Queen of the South boss gets desired reaction but not result against Falkirk

Queens manager Marvin Bartley got the reaction he wanted but not the result as champions-in-waiting Falkirk ran out winners at the weekend.

The latest defeat cuts the gap between Queens and second bottom Annan Athletic to three points with just seven games left.

The Doonhamers produced a gutsy display before the roof caved in late on in the second half with Bairns battering their way to the points after South took the lead through a spectacular Josh Todd opener.

Bartley admitted later: “I am beginning to sound like a broken record.

“We are just conceding goals that we should not be conceding.

“The performance was improving, but the manner of some of the goals was frustrating.

“The first goal was offside and then after a bit of adversity well, take the fourth one out of it because that was a fantastic strike. The first was offside and that hurt a little bit.

“The penalty decision was when I am not sure there was much contact. But our player should not have dangled a leg.

“It is all extremely frustrating. They are avoidable.

“The goal that Liam Henderson scores, the second one, he should not be free at the back post on his own at a corner. When we have corners our players are marked a lot tighter in the box.

“All the goals are annoying...and all the hard work is undone.”

However, on the positive side, Bartley reckoned displays from Lewis Gibson and Lee Connelly were outstanding along with goal grabber Todd.

He said: “Toddy’s all round game was brilliant, outside of the goal, for him and for the team. It was a great strike from him.

“Lee Connelly came close with a free-kick that even he thought was in. I thought he was unplayable, absolutely brilliant down the side and gave us a real spark and we