Queens Park keep the Birkenhead flag flying

Dec 15 2010 by Our Correspondent, Birkenhead News

THE Houlihan’s Birkenhead Sunday League is still represented in the FA National Sunday Cup, thanks to a fine performance by Queens Park, who finally played their 2nd Round tie against Witton Park Rose & Crown.

An excellent individual performance from John Johnson was the main difference, as the opposition from the North-East struggled to deal with him every time he got on the ball.

There were no clear chances in the early stages of the game, as it developed into a midfield battle in the difficult conditions.

The first real effort of note came on 25 minutes, when Queens Park’s Ricky Neil swung in a free kick from the right, just going wide of the far post.

Johnson was always a threat for Queens and on 37 minutes he was first to react to the loose ball in the Witton penalty area, finishing well to give his side the lead.

Queens now had the upper hand and as the 1st half drew to a close, Johnson received the ball into feet just inside the penalty area; a clumsy challenge from the Witton centre-half sent Johnson tumbling and the referee pointed to the spot. Lee Gibson stepped up and coolly converted the penalty to send Queens Park into the interval with a two goal advantage.