Peterhead’s entry into the Scottish Cup fell at the first hurdle, as Dom Thomas’ brace of free-kicks helped Queen’s Park into the fourth round.
If this was to be the final game of assistant boss Davie Nicholls’ time at the club, Peterhead went out with a wimper in the wind.
Thomas made the most of two set-pieces, on a day where the weather made any real quality on the ball impossible. Former Blue Toon winger Grant Savoury put the icing on the cake.
The Balmoor side are hoping to appoint a replacement for Jim McInally sooner rather than later and this showing was enough evidence for the task ahead of him.
A dire first-half, with Peterhead unable to put together any spells of sustained pressure, was finally given a shot in the arm by Thomas.
His free-kick 35 yards from goal, on an ordinary day, would have been unlikely to merit a shot. But with a Buchan breeze behind it, it soared beyond Tom Ritchie’s grasp in the Blue Toon goal.
The conditions made it difficult for the home side but having no recognised striker hardly helped either. Ola Adeyemo has been missing for weeks with an Achilles issue, Russell McLean is working his way back from nearly eight months out with a knee problem and the Chris Kisuka experiment did not work out.
The latest in their merry-go-round of forward stand-ins was on-loan Ayr United man Mikey Hewitt – ostensibly a full-back – who had the thankless task of trying to create something for Peterhead in the final third.
Having the wind in their favour in the second half raised the energy levels somewhat. Frenetic rather than fluid, Peterhead set about penning the Spiders in from their own goal-kicks and going for goal in ever-more ambitious ways. Hewitt, Andy McCarthy and Andy McDonald all tried to reap the same wind-assisted benefits as Thomas, to no avail.
It was left to Thomas again to show them how it was done, just after the hour mark. With a free-kick deep in the right channel – and Thomas wise enough to not go the aerial route – the ball was drilled low and hard inside the near post to put Queens two clear.
For a team already shorn of confidence, it was a blow they could have done without. The Blue Toon continued to hoist balls forward, in hope rather than expectation that the course of the game and perhaps their season might change with the conditions.
Julien Carre was an industrious presence in midfield and Danny Strachan worked tirelessly as an unorthodox winger, however there was little for those of a Blue Toon persuasion to take away with them.
Substitute Jordon Brown was spared a glaring miss by the offside flag and Strachan was denied by Calum Ferrie, as the clock wound down.
To rub salt into the wound Savoury, someone who McInally and Nicholls helped rejuvenate with a spell with Peterhead last season, slotted home the third in stoppage-time.
Attention will now switch to a vital few days, as the club try to source the man to steer them out of choppy waters.
PETERHEAD (4-4-1-1) – Ritchie 5; Walusimbi 5, Jason Brown 6, McDonald 5, Wilkie 5, D Strachan 6, Wilson 5 (Jordon Brown 79), Carre 6, Jack Brown 5, McCarthy 6, Hewitt 5. Subs not used – Wood, Asare, Scullion, McGale, Dow, Murray.
QUEEN’S PARK (4-2-3-1) – Ferrie 6; Davidson 6, Naismith 6, Eze 6, Robson 6, Thomson 6, Boateng 7, Savoury 5, Jarrett 5 (Bannon 59), Thomas 7 (Longridge 87), Murray 6 (Williamson 79). Subs not used – Heraghty, Kilday, Fox, Longridge, Kenny, Bruce, Williamson, Akrobor-Boateng.
Referee – Duncan Williams.
Attendance – 455.
Players of the match – Dom Thomas.
