Second Division: Queens still in command

Queen of the South are not quite out of sight for Alloa in the Second Division but they are fast becoming a dot on the horizon for the other promotion-chasing sides after defeating Ayr United 2-0 to stay nine points ahead of the Wasps and 16 in front of third place Brechin City.

Ryan McGuffie headed in a first half opener and Nicky Clark tapped home the second 10 minutes after the restart to see 
the Doonhamers win for the eleventh time in thirteen games.

Palmerston Park boss Allan Johnston said, “It was a real team performance. I am delighted as we could have fallen flat after away wins at Arbroath and Forfar in the past week.”

Ayr Player/ manager Mark Roberts said, “Queen’s deserve to be where they are and it looks like everyone else is now playing for a play-off position.”

Alloa kept up their pursuit with a 2-0 win at Stenhousemuir, where Kevin Cawley netted on 24 minutes and Stephen Simmons sent home an overhead kick before the break to 
ensure all three points went back to Recreation Park.

Brechin’s improvement under new manager Ray McKinnon continued as they defeated visitors Forfar 4-1 to move up to a season high of third place. Jordan Brown crashed home the Glebe Park side’s opener on 16 minutes while Forfar’s Chris Templeman missed a spot-kick before half time.

Five minutes into the second half, Mark McCulloch was dismissed for a foul on Kurtis Byrne and the striker netted the resultant penalty with Andy Jackson making it 3-0 shortly afterwards.

Ross Campbell then pulled a goal back before Jackson completed the scoring.

East Fife’s Scott McBride scored the winner seconds into the second half as the Fifers defeated Arbroath 2-1. McBride’s team-mate Sean Jamieson had opened the scoring and Paul Currie replied.

Finally, at the foot of the table, Stranraer’s Craig Malcolm hit home an injury time penalty to deny Albion Rovers a win at Stair Park, with the Coatbridge men having led through David Crawford.