Derek Lyle continued his scoring spree as he notched goals six and seven of the season as Queen of the South beat Airdrieonians 2-0 at the Excelsior Stadium. 

After a slow start Queens began to put the home side under pressure and took the lead right on half-time as Chris Mitchell crossed from the right for Lyle to place the ball into the far corner.  After the break the Championship side took control of the match and put the result beyond doubt when Lyle finished from close range after Iain Russell`s dangerous low cross.  The in-form striker also had two goals ruled out for offside and almost grabbed his hat-trick in the closing stages as he smacked a header onto the inside of the post.

Queens manager Jim McIntyre said: “It was a very tough game, I thought Airdrie played really well and it was difficult first half.  We found a while to get into our stride and I thought the difference was that we started to get more balls into the box.  It was something we spoke about before the game, we were just taking too many touches in the first half which was condensing the play and in the second half we started to get more balls in the box and that was the difference.

“I`ve got to say I thought Derek Lyle was exceptional.  I think any time the ball came in the box he put it in the net or hit the post.  He was razor sharp and he looks a major threat, hence the reason we want to get as many balls in the box as possible.

“The most pleasing thing tonight was the clean sheet.  The `keeper`s taken a bit of stick in recent weeks but he had some great saves tonight.  After losing six goals in the last couple of games I`m delighted to get back to a clean sheet.”