Queen’s Park 1 Arbroath 3

At half past eight on July 9, 1867, a number of gentlemen met at No3 Eglinton Terrace for the purpose of forming a football club.

I can be precise about this because the birth notice of the Spiders is written on the walls of the 1867 bar which sits in Lesser Hampden.

The City Stadium, as it’s officially known, is a curious construct. It does speak, however, to the recent past of the club and has implications for their future. It seats only 900 spectators, which ensures a ticket scramble most notably for the upcoming fixture against Partick Thistle. 

A single stand sits opposite a fine directors’ box. But grass grows behind each goal and a vantage point high on a hill is used by spectators unable or unwilling to pay the entrance price.

The pitch is stunning. A hybrid that sits verdant and unblemished, it is praised by the Scottish international players who use it for practice. There are murmurs that the people who installed it have worked in the EPL and Bundesliga. This is easy to believe.

Queen’s Park have found themselves with a wonderful playing surface at the City Stadium

Spiders skipper Euan Murray hands over his armband to young fan Sophia Bienkowska

Supporters settle in their seats for the Championship encounter with visitors Arbroath

The City Stadium, therefore, has that feel both of a job unfinished and of money spent. The largesse of Lord Haughey and one of his companies, City Facilities Management, comes to an end next June.

What happens next will largely be determined by what happens now. Survival in the Championship will encourage those who want to develop the ground further. It will also attract replacement sponsors.

‘It’s going to be a long season,’ muttered one fan in the wake of the defeat to Arbroath. Those within the club, however, have no illusions about how quickly it can pass.

There is always a courteous and relaxed welcome at Queen’s. This should not be mistaken for complacency.

Two hours before kick-off, the bar is filling up and there are tales of famous victories and spectacular journeys. One supporter talks of commuting from Sydney for Queen’s matches and even venturing from Beijing for the weekend for one game. His travelogues must be placed on pause as members of the committee, known in other clubs as the board, offer their views on the state of the Spiders.

Gary Templeman and Keith McAllister project a buoyancy. Templeman, who has been on the board since 1989, has been a witness to the revolution at Queen’s and has optimism for the future.

‘We have so many kids who have come through the system and Willie’s (Lord Haughey) plans have come to fruition in this respect. Our manager Sean Crighton has had a big say in bringing kids through, too.’

The bench is largely populated by teenagers and there is young talent on the pitch in an entertaining and highly competitive match on Saturday.

Supporters both young and old enjoy the atmosphere at Queen’s Park’s City Stadium

Arbroath enjoyed the hybrid pitch, too, on a day when they emerged with a 3-1 victory

Queen’s are seeking survival in the Championship before Lord Haughey ends his financial backing for the club next June

McAllister, too, speaks of the importance of youth and points out that players from the club have been on trial in England and one, Callan McKenna, has been signed by Bournemouth.

Gregor Hall, long-time supporter and member of the board, reinforces this determination to continue. ‘I have been coming here for 40 years,’ he says, his sunglasses repelling the effects of a South Side sun at the side of the magnificent pitch.

He is not blinded to reality, however. ‘We have to look at all of our options,’ he says, referring to the end of the sponsorship.

‘The focus is clearly on knowing what we have got. We know the money we have and the squad we have got and we have to make the best of that. In the period between now and the end of the season we need to work out what the future of the club looks like, what level are we going to play at. We want to play at the highest level we can.

‘Football people are generally quite optimistic about their clubs. When you get to committee level, you understand a wee bit more about what it takes to run a football club so we know we might have to raise extra revenue to replace that which is no longer there. But every club is the same and we are no different from any in this.’

He is ready for the battle ahead. ‘It is a challenge, no doubt. But one we relish. This is my club. My dad brought me along when I was knee-high to a grasshopper and it gets under your skin. I am retired and so I can put in the time.’

Time is put in, too, by volunteer supporters. Scott Strain was once ‘too skint’ to follow what he describes at big clubs. So he jumped on the bus at his home in East Kilbride and watched the Spiders as a boy. Now 54, he can tell tales of longer journeys to games. Once a diplomat, now a civil servant with the Scottish Government, he travelled from his postings in Beijing and Sydney to watch games in Scotland.

‘In 2009, we played Celtic in the Scottish Cup at Parkhead and my dad got tickets. I flew from China on the Friday, watched us get beat 2-1 on the Saturday, flew back on the Sunday and was at my desk on the Monday,’ he says. ’I came back regularly from Sydney for games.’

Scott Strain has travelled from China and Australia to watch Queen’s Park games in the past

Hampden forms the backdrop as fans prepare to enter Queen’s Park’s City Stadium

The day belonged to Arbroath as they continued their encouraging start in the second tier

One fans makes his feelings known as an entertaining game gets under way

His role on Saturday had little of the glamour of intercontinental travel. ‘It’s my debut as a half-time draw seller,’ he says. ‘It’s changed times at the club and we have to do something about it. If we just sit and talk nothing is going to happen, but we can do something about it by putting in a wee bit of effort.

‘As the Chinese say, we are living in interesting times. We have an amazing community here in the South Side and, if we play our cards right, we can reach out to them.’

Nathan Ferguson, 33, who has been following the club for 20 years, once helped out with the media side but now also helps with the 50-50 draw.

‘This season is a bit of a holding pattern because we don’t quite know what the season holds and therefore the future. There is potential here,’ he says.

Douglas Hunter, chair of the supporters’ association, talks, too, of building up the club’s links to the community.

‘I am old school, I would rather have remained amateur. But it has been exciting times recently. My main aim is to pass this club on to another generation.’

That generation is represented by Sophia Bienkowska, at the game with her grandfather, Chris. The passing of the armband from captain to young fan is a recent innovation and one eagerly grasped by Sophia, resplendent in her club kit.

‘I am so excited,’ she says. ‘This will go up on my bedroom wall with the rest of my Queen’s Park stuff.’

There is much for Queen’s Park to work on but the passion of fans burns eternal.