Given the smattering of Olympic football held on Glasgow's south side, it appeared this Scottish Communities League Cup tie might be in danger of slipping under the radar. However, Queen's Park did their best to put on a show with this stunning cup victory.
The home side may have been pitting themselves against Clydesdale Bank Premier League opposition, but in the form of Dundee, they were facing a squad some would say are ill-equipped to cope with the demands of the top division.
The Dens Park club have had a less than ideal start to the season. Defeated in three of their four matches so far, the Taysiders have failed to score a goal and currently sit bottom of the table with a solitary point. Things did not get any better last night, their third division hosts proving too good.
"We just have to dust ourselves down and get on with it," was manager Barry Smith's assessment. "We've got a big game on Sunday and we must move on quickly and make sure that we're ready."
In many respects, a game against a team of part-timers should have been the perfect remedy for their struggles. Having watched Kilmarnock, Ross County and Hibernian all fall at the hands of lower league opposition on Tuesday, Smith named a strong Dundee starting XI, including the likes of Rab Douglas, Ryan Conroy, Matt Lockwood and John Baird.
Queen's Park, meanwhile, had last met SPL opposition in January, when they were comprehensively beaten by Motherwell. It took Gardner Speirs' men five minutes to concede that afternoon, and on this floodlit occasion it proved to be precisely the same scenario, as Steven Milne guided the ball past Neil Parry to give the visitors an early lead.
Conroy was next to threaten, volleying over from close range, only for one of his team-mates to be shown a straight red card moments later. Jamie Longworth had been on the receiving end of Neil McGregor's awkward challenge in the box and the 25-year-old brushed himself down before dispatching the resultant penalty to level proceedings.
After the break, Queen's continued to look more threatening on the break and Sean Burns deservedly put the hosts ahead on the 76th-minute mark, bursting from midfield to coolly stroke the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.
The usual tension was quick to follow, but the third division minnows managed to hold on and record a famous victory. "There are some good teams and good players in the third division," said a delighted Speirs. "There has been a lot of talk lately that maybe that wasn't the case but players who are determined and ambitious will always try to prove their quality."
