Montrose emerge victorious against Queen of the south in dramatic style.

Montrose started the stronger team with early pressure which proved costly for the visitors as Montrose won an early corner after 2 minutes. Keir Bertie swung a dangerous ball in and Steeves met it at the back post to head into the roof of the net to power the Mighty Mo into the lead.

After the goal the game became very competitive with end to end football. The first chance for Queen of the South was for Kurtis Guthrie after a cross into the box with his header going wide.

Montrose found a second goal when Keir Bertie’s pass found Taylor Sutherland, and he danced his way through the Queen of the South defence sending Matthew Douglas to the ground and Sutherland smashed it past Ross Stewart for his 5th goal of the season.

Queen of the South’s biggest chance to that point was for Liam Smith who caught a half volley from outside the box and Harry Sharp caught it well.

The visitor’s best chance of the half came after Harry Sharp gave the ball away cheaply after 25 minutes and Brennan Dickenson got a shot away and it went sailing past the left-hand side of the post which should have found the back of the net.

After that chance Queen of the South controlled most of the possession with multiple chances at goal and really dangerous corners with no aerial threat. The half fizzled out in a scrappy fashion with chances for both sides but to no avail, seeing Montrose through to half time with the 2 goal lead.

Queen of the South made a halftime substitution with Niall Rogerson replacing Taylor Charters. Montrose kicked the second half off with positive intentions and an early chance for Montrose came when Taylor Sutherland laid the ball off to Terry Masson and his shot went high and wide. The next 15 minutes were end to end with the rain now lashing down not making the conditions any easier.

In the 58th minute Queen of the South captain Matthew Douglass was booked after a late tackle on Terry Masson, but the free kick never amounted to much. The first real chance for Montrose of the half was when Blair Lyons ran into the box with good skill and got a cross in but Callum Sandilands and Taylor Sutherland were unable to convert.

Queen of the South made a substitution in the 63rd minute and Liam Smith was replaced by Jordan Allan. 5 minutes later Niall Rogerson was booked for a bad foul on the edge of the box on Taylor Sutherland.

Montrose had a penalty shout when Callum Sandilands was toppled on by Jack Hannah, but it did not dampen Montrose’s spirit when a really good chance came after Taylor Sutherland passed it to Blair Lyons who took on his man and got a shot at goal but it was deflected into the keepers hands.

Queen of the South found a goal following a counter attack from the Montrose chance with Blair Lyons, Jordan Allan forcing a great save from Harry Sharp but he couldn’t parry it far enough away and Kennedy smashed in the rebound to half the deficit.

Montrose made a double substitution with Terry Masson and Blair Lyons being replaced Craig Brown and Graham Webster. Following a free kick Kurtis Guthrie was taken down and the referee awarded the visitor’s a penalty. Kai Kennedy stepped up and smashed it into the bottom right corner despite Harry Sharp going the right way to level the match and add a second of the match for Kai Kennedy.

Montrose made another double substitution with Keir Bertie and Gus Stevenson replaced by Aidan Quinn and Kerr Waddell. Montrose responded brilliantly to the 2 goals and broke from another attack and Callum Sandilands played it through to Craig brown who let the ball run across his body before letting fly with an absolute screamer from 35 yards out into the top right corner to put Montrose back into the lead making the score 3-2 in the favour of the hosts with a goal of the season contender.

Montrose were forced into a late change with Ryan Williamson coming off and the January signing Euan Glasgow replacing him. Jack Scott was booked in Stoppage time after a foul on Kieran Freeman. Taylor Sutherland had a late chance to finish it off with his shot which bounced off the ground and went over the bar. Kurtis Guthrie had a huge chance at goal when his powerful header smashed off the bar which denied him a goal to level the score. The referee sounded his whistle and Montrose emerged victorious in a dramatic end.

Attendance: 495

Report by Ryan Hunter

Pic by Phoenix Photography