A stoppage-time goal condemned Queen's Park to a 3-2 defeat away to Ayr United in the Scottish Championship on Saturday. A double from Connolly was not enough as the Spiders fell to a third consecutive league loss.
Connolly’s brace, scored in the 57th and 83rd minutes, twice brought Queen's Park level after they had fallen behind. Taylor had given the hosts a first-half lead before Rus restored Ayr's advantage midway through the second period. The decisive blow came deep into added time when McBeth struck in the 93rd minute to secure all three points for Ayr.
A familiar pattern
The late heartbreak extends a difficult run for Queen's Park, who now sit 10th in the Championship with just seven points from 12 games, having recorded only two wins and a draw all season. Their recent form of one win and four defeats from the last five matches includes losses to Dunfermline, Morton, and Raith Rovers prior to this defeat. Their recent fixtures have yielded only one win in the last five outings, a pattern of conceding late goals that is proving costly. The team has scored just six goals all season while conceding 19, leaving them with a goal difference of minus thirteen. They now face a quick turnaround with a Challenge Cup tie against Aberdeen U21s on Tuesday night.
Smith, who provided the assist for Connolly's second goal, was substituted shortly after the hour mark. The match also saw yellow cards for Queen's Park's Stewart and Connolly, as well as Ayr's McMann and Holt in a frantic finale.
With the league table showing them 18 points adrift of leaders Partick Thistle, the immediate focus shifts to halting the slide. Their next Championship assignment is a home game against those same league leaders, Partick Thistle, on Saturday 7 November.
