Kilmarnock 3 v Queens Park 2

Killie Bounce Back

FC Kilmarnock Ladies were looking to bounce back against Queens Park Ladies in their first home match of the season after losing out to Celtic last week. Killie expected a tough game from Queens Park who have added some good players to an already young talented side for this season.

The game kick off at Blair Park, Hurlford at 100 miles per hour, with a high tempo being set by both teams. Queens Park went close first when one of their quick strikers saw their effort sail over the bar, to Kilmarnock’s relief. The opening 25 minutes of the game was extremely tight, with most of the football being played in the midfield in what was a fantastic battle for possession.

Killie however opened the scoring, when Toni Mason rose like a salmon to send a bullet header past Queens Park keeper Kate Lavan from a Clare Docherty corner to the delight of the home crowd. 1-0 Kilmarnock.

Queens Park though continued to battle for possession, playing some good football mainly through Jennifer Beattie and got their rewards for their hard work when Cheryl McCulloch got onto the end of the ball and finishing from just inside the area past Scotland Under 19 Internationalist Khym Ramsay.

Half Time: Killie (1)-(1) Queens Park
The second half started just as the first half ended with some great tussles going on in midfield. Jennifer Beattie, who was Queens Park star player on the night, made a great run latching onto a loose ball in Midfield, powered into the box and calmly finished with her left foot to make it 2-1 in favour of Queens Park. A fine individual effort from a player tipped for big things.

The goal gave Kilmarnock the wake up call that was needed and the whole team knew they had to up a gear if they wanted the 3 points they had set out to get. The home crowd did not have to wait too long to cheer again. Kilmarnock after a great passing move involving a number of players, found Clare Docherty who caught inside to hammer home a shot from 20 yards out into the bottom corner. 2-2.

Kilmarnock were not done there, as with the energetic Laura Cooper and Toni Mason pressing and running after everything it was looking good for Killie. The goal came with 12 minutes remaining when Claire McCombe, who was in the wars all night, was brought down 25 yards out was awarded a free kick. Up step Clare Docherty who was fantastic all night, curled a ferocious free kick past the Queens Park keeper who stood no chance of saving it. 3-2 Kilmarnock.

Final Score: Killie (3) - (2) Queens Park
(Killie Team; Ramsay, Smith, Burns, Heggarty, Quinn, McCombe, Mason (1), L.Ferguson, Docherty (2), Kelly (Munro) & L.Cooper. Subs: Forsyth, C.Ferguson, Davidson, Hughes, J.Cooper & Munro)

After the game Kilmarnock Club Captain Tracy Burns was delighted with the 3 points and performance. “ It was a good result and performance tonight against a strong Queens Park side who will no doubt cause a lot of teams problems this season. As a team we were all extremely disappointed at losing out to Celtic last week, as we felt we gave enough to take at least a point away from the game, but that’s life I suppose. It was important we responded well and 2 wins out of our opening 3 league games is a step in the right direction. We have a lot of new players this season and we have started to now gel and I can see we are getting better with each game, which gives us confidence going into 2 tough games against Aberdeen in the Cup on Sunday and at home in the League the following week. So as much as we will enjoy this win tonight, tomorrow we will start to focus on the League Cup game. I would also like to thank the fans for their support tonight and long may it continue throughout the season.”

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Spiders luck out at Killie

The phrase goes “it’s a funny old game”, and football can be in part humorous, fickle, physical and unrewarding. For Queens Park in Kilmarnock, it proved to be a case of “the best team doesn’t always win”, but sometimes that phrase can be countered with “you make your own luck in this game”…

With Kylie McMullan making her first appearance for the Spiders at left back in the absence of Lauren MacMillan, and Stephanie Handley returning in midfield the Spiders were confident they would give a good account of themselves. Having started badly in the first two league games of this season, there was an air of grim determination that the same overwhelming first 5 minutes wouldn’t happen again. And it didn’t.

Queens were the team on top after the first 15 minutes, having kept Kilmarnock pressed in their own half for long periods, with the Ayrshire team’s main outlet being Clare Docherty on the left hand side, who was dangerous throughout the game and would make a significant contribution later on… However Cheryl McCulloch and Nicky Black both looked in the mood upfront, causing real problems for the centre backs with McCullochs lightning pace and Blacks feathered touches.

Yet despite the early pressure, which saw a golden opportunity put over the bar from inside the 6 yard box, Queens allowed a free header from a corner-kick which put Killie 1-0 up. This was a blow having controlled the first 25 minutes but the character within this team is a special one, and the sleeves got rolled up, the tackles got made earlier and Cheryl McCulloch equalised 10 minutes later with a fabulous finish from the left side of the 18 yard box. Her first touch took her past the onrushing Kym Ramsay and she only needed to look up once and smacked the ball home for an equaliser that Queens more than deserved.

The half-time whistle came at 1-1, with the Spiders knowing an opportunity for the 3 points was there, and early in the second half, Jennifer Beattie's fine run and finish took the Spiders into the lead.

In the diminishing light the match became virtually unplayable after 15 minutes of the second half. However, it was the same conditions for both teams, and Kilmarnock equalised through Clare Docherty who was their best player on the night. The ball got played over to her and she cut inside to finish from 20 yards. This seemed to galvanise Killie further who laid siege to the Queens goal for the next 10 minutes but the defence held resolutely firm, and it began to see Queens utilise Cheryl McCullochs pace on the break. Stephanie Handley worked a good angle for herself after a fine ball from Amy McDonald at the back but went just off target with her left foot.

Another long ball from Kilmarnock went to the number 9, who was tackled firmly by Terri Donnelly and Queens number 5 was penalised for it with a direct free kick given and stroked home past Kate Lagan.

In the diminishing light Queens tried in vain to get Cheryl McCulloch and Jennifer Condie on the ball, but misused set pieces proved to be the undoing of Queens Park. Jennifer Condie had a fine effort from distance drop just shy of the post and this proved to be the last significant contribution of the game.

Afterwards, Queens coach Vinny Bryson was left shaking his head at some missed chances and some luck that seemed to all go Killies way. “The Premier League is teaching us some harsh lessons, as the cliché says the best team doesn’t always win and I thought we competed with and handled Kilmarnock well. However, they took all the chances they created, which was only 1 from open play, and we never. We will sharpen the knife a little more and make sure our cutting edge is better for Sunday as we have a very important game then. Individually, Cheryl McCulloch and Jennifer Beattie were first class and Kylie McMullans first ever game in the Premier League showed us we may have unearthed a successor to Nicola Barbour on the left side. However, I felt we definitely deserved something from the game tonight, and the frustration and disappointment will just get channelled into our preparation for Sundays game at Glasgow Green.”

Queens Park are at home to Glasgow City on Sunday at Glasgow Green, kick-off is 2pm