Queens Park 0 Dunfermline 0

cinch Championship semi final play off: Graham Dorrans and Ryan Dow start in place of Dan Pybus and Dom Thomas

The first leg of the cinch Championship semi final play off took Dunfermline back to Firhill to meet Queen’s Park. The Glasgow side qualified for the play offs by finishing fourth in League One.

Manager John Hughes made two changes from his Friday night starting eleven. Captain Graham Dorrans returned in place of Dan Pybus and Ryan Dow was preferred to Dom Thomas. The Queen’s Park team showed two changes from the one that drew with Falkirk the previous Saturday, captain Michael Doyle and Connor Smith coming in for Luca Connell and Jai Quitongo.

Kevin O’Hara got the tie underway with Dunfermline attacking the goal at the open end of the stadium. It was the home side that created the first danger when Jake Davidson fed Louis Longridge the ball wide right and his danger laden cross was headed clear by Matty Todd. A free kick on the left led to a corner on the right but the defence dealt with both setplays.

Queens kept up the pressure forcing a tenth minute corner before Bob McHugh, Darren Lyon and Connor Smith linked well on the edge of the Pars box. At the other end an O’Hara cross from the left was easily taken by keeper Calum Ferrie.

The Fifers looked better when Todd played the ball off Lawless to produce a low cross that only just evaded Dow. Then in 18 minutes Lawless took on his man out on the left and delivered a ball to the back post. Todd headed back across goal but O’Hara’s effort went straight to Ferrie.

At the midpoint of the first half Lawless set off on a run that took him to 20 yards out but electing to shoot his drive went wide right. On 29 minutes Lawless sent Dow away down the left, a good ball but the offside flag went up. Next minute O’Hara and Dorrans set up a chance for Polworth in front of goal but he was closed out before he could pull the trigger.

Dorrans got a break ten minutes from the interval but he was unlucky that his ball right to the unmarked Lawless broke off Charlie Fox. Next O’Hara and Dow forced a corner on the left. Dorrans took it short and set up Polworth for the delivery into the box. That was cleared and O’Hara had the final cross but too strong to the back post.

Dorrans fired a free kick in from the left but again the home defence prevailed. The interval arrived with precious few shots from either side and correspondingly no goals.

Half time: Queen’s Park 0 Dunfermline 0

The Spiders forced two early second half corners but failed to make anything of them. A slack pass on 54 minutes allowed Davidson to gain ground and shoot from the edge of the Pars box forcing Jakub Stolarczyk to drop to his left to hold.

The travelling support warmed when Dorrans played a one two with O’Hara that put him in to shoot from 20 yards out but that was blocked. A Lawless corner followed and appeals for handball from Donaldson’s flick on we’re unsuccessful. The next chance followed quickly thereafter with a Lawless cross headed into the keeper by Edwards.

On 65 minutes a neat Todd pass played Polworth into the right side of the opposition box and his cut back found Dow but quickly closed down all he could earn was a corner that changed nothing.

Two minutes later O’Hara produced the best effort of the night that far blasting his angled shot on target from 15 yards out and causing Ferrie to pull off a good save.

The first Dunfermline substitution came with fifteen minutes remaining, Kevin O’Hara was withdrawn and Lewis McCann entered the fray. It was the Queens sub Simon Murray who almost changed the scoreline. He latched on to a Connor Smith pass and his cross from the left byeline had to be punched away by the visiting keeper.

Murray was then given the opportunity from a 81st minute free kick just 24 yards out after Jai Quitongo won the setpiece but blasted over the crossbar. Another Dunfermline chance came from Todd combining with Polworth and his pass in from the right was just too far in front of Dorrans at the far post for him to get the perfect shot away.

McCann forced an added time corner but it would end all square to go into Saturday’s second leg at East End Park.

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