campaign:

“It was nice to get that first win of the season, it sets us up for the challenges ahead, and it was good to see the players build on the Falkirk performance. There had been some signs in that one that we were beginning to put it together, and the players stepped it up another level.

“Now we have to keep improving week by week.

“We will be working hard, setting new targets along the way. It’s only the start, it’s a brand new team, but they are coming together, and we still have some really good players to come back.

“What was most pleasing last week was seeing the team perform in the way it did. It was confirmation of the strategy we implemented in the summer, a recognition that we have signed well and that there is good reason to be optimistic, but we cannot rest on our laurels; we need to keep grafting to ensure we get displays like that on a consistent basis.”

Midfielder Connor Scully is one of the links between the team which enjoyed so much success over the years and the new-look side finding its feet in League One.

Having swept the boards in last season’s player of the year awards, and having missed just one game in 22/23, Connor has been an ever-present in the early stages of this campaign, and he sees signs that the squad is starting to come together on and off the pitch:

“We saw that at Montrose last week. It was a good performance from all the boys, really strong right across the team, and a benchmark for where we want to be. It was also a bit of a relief! We knew we were capable of doing it, but it was a long time coming, especially away from home. So, just delighted to get the three points and hopefully that’s us up and running now.

“We’re all still getting used to each other, the moves and runs we make on the pitch, but it does feel as if we’re starting to gel.

“You can start to build it in training, but it’s only during the games that you can do it properly. There are guys who have moved here from all over the UK, it’s been a big change for them having to settle in both on and off the pitch, but I do think we’re all getting there, we’ve been out as a group, and relationships are definitely beginning to form.”

This will be our inaugural league meeting with Queen of the South, and just a fifth overall.

We first went head to head in 1989 when Queens edged us out in the Scottish Cup, but we got revenge thirty-two years later when, after a 2-2 draw at Balmoral, the side pulled off a magnificent 3-0 victory at Palmerston in the replay. Most recently, they beat us 1-0 in the Challenge Cup semi-final.

Connor believes Marvin Bartley’s men will be among our rivals in the race for promotion:

“Another full-time team, they’ve been in good form and they will definitely be aiming to return to the Championship. It will be a tough game, in fact it has been a run of difficult fixtures to start the league, but we’ll be looking to put in a good performance and pick up the three points.

“We need to get back to the days when Balmoral Stadium was a fortress. We had barely lost here up until last season, so we need to return to that and make sure no-one goes back down the road with anything. If we have that mentality and play as we can, this is going to be a hard place for teams to come to.”

Luke Strachan remains on the sidelines, as does Blair Yule, but the midfielder is edging closer to a comeback and is expected to make his long-awaited return later next month.

That apart, and with Fraser Fyvie fit again having been out since January, the manager has a full squad to choose from.

Article Copyright © 2023. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and to www.coverangersfc.com

Queen Of The South | Match Report »