Queen of the South 2 Linfield 0 after extra time
ht 0-0
A BOTTLE of champagne was handed to Stephen Dobbie at full-time yesterday. It was a reward for his role in Queen of the South’s belated win over Linfield in the Irn Bru Cup, but the striker might also have welcomed the opportunity to take a stiff drink following a frustrating match that was only decided in extra time.
The Dumfries side will be included in the quarter-final draw today, after Lyndon Dykes and Dobbie each scored late on to squeeze Queens into the last eight. They had hitherto been kept at arm’s length by Roy Carroll, the former Manchester United goalkeeper who is prolonging a storied career in his native Northern Ireland. He was one of five players to start for Linfield who have been capped by their country.
The SPFL extended an invitation to Linfield to play in this competition - the Northern Irish side have been included this season alongside representatives from Wales and colt teams from the Scottish top flight - with the intention of increasing the appeal of a cup reserved traditionally for clubs from Scotland’s lower leagues. It is not clear if the league body will consider the introduction of these teams to have been a success, since only Welsh champions The New Saints have progressed to the quarter-final stage.
Linfield can at least argue that they made their presence felt in Dumfries. A boisterous visiting support travelled on the ferry from Belfast - and the train from Sanquhar, going by one of the many flags hung at the back of the terracing - intent on making themselves inconvenient house guests. This included setting off a smoke bomb and singing a couple of unsavoury ditties.
Their team were kept quiet more easily, with a Kirk Millar shot midway through the second half the closest they came to scoring. “We knew we weren't going to get the same number of opportunities we get in our league,” said David Healy, the Linfield manager.
The better chances were reserved for the home side, as Steven Rigg hooked a shot over the crossbar after 17 minutes. Dykes also lifted a shot over the bar and Andy Dowie’s header dropped on to the roof of the net.
Each effort was watched intently by Carroll. Having turned 39 last month, his experience represents his most apparent value, although he still looked spry when he raced from his box to deal with a flick-on from Dykes midway through the first half. Carroll frustrated the Queens striker in the second half too, twice smothering the ball at the feet of the Australian.
“I watched Carroll play for Manchester United and never realised how big he was,” said Queens manager Gavin Skelton.
Each squandered chance agitated Queens, their support having raised their standards to match their team’s lofty position in the league. The Dumfries side top the Ladbrokes Championship and have not been defeated in the league this season. It is an impressive record but one which has disguised a recent inability to score; Queens have been unable to put the ball in the net in normal time during their previous four fixtures.
This has placed a burden of expectation on Dobbie, in particular. Now in his second spell at Queens following a successful career in England, the 33-year-old scored nine goals in his first eight appearances this season, appearing to confirm that his return to Palmerston constituted the striker walking down the middle of the Nith without getting his feet wet.
His powers were challenged yesterday, often by the obstinate Carroll. And yet Dobbie’s place in the team remains incontrovertible. One pass from inside his own half allowed Dykes to break clear and round Carroll to score 11 minutes into additional time, before Dobbie added a quick second by guiding a free-kick high into the net.
“When the second goal goes in, the game is over,” added the striker. It was a champagne moment for Queens.
Queen of the South Robinson; Hamill, Brownlie, Dowie, Marshall; Anderson (Brotherston 58), Jacobs (Millar 36), Pickard, Dobbie; Rigg (Moxon 106), Dykes
Not used Leighfield, Higgins, Hooper, Nelson
Booked Dykes 107
Linfield Carroll; Casement, Haughey, Callacher, Clarke (Fallon 106); Millar, Mulgrew, Clingan, Carson (Quinn 58); Waterworth, Burns
Not used Moore, Stafford, Ward, Fallon, Glendinning, Strain
Booked Casement 76 Waterworth 89
Referee I Griffith Att 2358
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here