Connolly scores twice, but Queen's Park lose 3–2 at Ayr to a stoppage-time goal for a third straight defeat
Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Finn Gallagher
Queen's Park came away from Somerset Park on Saturday with nothing, even though they showed real fight. They twice came from behind against Ayr United and still lost 3–2, with Luke McBeth's winner arriving on 90+3. It was their third league defeat in a row, and they remain bottom of the Championship.
Aidan Connolly was the man who kept them in it, scoring both equalisers. Ayr went ahead on 26 minutes through R. Taylor, and Connolly equalised on 57. M. Rus put Ayr back in front on 67, and Connolly scored again on 83, with C. Smith providing the assist, to make it 2–2. Then McBeth scored the stoppage-time winner, as the BBC, the SPFL and PA all report. A crowd of 1,587 was at the game. Queen's Park's own report was unavailable to us, and we haven't found a quote from manager Sean Crighton.
The sequence is hard to take. The Spiders lost 2–0 at Morton on 17 October, 1–0 at home to Dunfermline on 24 October, and now this. The BBC form guide reads L L W L L L, and the last win was a 2–1 home result against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 13 October. Over the season they have won only two league games, the other being a 2–1 win over Morton on 5 September, and they have drawn one, a 0–0 at Partick Thistle on 29 August.
The numbers show how difficult it has been this season. Queen's Park have scored eight league goals in 13 games, one more than Arbroath, and conceded 22, level with Arbroath for the most in the division. At home they have won two and lost four, scoring five and conceding nine. Away they have drawn once and lost six, scoring three and conceding 13, and they have no away win this season.
On the BBC Championship table taken at 13:01 GMT today, Queen's Park are 10th on seven points from 13 games, with two wins, one draw and ten defeats. That is the automatic relegation place. They are three points behind Morton, who are ninth and in the Championship/League One play-off place, but Morton have played one game fewer. Arbroath are eighth, four points above, on 11 points.
The next game brings a heavy test. Partick Thistle, the league leaders, visit on Saturday 7 November (15:00 GMT). Partick lost 3–2 at home to Morton on Saturday, which ended their 25-game home unbeaten league run, so they will arrive looking to respond, and they remain one point clear of Raith and Dunfermline. Before that, Queen's Park are at Aberdeen B in the KDM Evolution Trophy on Tuesday 3 November (19:45 GMT). Then they are at Stenhousemuir on Saturday 14 November, and in the Scottish Cup third round on the weekend of 28 November they host The Spartans.
Connolly's two goals showed that Queen's Park can fight back. They now need points to go with it.
North is at the top. The goals face the Somerville Drive and Letherby Drive ends. The East Stand runs the length of the pitch, on the Hampden side.
Lesser Hampden sits in Mount Florida, on Glasgow’s south side, pressed against the western end of the national stadium. Queen’s Park call it home again from the 2025–26 season, under the sponsored name The City Stadium. For a visiting supporter it is a very different afternoon from a trip to Hampden proper: 990 seats, a hybrid pitch you can almost touch, and the bulk of the national stadium looming over the east side.
Buy before you travel. The ground cannot take a full Championship away following. Allocations are often around 250, and for better-supported clubs those briefs disappear into a ballot. Your own club will sell them; there is normally no pay-on-the-gate. Paper tickets have been used for some away ends, so read the instructions that come with the purchase. Accessible spaces, including wheelchair and personal assistant seats, are in the East Stand and should be booked ahead with Queen’s Park on 0141 632 1275.
Visiting supporters are housed in a segregated block at the north end of the East Stand, the covered full-length stand on the Hampden side of the pitch. Home fans take the rest of that stand. The west side is the J. B. McAlpine Pavilion and the directors’ and hospitality seats, not a general away end. The goals sit at the north and south ends of the pitch, so from your seat you look across the width, with one goal towards Somerville Drive and the other towards Letherby Drive. Stewards will point you to the turnstiles; do not follow the Spiders into the home section. A south stand on the Letherby Drive end has been planned for away fans, but it is not part of the ground you will walk into, so trust the ticket rather than an old drawing.
Mount Florida is the station to aim for, a short ScotRail hop from Glasgow Central on the Cathcart circle, then a walk of about ten minutes down towards Somerville Drive. King’s Park is the other nearby stop. First buses from the city also pass close by. If you are on a coach, the usual approach is Cathcart Road and Letherby Drive, where drivers are directed into the blue parking beside the ground. Cars are a poorer bet: matchday restrictions cover a wide resident zone around Hampden, and the stadium car parks are not a free-for-all.
The Montford, on Aikenhead Road, is the traditional pre-match house and fills early. Bar 1867, inside the McAlpine Pavilion, has opened to supporters before kick-off on some Spiders matchdays, but treat that as a home-club facility and check on the day rather than assuming away fans will be waved in. Food inside is basic. Toilets are on the concourse behind the East Stand. The seats are covered, the legroom is ordinary, and the Glasgow weather is not, so bring a layer even if the forecast looks kind.
What you get in return is a ground with a story. Lesser Hampden opened in September 1925, with room for about 12,000 on terraces, and the Spiders beat a Scottish amateur select 6–0. It was used when the national stadium was rebuilt, hosted a Commonwealth Games warm-up track in 2014, and was rebuilt with the new East Stand so Queen’s Park could meet SPFL licence rules after their long stay next door came to an end. It is tight, loud if you sing, and close enough that a misplaced pass feels personal. Turn up early, keep your ticket handy, and enjoy the odd privilege of watching a league game in the shadow of Hampden.