Arbroath 1-1 Queen of the South: Both sides off the mark in Championship
- Published
James Maxwell celebrates his fine first-half strike for Queen of the South
Arbroath and Queen of the South each earned their first point of the season following a lively draw at Gayfield.
James Maxwell shot the visitors in front as the Dumfries side enjoyed the best of the first half.
However, Bobby Linn levelled with a well-placed strike early in the second half and the hosts hit the crossbar through Dale Hilson.
Queens had a penalty claim waved away when Stephen Dobbie went down, the referee booking the striker for diving.
Visiting goalkeeper Jack Leighfield was kept busy, making good saves from Hilson, twice, and Ricky Little.
Both sides join Alloa on the one-point mark, with Arbroath bottom of the Championship on goal difference.
The visitors should have taken the lead midway through the first half when Connor Shields somehow scooped the ball over the crossbar from a yard out.
Linn's finish was also impressive, with the veteran striker bursting into the box and picking his spot from 10 yards.
A mazy run from Dobbie ended in the Arbroath box but it was the Queens captain rather than the hosts who received punishment.
Arbroath manager Dick Campbell: "We were very poor in the first half, I thought we looked nothing like our usual selves, a little bit like a rabbit in the headlights, but the last ten minutes of the first half we started to get about them a wee bit.
"I thought the second half was about exactly what Arbroath are all about, we never gave them a moment on the ball, their goalkeeper has had four magnificent saves, I thought we had all the pressure in the second half, nobody would have denied us winning the game."
Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston: "The first 45 minutes I thought we were totally in control and possibly could have scored one or two more. But losing the goal so early in the second half puts us under pressure, Arbroath got a massive lift and they put us under pressure and we hung in there, and a draw was probably a fair result.
"It looked a clear penalty. There is no way Stephen Dobbie is going down when he is six yards from goal. The linesman has got a clear view, the same view as us, so you are hoping that they are communicating with the referee."
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