Queen of the South 3-1 St Johnstone

Feb 10 2008 Colin Paterson Reports

SEAN O'CONNOR bagged his 12th of the season and left boss Gordon Chisholm raving about his magnificent Doonhamers.

The Queens hitman smashed in a second half double salvo to rack up a sixth straight win and their eighth victory in nine games.

It was the perfect way for gaffer Chisholm to celebrate clinching the January Manager of the Month award he picked up earlier this week.

He said: "I have to give all the credit to the players. They were magnificent and their attitude was brilliant.

"Never mind who was man of the match - we had 11 of them today and you could see there was a real hunger and a desire to get the three points.

"I got the feeling in the dressing room that we were really up for the game.

"The team spirit is great but we certainly won't take our eye off the ball now."

O'Connor was delighted with his goal-scoring feats but claims fellow strike partner Stephen Dobbie deserves his share of the credit.

The prolific hitman said: "I have never been part of a run of form like this before but we are enjoying it and are always looking to improve. I think Stephen is the best finisher in this league.

"We both have our different qualities and that's why I think we work well together."

Queens put the visitors under early pressure and took the lead in 13 minutes via Jamie McQuilken's strike.

Keeper Jamie MacDonald's long free-kick saw O'Connor and Dobbie combine to set up McQuilken and he drilled a low shot into the corner of the net.

The Doonhamers doubled the advantage soon after the restart with O'Connor slamming a Dobbie cross in off the post.

Queens full-back Bob Harris cleared a Liam Craig effort off the line during a rare Saints raid before Andy Jackson popped up to pull a goal back for the visitors.

But Queens sealed the points in the dying minutes thanks to O'Connor's cool finish.

Saints boss Derek McInnes admitted his beaten side - who now lie 13 points behind leaders Hamilton - were not at the races for most of this game.

He fumed: "We were so disappointing. Our performance was flat until the last 20 minutes."

MoM: O'Connor (QoS)