Managers Post Queen of the South

27/02/21: Link to audio of both managers post match comments

Stevie Crawford would not blame the early penalty miss for the lack of points to take away from Palmerston Park. He told the media:-

“I don’t think the penalty changed it, I thought we were very good in the first half. In terms of possession that we had in the game, and I know I said last week that you don’t win games on possession, we didn’t work their goalkeeper enough. That is the disappointing thing from it.

“I know that goals change games and I know when they scored the first goal it did change. They have been very good at looking to hit teams on the counterattack, you start going searching for an equaliser and have to change a few things.

“We tried to find a different way with the substitutions we made. We tried to make them as positive as we could but we have to put it down to a bad day at the office. I think there were opportunities again to put ourselves in a really good position but the positive from it is we find ourselves in the play off positions and we have a big game to look forward to next week against Raith Rovers.”

Does your away form concern you at all?

“No, I said during the week that I know that we have drawn a number of games away from home but it is a difficult league. When we watched the Hearts v Inverness game last night, anybody can beat anybody in this league and you have no given right (to expect to win).

“I would be more concerned if we didn’t play in the manner we did in the first half but it is possibly an opportunity missed today. We have a group of players in there who are really disappointed along with the coaching staff. I don’t think it was a case of lack of effort or application but we have done by a sucker punch from the Queens goal. It made it more difficult for us in the second half.

“In terms of possession that we had, we just didn’t work the goalkeeper enough.”

A couple of managers this season have commented on the state of the Queen of the South pitch, did you think that had anything to do with it?

“No, I have always said that you face different challenges coming to different away grounds and I am certainly not going to use that as an excuse today.”

You made four changes today and you had Euan Murray sitting in the stand, was he injured?

“Yes, Euan picked up something last week in the game against Alloa. He wanted to play but we just felt that in the position that we find ourselves and the games that we have coming up that it was right to leave him out today.

“He now has another couple of days to see where we are at and hopefully he will come into contention again for the Raith Rovers game.”

With Lewis Mayo seeing red for a second yellow card, even more important that Euan is available?

“It is frustrating for Lewis, I didn’t think his first yellow was a yellow card. No arguments about the second one but it is now focusing on the positives of where we are in the league and making sure that we use the hurt from today, coming down here on a day where you could turn round and say that we played well in the first half.

“The reality is that we have come away without winning the game or taking away anything. We just have to show that hurt in the performance against Raith Rovers on Friday.

“At this moment in time, and rightly so, it should hurt. If you are going to be challenging at the top of leagues, and trying to get out of this division then, we found a way last week in the last half hour of the game against Alloa we dug in and found a way of winning the game. Unfortunately today we found that we did not have answers but it is not through lack of effort or application it is just, for the possession that we had, I think that we could have worked their keeper more.”

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