Lee Robinson kept a clean sheet as he racked up his 100th appearance for Queen of the South in a 5-0 demolition of derby rivals Stranraer at a muddy Stair Park.
The Second Division leaders opened the scoring through Paul Burns after 16 minutes and extended their lead seven minutes later as Ryan McGuffie scored from the spot after Stranraer`s goalkeeper David Mitchell saw red for bringing down Nicky Clark in the area. The away side made the extra man count as they took firm control of the match and made it 3-0 through Derek Lyle`s emphatic finish before half-time.
The second half was one-way traffic for the most part and Queens completed the rout as Nicky Clark smashed the ball into the top corner before Derek Lyle slotted in his second on 71 minutes. Stranraer did manage to carve out a guilt-edged chance with 15 minutes to go but Jamie Campbell had a moment to forget as he missed the target with the goal gaping.
Manager Allan Johnston: “It was a great performance from start to finish. Even when we had eleven men I thought we dominated the game and it was good to get back to our best again.
“Some of the finishes were great. Derek Lyle and Nicky Clark couldn`t get any closer to the stanchion.
“The pitch wasn`t the best and it`s a difficult place to come as well. There won`t be many teams relishing coming down here to play, it`s always a difficult game you get and to put that kind of performance in when the pitch isn`t 100% you can`t have many problems.”
When asked whether he thought the red card changed the game Johnston said: “I thought we were on top at that stage anyway, we had already scored and the `keeper brought Nicky down for the second one so it would have been 2-0 anyway but to keep playing the way the boys played and the tempo they played at, sometimes when you play against ten men it gets slow and deliberate and a wee bit complacent. The boys kept on going and the football was brilliant.”
Goalkeeper Lee Robinson had a quiet game as he celebrated a century of appearances for Queens: “I had a save early on when it was 1-0 and they missed an open goal in the second half but apart from that it was an easy game for me.
“It`s nice [reaching 100 appearances]. You just take each game at a time but it comes along quite quickly. I think I`ve played about 75 in a row and before last season when I joined I`d only played about 30 or 40 games in my whole career which is poor really. I`m enjoying playing.
“Last year was difficult because confidence wasn`t high but this year the lads are playing with loads of confidence and it`s making my job easier but I like to think that when I`m called upon I can do my stuff as well.”
The club are preparing to acknowledge Robinson`s milestone at the next home match but a few fans decided they couldn`t wait to thank him for his service to the club.
“A few of the supporters gave me a cake and a balloon before the game so that was nice of them.”
Lee had a comfortable afternoon to mark his 100th appearance