Queen of the South's European adventure came to an end in Denmark this evening as the Dumfries side went down 2:1 to FC Nordjaelland. Queens took an early lead through a Bob Harris free kick in only the second minute of the game which brought the tie back to 2:2 on aggregate, meaning that another goal by the Scottish First Division side would see them to the next round. It was not to be however, as two goals in the last five minutes by Martin Bernburg, the second from a breakaway move as Queens pushed men forward to score another goal, killed off the Doonhamers challenge. Despite the 4:2 aggregate defeat, Gordon Chisholm should be proud of his team of young players, and the side's performance against Nordjaelland over the two legs has certainly shown Scottish football in a positive light.
[caption id="attachment_1779" align="aligncenter" width="246" caption="Disappointment for Queen of the South as their European adventure ends. Picture source: BBC"]
[/caption]The result in Denmark does however have negative implications. With only two Scottish sides left in Europe (Motherwell and Celtic), Scotland's position in the Uefa Co-efficient ranking table - effectively a table that determines how many places are allocated to Uefa member countries - is under threat from countries that still have teams in the various European competitions. Belgium, Turkey and Denmark, among others, still have representatives in Europe and depending on their success, could push Scotland into 12th place or lower in the rankings table, meaning that from next season, Scotland will lose the automatic place in the Champions League group stage or, should Scotland drop far enough down the rankings, one of the additional Uefa Cup places.
Co-operative Insurance Cup
For Hibernian manager Mixu Paatelainen, life is certainly not easy. Poor pre-season performances where matched with an indifferent league campaign which has seen them win only one game so far. Going into tonight's game against second-bottom of the First Division table Morton, the Fin must have fancied his side's chances of going through to the next round, but amazingly it is Morton that will be entered into the draw for the next round as the Greenock side emerged the winners. With the sides level after ninety minutes, the game required extra-time to decide the winner. Steven Pinua put Hibs in front, but an Ian Russell penalty in the 115th minute, and a Ryan Harding strike two minutes later sealed the Hibee's fate. Final score, Morton 4: 3 Hibernian.
John Daley's hat-trick for Dundee United sealed a comfortable win over Cowdenbeath (1:5), with David Goodwillie getting the other two goals. John Dempster scored a consolation goal for Cowdenbeath on 75 minutes, but by that stage the tie was effectively over; final score Cowdenbeath 1:5 Dundee United
Partick Thistle proved the stronger side in the clash of the First Division leaders. Their 2:1 victory over Dundee came at the end of a game with few goal attempts, and with all the goals scored in the last 15 minutes of the game. Ian Maxwell put Thistle ahead on 78 minutes before Paul McHale equalized for Dundee two minutes later. With three minutes left on the clock, Gary Harkins converted a penalty to send the Jags through. Not a thrilling game for the 2,500 spectators inside the ground , but one with which the Thistle fans will be happy as they go through to the next round. Final score from Dens Park, Dundee 1:2 Partick Thistle.
Hamilton progress to the next round at the expense of Clyde. Two early goals (Grady for Hamilton and Clarke for Clyde) had the scores level going into half-time. Shortly after the break, Clyde where reduced to 10-men as Michael Ohnesorge picked up his second yellow card for his challenge on Brian Easton. Hamilton capitalised on the numerical advantage as first Joel Thomas and then Tony Stevenson scored to seal the win for the Accies. Final score: Hamilton 3:1 Clyde
St. Johnstone's season took yet another turn for the worse as they went down 2:1 to Livingston at the Almondvale. In an exciting game with plenty of shots on goal it was the Saints who took the lead through Liam Craig just after the break. Leigh Griffiths levelled the tie on 58 minutes and with no more scoring in regular time, it took a Jean-Jose Cuenca tie to send Livingston through. Final score: Livingston 2:1 St. Johnstone
Raith Rovers where knocked out by SPL side Falkirk; Michael Higdon got the Bairns off to a flyer with a goal in the 16th minute. Falkirk doubled the lead 10 minutes later when some sloppy Raith defending led David McGurn to foul Falkirk's Mark McGurn; John Stewart made no mistake with the resulting penalty, slamming the ball high into the top corner. Things got worse for Raith when Allan Walker was sent off for his dangerous foul on Thomas Scobbie and despite getting a goal back through Mark Campbell, Mark Stewart scored for Falkirk with 6 minutes to go, giving Raith no room for recovery. Final score Raith Rovers 1:3 Falkirk
Dunfermline struggled through against Alloa in a bad-tempered game that saw 8 yellow cards and one sending off as Alloa's Steven McKeown was sent off for dangerous play. An early strike by Andy Kirk was to be the deciding goal, as his 20-yard drive flew past Raymond Jellema in the Alloa goal. Final score from East End Park: Dunfermline 1:0 Alloa
The performance of the night comes from St. Mirren who showed the kind of goal-scoring form that the Paisley side are so desperately lacking in the league. Their demolition of Third Division Dumbarton this evening must give Buddies manager Gus McPherson some hope that his front-line, misfiring in the league, do know how to find the net. A Billy Mehmet hat-trick was complemented by goals from Steven Robb, Andy Dorman, Craig Dargo and Gary Mason as Dumbarton where dumped 7:0. The 1,747 fans inside St Mirren Park must hope that their team can emulate this kind of form when league action resumes on Saturday against Aberdeen. For Dumbarton, about the only positive thing they can take from this match is that none of their players where booked, but with only 1 attempt at goal all evening, you have to wonder if they even bothered turning up. Final score, St. Mirren 7:0 Dumbarton
No comments:
Post a Comment