St Mirren's Jack Ross pays tribute to two-goal Lewis Morgan

Jack Ross hailed his St Mirren'¨side as they made it seven wins in a row at home to go second in the table, and waxed lyrical about Lewis Morgan, who scored two goals in the 3-1 win over Queen of the South.

Stephen McGinn of St Mirren resists a strong challenge by Queen of the Souths Kyle Jacobs. Picture: SNS.

Ross said: “It seems I speak about Lewis after every game but he has added finishing to his game and he is two-footed and that’s what sets him apart from other flair players.

“Seven consecutive home victories is very good at any level of football so we’re proud of that.

Saints effectively killed the game with a two-goal burst the first half as Queens never really recovered.

Hearts loanee Liam Smith’s cross in 25 minutes was laid off by Gavin Reilly and Cammy Smith burst a gut to get to the ball first and stab it into the net.

Barely three minutes later, in a similar move, Smith’s ball in from the right was deflected into the path of Morgan at the edge of the box and he hammered a low left-foot shot into the right corner.

Nine minutes into the second half Morgan scored a sensational third, smashing a right-foot shot into the left corner from 22 yards.

Gary Naysmith’s Queens tried to force their way back into the game and Craig Samson had to make good saves from Shaun Rooney and Dobbie before he was beaten in 64 minutes, when Dobbie flighted a free-kick to the back post where Jason Kerr looped a header into the right corner.

Further evidence that a Championship title challenge is emerging from East End Park was seen on Saturday as Dunfermline won 3-0 at Brechin City.

The Glebe Park men made an enterprising start but, when Lee Ashcroft’s drive was deflected into the home goal on 28 minutes, there was only going to be one winner.

Declan McManus rose to head in a cross on 55 minutes and Nicky Clark turned the ball into the net 20 minutes from time.

Dunfermline manager Allan Johnston said: “This was a 
difficult game as Brechin were well up for getting something from it. We were also expected to win and that makes things tougher.

“However we handled that to get an important result. Scoring three goals away from home and keeping a clean sheet helps momentum build.”

Dundee United kept the gap to Dunfermline at two points by defeating Morton 2-1 at Tannadice.

James Keatings blasted United into the lead on 65 minutes but the Greenock side levelled ten minutes later when Bob McHugh turned a Ricki Lamie header into the home net.

Scott McDonald kept all three points on Tayside when he shot home from close range after a Mark Durnan header had hit the post.

The Scottish Cup final in May 2015 must seem a long, long time ago for winners Inverness Caledonian Thistle who now sit in eighth place in the Championship with just one win after going down 2-1 at Dumbarton.