East Kilbride

Match report

East Kilbride and Queen of the South met in the opening round of League One's regular season on Saturday, with the hosts running out 5-1 winners at their ground. C. McGuffie opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before adding a second just before half-time, setting the tone for a match where the visitors would struggle to find their footing. The home side had camped in the final third from the start, and it showed in their territorial dominance. By then they had drawn first blood through McGuffie's spot-kick, and Queen of the South's J. Stott pulled one back just after the quarter-hour mark, but it was a fleeting moment of hope for the away support. F. Gray doubled his tally before the interval with a goal in the 45th minute, and East Kilbride continued to press after the break. Gray struck again in the 62nd minute to put the game beyond doubt, and D. O'Connor added a fifth when the visitors were still trying to regroup from their early deficit. The statistics tell their own story. East Kilbride registered 101 attacks compared to just 51 for the visitors, and while Queen of the South held 53 per cent possession, they managed only four shots on target with none going off target. The home side's 19 free kicks against the visitors' eight suggested a different kind of control. Queen of the South picked up six yellow cards during the contest, with A. Davis, J. Stott, A. Smith, B. Johnstone, Z. MacKenzie and L. Smith all booked. East Kilbride saw only C. Coughlin cautioned, and five substitutions were made across the two sides as the game ran down. The result leaves East Kilbride on seven points from six games in sixth place, while Queen of the South remain on three points from five matches in ninth. The hosts had dropped points in three of their previous five outings, but this performance suggested they might be building something different now. The visitors will need to find answers quickly if they are to avoid falling further behind.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 47 – 53

Shots on target 7 – 4

Shots off target 8 – 0

Attacks 101 – 51

⚽ 7' C. McGuffie — Penalty ⇄ 17' A. Kyle — Substitution ⚽ 24' C. McGuffie — Goal 🟨 25' A. Davis — Yellow card ⚽ 26' J. Stott — Goal 🟨 37' J. Stott — Yellow card ⚽ 45' F. Gray — Goal 🟨 56' C. Coughlin — Yellow card ⇄ 57' R. McColm — Substitution ⚽ 62' F. Gray — Goal 🟨 64' A. Smith — Yellow card 🟨 69' B. Johnstone — Yellow card ⇄ 72' J. Kelly — Substitution ⇄ 74' C. McGuffie — Substitution ⚽ 75' D. O'Connor — Goal 🟨 79' Z. MacKenzie — Yellow card ⇄ 84' B. Johnstone — Substitution ⇄ 85' A. Davis — Substitution 🟨 88' L. Smith — Yellow card

Match events

7' 1:0 East Kilbride Penalty C. McGuffie
17' 1:0 East Kilbride Substitution A. Kyle off: O. Calder
24' 2:0 East Kilbride Goal C. McGuffie assist: M. Zaid
25' 2:0 Queen of the South Yellow card A. Davis
26' 2:1 Queen of the South Goal J. Stott assist: C. Coughlin
37' 2:1 Queen of the South Yellow card J. Stott
45' 3:1 East Kilbride Goal F. Gray assist: O. Moffat
56' 3:1 Queen of the South Yellow card C. Coughlin
57' 3:1 Queen of the South Substitution R. McColm off: J. Kelly
62' 4:1 East Kilbride Goal F. Gray assist: C. McGuffie
64' 4:1 East Kilbride Yellow card A. Smith
69' 4:1 Queen of the South Yellow card B. Johnstone
72' 4:1 Queen of the South Substitution J. Kelly off: B. Gray
74' 4:1 East Kilbride Substitution C. McGuffie off: J. Balde
75' 5:1 East Kilbride Goal D. O'Connor assist: O. Moffat
79' 5:1 Queen of the South Yellow card Z. MacKenzie
84' 5:1 Queen of the South Substitution B. Johnstone off: B. Morton
85' 5:1 Queen of the South Substitution A. Davis off: J. Thomson
88' 5:1 Queen of the South Yellow card L. Smith

Statistics

47 Possession, % 53

7 Shots on target 4

8 Shots off target 0

0 Big chances 0

101 Attacks 51

4 Corners 1

8 Fouls 19

19 Free kicks 7

0 Offsides 0

1 Yellow cards 6

0 Red cards 0

4 Goal kicks 11

0 Throw-ins 0

All statistics

0 Blocked shots 0

3 Goalkeeper saves 2

0.47 Shot accuracy 1

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