The Second Division title edges ever closer for Queen of the South as they defeated rivals Ayr United in a solid 2-0 victory at Palmerston.
After a tight first half the deadlock was finally broken seconds before half-time as Derek Lyle found a way through the stubborn away defence to head low into the corner. The second half saw more chances for the home side and Gavin Reilly sealed the win with a low finish on 61 minutes.
Manager Allan Johnston: “For me that was a really good team performance. From start to finish I thought we dominated the game, created loads of chances and it was frustrating we only scored two to be honest.
“We can`t expect to score five and six every game. We passed the ball well, we closed them down and we played in their half of the pitch and that`s what we are looking for.”
Derek Lyle opened the scoring after a frustrating first half saw Ayr hold on until the 44th minute with Queens making the better of what few chances there were.
Lyle: “I think we were on top, we were the better team but I don`t think we created too many clear cut chances. It was a good time to score, it probably knocked the stuffing out of them a wee bit.
“If they`d gone in at half-time with a draw then they have something to hang onto and play for. They had to come out in the second half and I think it showed, we picked them off and had a lot more chances in the second half.”
Full-back Kevin Holt had a fine game as he tirelessly ran up and down the Queens left:
“It was a good result and three points. Ayr have been on good form recently so it was good to keep a clean sheet and get the three points.
“[On winning the league] It`s just a case of each game at a time and keeping performances up. Just keep digging away and hopefully it comes when we are playing rather than when we aren`t playing.”
Allan Johnston is keen to keep the unbeaten run going and has set a challenging points total for his squad:
“We are on a good run of form. We don`t concede a lot of goals and it`s pleasing that we`re scoring goals and creating chances.
“Gretna have the record of 88 points and I think that`s got to be the target for us.”
Lyle wheels away after opening the scoring