QOS 2 Dobbie (33, 50) FALKIRK 0

TWO opportunist goals by striker Stephen Dobbie gave Queen of the South the points in a game in which they had to survive some intense Falkirk pressure in the dying stages.

There was little to choose between the sides in the early stages until Falkirk gradually began to put the Dumfries men under pressure and it was only a diving save from Lee Robinson that prevented former Palmerston striker Bob McHugh netting with a 15-yard drive.

But Queens were far from out of the picture and Derek Lyle was unlucky not to get a clear shot at goal when the ball was deflected by a defender into the front of goal but the bounce took it away from the Dumfries striker.

The best chance at this stage fell to Falkirk when McHugh was left with just the keeper to beat as he turned past a defender but put the ball wide.

It was Queens, however, who made the breakthrough in 33 minutes when Lyndon Dykes slipped a ball through the Falkirk defence and Dobbie slotted it home from 25 yards.

This rattled the Falkirk defenders and for a period they looked shaky and uncertain under pressure.

However, they weathered the spell and were back on the attack before the interval with McHugh unlucky to see a close range shot deflected over and then keeper Robinson at full stretch to turn away a driver from Aaron Muirhead.

But Falkirk were shocked again just five minutes after the break when a cross from Dykes was headed out by the Falkirk defence but Dobbie curled the ball home via the underside of the bar from 15 yards.

Falkirk pressed forward in a bid to pull themselves back into the game and first Luca Gasporotto came close with a shot and then saw a header just scrape the bar.

They forced corner after corner in the later stages but just could not make the vital breakthrough.