JOHN Stewart set his sights on a dream trip to Hampden after stepping off the bench to ensure Queen of the South a place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup by scoring his side's second goal in their victory over fellow First Division outfit Morton
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The Doonhamers' prize for their efforts will be a home tie against either Motherwell or First Division rivals Dundee.
Stewart, on loan from Falkirk, said: "It is a great win for the club and the fans. I've played against the Rangers and the Celtics before, but there is nothing more I'd like than a game at Hampden – and that means getting to the semi-finals. We wanted to avoid the Old Firm in the draw, get a home tie, and we've got that." Second-half strikes by Sean O'Connor and Stewart extended Queen's unbeaten run at Cappielow in league and cup competition to seven in the past 10 years. However, it was Morton who might have taken the lead after just eight minutes had referee Charlie Richmond adjudged Queen's Andy Aitken had handled the ball in the area before Peter Weatherson was denied by an outstanding save from goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald after 25 minutes.
For all their endeavour, though, it was the Dumfries side who got the breakthrough, 58 seconds into the second half, when Robert Harris swung over a corner from the right to the back post for O'Connor to head past goalkeeper David McGurn.
Sadly for O'Connor he was not to be on the park to enjoy the celebrations when he had to leave in 68 minutes after suffering a nasty facial knock, which later needed two stitches. Stewart, who had come on as a substitute, sealed the victory three minutes from time when he drilled home from 16 yards after McGurn had pushed out Ryan McCann's angled drive.
Manager Gordon Chisholm was delighted with the draw. "All I wanted was a tie at Palmerston and we have a good chance of getting to the semi-final," he said. "Everyone says 'get the Old Firm and get a pay day', but I want to get to the last four of the cup."
Morton manager Jim McInally said: "It is a massive disappointment. To have got into the quarter-finals would have been a great achievement. The incentive was there for both teams. I didn't think there was a lot in it, but we switched off for a bit and got punished."
The full article contains 428 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
