Queen of the South youngster looking to make his mark on first team

Teenager Ben Johnstone is looking to make his mark on the Queen of the South first team this season.

The 19-year-old featured in three of the Doonhamers’ four Premier Sports Cup games and is looking for more action in the league.

He said: “It was good to get a couple of starts.

“This season I want to try to kick on, last year I didn’t play a lot and my aim coming into the season was to start a lot more games than I did last season.

“In the cup we’ve had the experience of playing teams higher up in the leagues, which has been a good test just to see where we’re at.

“I think we’ve coped really well, in the Aberdeen game I thought we put on a good show. Obviously the result was unfortunate but overall we can be pleased with how we performed.”

Johnstone – who hails from Moffat – is one of a number of youngsters who’ve had game time under new boss Peter Murphy, with Euan Ross and Niall Rogerson among others who’ve been given the chance to shine.

Johnstone said: “It’s been really good under him.

“He’s helped the younger boys.

“We’ve a real togetherness this year and we believe we can go and win the league, which is the ultimate aim.

“I’ve started games, Euan’s started games, Niall’s made his debut, so he’s proved that if the younger ones do well there’s a pathway there for them.”

With the cup games done – and Queens unfortunately not progressing to the last 16 – all the attention is on tomorrow’s League One opener at Alloa Athletic.

Johnstone added: “We’ve seen over the past few seasons they have been right up there and have almost been a bogey team for Queens.

“Hopefully this season we can put that right and win a lot more games.

“Away to Alloa is a tough test, but we’re more than capable of going