A strong Queens side eased past St Cuthbert Wanderers at Palmerston tonight to advance in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup. Fixtures in this competition are usually fulfilled by a mixture of Reserves and u18's but, with the first team not having a game this weekend, manager Allan Johnston released several fringe 1st team players to get some minutes in their legs and it was a much more experienced side than usual.

The first half was an incredibly open affair with a multitude of chances at both ends. Ally Roy scored with his first touch up at Inverness on Saturday and continued where he left off by scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes before Saints pulled a goal back. Queens continued to dominate as you would expect and Aidan Fitzpatrick soon added a third. There were several chances at both ends before Ruben Soares Junior was fouled in the box and Niyah Joseph coolly despatched the penalty kick to make it 4-1 at half time.

The second half was a little less hectic but chances continued at both ends with young Charlie Cowie particularly impressive in keeping the visitors down to one. In due course Roben Soares Junior added two further goals after beating the Saints offside trap to make the final score 6-1.

Wullie Gibson said, "I was pleased with the performance tonight despite a few lapses at the back. It was a high tempo game and we should really have scored several more from the chances we created. The first team players who were involved showed a great attitude and did their chances of featuring in the next league game no harm whilst the youngsters who played were not over-whelmed and more than held their own. They will have benefited from the experience."

"I was particularly pleased to see Kieran McKechnie play for more than an hour after such a long time out injured. Kieran has the potential to be a big player for us in the second half of the season but he needs to get game time as he continues his comeback. He played very well."

"We thank St Cuthbert's for the game and wish them all the best in their League season. We'll look forward to the next round."

Queens Team:
Charlie Cowie, Ryan Muir, Chris Stewart, Josh Debayo, Kieran McKechnie (Ben Johnstone), Lewis Gibson, Niyah Joseph, Dom McMahon, Aidan Fitzpatrick (Andy Oram), Ally Roy (Nathan Naylor), Ruben Soares Junior