That’s just a fourtaste
Queen of the South .........4 Ayr ......................................1
Queen’s boss Gavin Skelton insisted there’s a lot more to come from his side after watching his men bag their second win in a week.
The Doonhammers looked sharp from the start and swept past Ayr thanks to a Stephen Dobbie strike sandwiched between a Derek Lyle double and a late Lyndon Dykes effort.
Skelton’s troops comfortably secured the points against Ian McCall’s side who included new signing Gary Harkins in their starting line-up.
And Skelton said: “I don’t think the scoreline gives a fair reflection of the game but I’m delighted for my players.
“I don’t mind how we win so I hope the players enjoy the week now because it’s been tough physically.
“I’m delighted to come out in our first home game and get three points.
“There was pressure on us today so thankfully we dealt with that and I’m delighted to get four points from our first two games.”
The Palmerston side looked to get off to a f lier after their midweek cup exploits against Hibs and carved out the first chance of the match seven minutes in.
Queen’s captain Andy Dowie rose well to get on the end of a whipped cross but Ayr keeper Greg Fleming did well to get a hand on it to prevent the early opener.
Skelton hoped his side wouldn’t suffer any cup hangover and there was no sign of it when they were rewarded for their bright start five minutes later with Lyle taking advantage of shocking Ayr defending to pounce on a lazy pass back and guide it past the keeper from a tight angle.
The visitors responded well and had the ball in the net on the half-hour mark when The Honest Men’s new signing Harkins set up Ross Docherty whose effort was heading in when it glanced off an offside team-mate.
Fan favourite Dobbie was the standout player on his return to Palmerston in an action packed first 45 and grabbed his side’s second after he rifled it home from 25 yards out to finish off a superb solo run.
Queen’s continued to dominate after the break and added the third shortly after the restart when Lyle fired a stunning free-kick beyond the keeper for his second of the day.
McCall’s men looked dead and buried after falling three behind but they grabbed a surprise lifeline on the hour mark when Kevin Nisbet made space for himself on the edge of the area and curled it low into the bottom corner.
But the home side put to bed any hopes of an Ayr comeback with 15 minutes to go when man of the match Dobbie’s defence-splitting pass found Dykes who rounded the keeper and tapped it home.
Ayr boss Ian McCall said: “I think we’ve got to do better defensively but for the life of me I don’t think that’s a 4-1 game.
“But ultimately the goals we lost were too soft and avoidable.”