Queen of the South
Head to Head

The town of Dumfries got its nickname Queen of the South from David Dunbar, a local poet, who in 1857 stood for Parliament in the General Election. In one of his addresses, he called Dumfries "Queen of the South" and this became synonymous with the town and thus how the club got it's name. Queens early seasons were involved in regional set-ups. Queens first ever competitive fixture was on 6 September 1919, in the Scottish Qualifying Cup against Thornhill. After a 1–1 draw, Queens went through after a replay. once again played at Palmerston Park. Queens first ever away game and first ever defeat was two rounds later in the Scottish Qualifying Cup, in a replay at Galston. Queen of the South had applied unsuccessfully to join the Scottish Football League in seasons 1921-22 and 1922-23. The ambition bore fruit in 1923-24, however, when the club were invited to join the SFL at its lowest tier, the newly created Division 3, where Queens finished in third. The club's most notable achievement that season was in the Scottish Qualifying Cup. On 8 March 2008 Queen of the South qualified for their first Scottish Cup semi-final in 58 years after a 2–0 quarter-final home victory over Dundee at Palmerston. The goals came from prolific marksman Stephen Dobbie and an 84-yard (77 m) injury time long distance shot from Ryan McCann. The semi-final at Hampden Park, Glasgow on 12 April, was against Premier League side Aberdeen who finished fourth in the league. Although Queens were underdogs, over 10,000 Queens fans were in the crowd of 24,008 to witness an astonishing game. Four times Queens took the lead with goals through Steve Tosh, Paul Burns, Sean O'Connor and John Stewart. 3 times Aberdeen hit back with an equaliser including a goal from Dumfries boy Barry Nicholson.