Lowland League side Cumbernauld Colts were the visitors to Palmerston for the first of our six group matches in the KDM Evolution Trophy. Manager, Nicky Clark made two changes to the side that lost to Peterhead at the weekend. Chris McQueen returned to the back line and Ben Johnstone started in midfield with Jack Stott dropping to the bench and Ruari Ellis recalled by Kilmarnock.
After a disappointing start to the league campaign, it was important that Queens picked up a win and they started with pace. The first attempt on goal came ten minutes in when Brodie Dair was just wide of the keeper’s right-hand post with a low shot from outside the box.
With the ball back in play, Taylor Charters drove forward and played in Johnstone. His shot at the edge of the box was blocked by Oliver Hynd but as it fell to Clark just inside the box, he flicked it on for Cole Coughlin who beat David Wilson from seven-yards.
The Killie loanee was unlucky not to add a second, sixty seconds later when he was through but his right foot shot was blocked. Dair and Coughlin were proving to be a right handful and as the two combined again, the goal-scorer just couldn’t connect with Dair’s pass.
Queens did double the advantage on fifteen minutes when Dair played a short corner to Liam Smith and he weaved his way into the box to drill a left foot shot low across the keeper into the net.
It was relentless pressure from the home side and as Clark headed the ball back out for Johnstone, he caught it on the volley but it took a deflection and went out for a corner.
The visitors had barely been out of their own half but in a brief flurry forward, Niall Rogerson slipped to allow Olly McDonald to cross into the box but there were no takers. And then they were really unlucky when Aidan McLaughlin hit a great strike that had Deniz Mehmet beaten but it came back off the underside of the bar.
Queens quickly restored control and midway through the half, Coughlin played in Clark who probably should’ve hit it first time, but tried to knock it to the side and Colts cleared for a corner.
With just under half an hour played, Coughlin grabbed his second of the game when Dair played the ball in from the right-hand side of the box to him at the near post, his first attempt was blocked but whilst on the ground he managed to get his right boot on it to force the ball home from very close range.
Dair was desperate for a goal of his own and seven minutes before the break he hit a snap-shot towards the target but it didn’t pay off.
HALF TIME: Queens 3 Cumbernauld Colts 0
Two minutes after the restart, Dair crossed from the left but it was just too high for Coughlin to get his head on the end of it. The Fulham youngster, was causing real problems down the left-hand side and as he won another corner and delivered it into the box, there was a claim for handball.
Just before the hour mark, Zander Mackenzie was given a rest and replaced by Aaron Davis, ten minutes after coming off the bench, Davis hit a right-foot shot that was cleared by Callum Home.
It was more of the same from the hosts as they continued to push forward and as Smith played in Dair, Wilson and Hynd combined to block.
Dair’s determination paid off with just under twenty minutes of the game remaining when he collected a loose pass and made his way into the area before rounding the keeper to fire the ball into the net.
Ten minutes later Clark had no route through and as he laid it off to Dair, his attempt was blocked.
In the final stages, Wilson made a terrific one handed save to deny substitute, Billy Gray and Queens had to settle for four.
FULL TIME: Queens 4 Cumbernauld Colts 0
Teams:
Queens: Mehmet, Goldie (Thomson 85), Charters, McQueen, Smith (Trialist 71), Mackenzie (Davis 56), Clark, Dair, Johnstone (Gray 71), Rogerson & Coughlin (Morton 85). Subs not used: Petry & Stott.
Cumbernauld Colts: Wilson, Hynd, Home, McDonald (Hatfield 78), Walker, Semple, McLaughlin (Mann 78), Howe (Rundell 85), Devlin, Brown (Marley 85) & Osemeke (Graham 65). Subs not used: Kearney & Dickson.
Ref: Ewan Birch
Crowd: 395