RUTHERGLEN spotkick specialist Alan Trouten was at the double on Saturday afternoon.
For the 21-year-old former Stonelaw High School pupil netted two penalties for newly-promoted Queen’s Park against Brechin City on Saturday.
The attacking midfielder, who broke into the first team at Hampden in August 2004, won the Spiders their second spot kick of the game, and got up to dust himself down and score.
He said: “It was a great result, and a great start to the season after getting promoted, as we’re playing against a higher class opposition.
“We played well in patches, and struggled a wee bit at other times, but we did enough to get the points.
“I think the scoreline maybe flattered us a wee bit. Maybe there weren’t three goals in it, but to win two penalties and to score them both is a good start.
“For the first one we had a great passing move, with six or seven passes, and their centre half brought down Stevie Canning.
“For the second penalty, there were another couple of passes and I got to break through, Stevie played it on, and I went one on one with the keeper. I tried to go round him, but he pulled me down, and we got the penalty.
“I’m quite happy to take them - I took most of them last year and scored them all. I had one in pre-season in Germany and scored that, so hopefully I’ll been on scoring them.“
Having a pre-season trip to Germany has benefited the squad, according to Trouten, who was previously with Morton.
He said: “We had a great time last year, then we went on to beat Hamilton and Aberdeen in the cups, and got promoted at the end of the season.
“We really benefited from that, and the club decided to put the money back in again, so maybe we can get some more success.
“It was brilliant over there for a week, training full time like a professional player, which gave us a good insight, and it means we can gel more as a team, as we get to know each other better.
“I think we’re quietly confident we can surprise a few people this season.
“A lot of people will think Queen’s Park are an amateur club and we’ll go straight back down, but with our manager Billy Stark, and the quality of player we have here, we can surprise a few people. We’ve kept most of the team from last year, and we’ve been together for a couple of years now, which can only help us as well.”
Alan has his own personal goal for the 2007-08 campaign.
“Last season I was able to score 12 goals from midfield, but it was kind of stop-start for me with injuries and a suspension.
“That was my first full pre-season in a couple of years, so hopefully I can stay clear of niggling wee injuries, and I’m feeling fit for the season.
“Hopefully I can keep it going from Saturday, and score some goals that will help the team be more successful in the future.”
Boss Billy Stark added: “Trouten has been an important player for us.
“On Saturday, we didn’t get him into the game as much as we normally would, but when we got the penalties, he did his usual job.”
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