The Anglo-Scottish Walking Football Cup recently took place at the Queen of the South Arena. With two new pitches laid it was an excellent opportunity for those involved to play some good quality football.

This event for the over 50s is played to Scottish Walking Football rules and pulls together some of the strongest walking football teams from the South of Scotland and Northwest of England. Eight teams entered, hosts Queen of the South along with last year’s winners, St Cuthbert Wanders and teams from Stranraer, Glenafton, Annan Athletic, Gretna, Workington and Carlisle.

The format is a two-group league system with the winners of Group 1 playing the Runners-up of Group 2; and the winners of Group 2 playing the Runners-up of Group 1. The winners of these play-offs meet in the final.

Workington, Annan, Queens and Carlisle made up group one, while group two involved, Gretna, Glenafton, Stranraer and St Cuthbert Wanders. Unfortunately, Saints had to withdraw from the event at short notice, so the hosts split their squad and the QOS All Stars made up group two.

As the tournament got underway, Workington took on Carlisle on pitch one, it was a very close match with two very strong and experienced teams, who cancelled each other out. Both were limited to half-chances in and around the opposition goal area however no-one was able to break the deadlock and the match ended in a goal-less draw.

While that was taking place, Stranraer faced Gretna on pitch two. This was another tough and highly competitive match between another two experienced teams. Johnnie Partridge scored the only goal of a tight game to give Gretna the win.

In the second round of games, Queens opened their fixtures against Annan on pitch one. It was a highly competitive and just a few minutes in, Queens Stevie Smith was unlucky not to open the scoring. The referee adjudged that he had taken more than the permitted three touches on the ball and awarded Annan a free kick. The free kick was taken quickly with a short pass made to Colin Taylor, who took the ball first-time and smashed his drive through the defensive wall and into the bottom corner to put Annan ahead. Both sides had further chances but Taylor’s goal was enough to seal the win.

Queens All Stars were on the other pitch in a tough game against Glenafton. They made a game of it but, two goals from Grant Wilkes and another from Andy Durham earned Glens a 3-0 win.

Queens were then up against Workington. Stevie Smith blocked a Workington shot at the edge of the box but the ball broke to Steve Powell who smashed it past Tom Gordon in the Queens goal. Queens fought back and were awarded a penalty, the ever-dependable Iain Mitchell stepped up to fire the ball into the top right corner to level. However, a short time later, Malcolm Temple lashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net to restore Workington’s advantage and they held on to see out the game 2-1 winners.

On the other pitch, Stranraer faced Glenafton in a fiery tie between two highly competitive sides. Glenafton dominated the early part of the game and Grant Wilkes hat-trick had them three up. But Stranraer fought back and goals from Thomas and Powell pulled them to within touching distance but they ran out of time and Glens won by the odd goal in five.

As the fourth matches took place, Carlisle faced Annan and Barry Stewart scored the only goal of the game when he converted a penalty to give Carlisle the win. At the same time, Gretna were one – nil winners over Queens All Stars on pitch two. Gretna started strongly knowing that a second win would put them in a good place to qualify for the final stages of the competition. They pressed the All-Stars goal and were awarded a penalty which was saved by Robert Wilson. They did go on to score later in the game to win by one goal to nil.

The games continued and Workington were two – nil winners over Annan thanks to goals from Paul Skips and White to secure their place in the finals. And Queens All Stars faced another tough contest against Stranraer. Again, it was fine margins but the game was settled in favor of Stranraer when Forbes fired home a penalty with the last kick.

The final group matches, saw Queens and Carlisle fight out a goal-less draw while, Gretna were the only side to win all their matches so far as they saw off Glenafton one- nil to finish on nine points.

Onto the semi-finals and Group 1 winners - Workington would face group 2 runners up Glenafton. While, group 2 winners Gretna were up against Group 1 Runners-up, Carlisle.

Glenafton proved to be too strong for Workington as goals from Grant Wilkes, Ian Wilson and Andy Durham saw them into the final, where they’d face Gretna who were two-nil winners in their game.

The 3rd/4th place play-off match ended in a 1 - 1 draw between Workington and Carlisle.
 

While in the final, two goals from Grant Wilkes and some solid defending against a very determined Gretna team saw Glenafton take the spoils and win the tournament.

During the presentations, Keith Brown thanked all the teams for taking part, Queen of the South for providing the excellent facilities, referees - Billy Macalister and James Chalmers and time-keeper Billy McRobert. Thanks, was also given to the catering staff and those who organized a raffle which raised over £300 for the QOS Community Trust.

The player of the tournament award was presented to Glenafton’s Grant Wilkes by Iain Mitchell. And events concluded when winners Glenafton lifted the ‘Maurice Sproat Memorial Trophy.’

Our busy schedule for December continues tomorrow when we host Dunfermline in the last 32 of the KDM Evolution Trophy.

Although tomorrow’s visitors are in the Championship, the two sides faced each other less than two weeks ago when they went head-to-head at East End Park in the Scottish Cup. Despite Queens taking an early lead that day through an own goal by Josh Tod, Neil Lennon’s side hit back with two quick goals from Chris Kane to secure a 2-1 victory and their place in the next round.

Ahead of the match, Manager Peter Murphy said “Although we want to be picking up three points, especially at home, Saturday’s draw against Cove Rangers was a good point. We conceded right on half time but the players came out with real intent in the second half and thankfully Matty popped up with an equaliser late one. We now face a very good Championship side in the knockout stages of the KDM, we played well against them at East End Park but we know it will be a difficult game. We have been preparing to make sure that we're fully ready to go and give another good account of ourselves.”

Supporters Information

HOME supports will be located within The Thompson Solicitors stand, along with sections 1 – 3 of the BDS stand and the Oakbank Terracing. While for this match, sections 4 & 5 of the BDS has been allocated to AWAY fans.

To gain entry to the BDS stand – ALL supporters should use turnstiles 1 & 2. Disabled access for Away fans is via Gate H on the south side of the BDS stand. Entry to the Oakbank Terrace will be via turnstiles 16 & 17 only. While fans should use turnstiles 4 & 22 for entry to the Thompson Solicitors stand. Please note that there will be no general entry to the BDS Stand via the terracing so please make sure you enter the ground via the correct turnstiles.

Turnstiles will be open for spectator entry at approximately 1830.

Entry is by ticket. Tickets are now on sale for both home and away fans online via our ticket partner TicketCo, using the link below:

https://qosfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/dunfermline_athletic

Season Tickets are not valid for this game.

On the day ticket prices are:

Adults: £15
Concessions: £10

U16s: £5

Tickets will be available online until kick off or at the ground on the day of the game from the ticket office located within the QOS Arena which will open approximately 1730. There will be no ticket office at the BDS stand for this match.

Car parking will be available to all spectators within the Queen of the South Arena car park on a first come first served basis.

Supporters’ buses/minibuses should drop off their passengers in Terregles St/King Street and thereafter park on College Mains Road just off the roundabout with the A76 on the town bypass (adjacent to Curry’s/PC World, as the other side at Aldi is the access road to the ambulance depot and is extremely busy). Pick up should be the same location as drop off.

Supporters’ buses including minibuses will not be allowed to park in the Arena car park.

Those travelling to the game should check Traffic Scotland website at http://trafficscotland.org/index.aspx for confirmation of any road closures or delays.

The shared catering outlets within the supporter’s areas of the ground will be open for use. Fans should note that these kiosks are cash only. If you are looking for catering before entering the ground. The lounge bar under the Main stand will also be open to both sets of supporters’ pre-match.

For safety reasons, QOS have adopted a robust and thorough search policy for spectators entering the ground to ensure that ground rules and regulations are strictly adhered to, especially in relation to pyrotechnic devices and controlled containers. We would like to remind supporters that letting off smoke devices/ pyrotechnics is a criminal offence, and anyone found doing so will be referred to Police Scotland. Not only is it against the law, it is also extremely dangerous and a health hazard to other spectators. All bags will be searched and spectators presenting themselves for entry may also be subject to search. Spectators who refuse to be searched by stewards will be denied entry to the ground.

Palmerston Park is a non-smoking venue; this includes e cigarettes and other such devices. Stewards are empowered to eject spectators who disobey these rules. No persons will be admitted to the ground who are deemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

Parents are advised to bring cartons of juice for the kids as no bottles or cans will be permitted through the gates.

The club shop located in the Arena will be open until kick off where you can purchase our club merchandise.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 7.45 pm.

After three games on the road, it was back to Palmerston for the league one fixture against Cove Rangers. There was one change to the starting eleven from last week?s trip to Dunfermline, Jack Hannah returned to the heart of defense with Niall Rogerson dropping to the bench. The visitors are sitting near the foot of the table but have been on a good run recently and picked up results including a Scottish Cup win over St Johnstone. And they made a positive start to the game and Matty Douglas had to make a good challenge inside the box to cut out the danger. Queens made a break though and as ...
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After three games on the road, we return to Palmerston tomorrow for the visit of Cove Rangers.

We go into the game sitting sixth in league one with 21 points, just outside the promotion play-off places, while the visitors have 9 points and sit nineth in the table. Both sides had a break from the league last weekend due to the third round of the Scottish Cup, our game ended in a narrow defeat away at Dunfermline but Cove picked up a confidence boosting extra time victory when they came from behind to beat St Johnstone by two goals to one.

A trip to Cove was out first game of the league campaign at the beginning of August and we got off to a winning start with a two – nil victory. Kurtis Guthrie opened the scoring after 19 minutes to give us a lead and Kai Kennedy secured the three points with nine minutes remaining.

Ahead of the match, Manager Peter Murphy said “The performance in our last league game away at Inverness wasn’t acceptable, but I was delighted with the reaction from the players against Dunfermline. On the day we matched a very good Championship side but just fell short as we didn’t take our chances. This weekend we are back at Palmerston for the first time in nearly a month so it’s good to have a home game. Cove had a mixed season and won’t be happy where they are in the league so we will have to be ready. We were very good when we played them at the Balmoral Stadium so we will be looking for more of the same tomorrow.”

Supporters Information

HOME supports will be located within The Thompson Solicitors stand, along with the West section of the BDS and the Oakbank Terracing. While for this match, section 7 in the East side of the BDS has been allocated to AWAY fans.

To gain entry to the BDS stand – ALL supporters should use turnstiles 1 & 2. Disabled access for Away fans is via Gate H on the south side of the BDS stand. Entry to the Oakbank Terrace will be via turnstiles 16 & 17 only. While fans should use turnstiles 4 & 22 for entry to the Thompson Solicitors stand. Please note that there will be no general entry to the BDS Stand via the terracing so please make sure you enter the ground via the correct turnstiles.

Turnstiles will be open for spectator entry at approximately 1345.

Entry is by ticket. Tickets are now on sale for both home and away fans online via our ticket partner TicketCo, using the link below:

www.qosfc.com/buytickets

Season Tickets are valid for this game and barcodes will be scanned at the turnstile.

On the day ticket prices are:

Adults: £20
Concessions (OAP): £12

16–21-year-olds/Students: £10

Accessible Tickets: £8 (includes a free carer)

Accessible Concession: £6 (includes a free carer)
U16s: £5

Accessible U16s: £3

Tickets will be available online until kick off or at the ground on the day of the game from the ticket office located within the QOS Arena which will open approximately 1230. There will be no ticket office at the BDS stand for this match.

The only way to buy tickets in advance will be online.

Tickets purchased are non-transferable or refundable.

Car parking will be available to all spectators within the Queen of the South Arena car park on a first come first served basis.

Supporters’ buses/minibuses should drop off their passengers in Terregles St/King Street and thereafter park on College Mains road just off the roundabout with the A76 on the town bypass (adjacent to Curry’s/PC World, as the other side at Aldi is the access road to the ambulance depot and is extremely busy). Pick up should be the same location as drop off.

Supporters’ buses including minibuses will not be allowed to park in the Arena car park.

Those travelling to the game should check Traffic Scotland website at http://trafficscotland.org/index.aspx for confirmation of any road closures or delays.

The catering outlets within the supporter’s areas of the ground will be open for use. Fans should note that these kiosks are cash only. If you are looking for catering before entering the ground, The Snaq café within the Arena will be open and will have a range of food/snacks on offer and will accept card. The lounge bar under the Main stand will also be open to both sets of supporters’ pre-match.

For safety reasons, QOS have adopted a robust and thorough search policy for spectators entering the ground to ensure that ground rules and regulations are strictly adhered to, especially in relation to pyrotechnic devices and controlled containers. We would like to remind supporters that letting off smoke devices/ pyrotechnics is a criminal offence, and anyone found doing so will be referred to Police Scotland. Not only is it against the law, it is also extremely dangerous and a health hazard to other spectators. All bags will be searched and spectators presenting themselves for entry may also be subject to search. Spectators who refuse to be searched by stewards will be denied entry to the ground.

Palmerston Park is a non-smoking venue; this includes e cigarettes and other such devices. Stewards are empowered to eject spectators who disobey these rules. No persons will be admitted to the ground who are deemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

Parents are advised to bring cartons of juice for the kids as no bottles or cans will be permitted through the gates.

The club shop located in the Arena will be open until kick off where you can purchase a full range of club merchandise, the club magazine and half-time draw tickets.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 3 pm.

A new limited Queen of the South watch has been released! With limited time to get before Christmas you'll need to be fast!!

Bespoke Queen of the South Timepiece

42 mm silver case

Silver uni-directional bezel

Stainless steel strap

Quartz 3-hand movement

Presentation box with branded sleeve

2-year warranty excluding wear, tear and battery 

https://store.qosfc.com/limited-watch

We are pleased to announce our ticketing is now available for our KDM at Palmerston on Tuesday 9th December. 

Ticket Pricing-

Adults- £15 

Concession- £10

U16- £5

https://qosfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/dunfermline_athletic

For anyone who would like to know, funeral details have now been provided by the family:

18th December at 1.30pm @ Charnock Richard Crematorium PR7 5JP.
Thereafter to the Conservative Club, Brownedge Road, Lostock Hall, PR5 5AA

Everyone at the club was saddened to hear at the weekend of the death of Tommy Bryce (Mark 1). Tommy, pictured here with his former team-mate Crawford Boyd at Palmerston for the 90th Anniversary celebrations (Photo (c) Rab Thorburn) joined the club from Johnstone Burgh in 1971 and stayed 9 years before departing for Stenhousemuir in 1980. He made 139 appearances for the club and scored 52 goals, mostly from winger.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in Peace.