Queens unbeaten league run came to an abrupt halt as they were beaten by two goals to nil in tonight`s Championship match against Inverness Caley Thistle at a bitterly cold Palmerston. For much of the game, Queens had enough possession and were able to put the visitors under pressure at times, but clear cut chances were at a premium, although when they did eventually carve out an opportunity, their finishing was extremely wasteful.

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With Lewis Kidd unable to shake off the injury he sustained late in the game at Alloa at the weekend, Queens were forced into changing their starting line-up as they gave a first start to recent loan signing, Abdul Osman. Visitors Inverness included former Queens players, Shaun Rooney, and Nikolay Todorov in their line-up as they looked to keep pace with both Ayr, and Dundee United at the top of the table.

Queens actually made a bright start and a low drive from Stephen Dobbie forced Mark Ridgers into early action as he made a comfortable save at his near post, and from the corner that followed, Queens couldn`t prosper. A free-kick for Queens was quickly taken by Michael Paton and he found Dobbie who controlled well but then shot wide of the target.

Dobbie shoots but misses the target

The visitors responded with their first attack of the game, but MacGregor`s shot from distance failed to trouble Robby McCrorie. Queens encouraging start continued and almost went ahead on 7 minutes. A corner was only partially cleared and when the ball fell to Abdul Osman just 6-yards out he was unable to keep his shot on target and lifted the ball over the bar.

On 27 minutes a nice move down the left involving Faissal El Bakhtaoui, Michael Paton, and Dan Pybus led to another Queens corner and from El Bakhtaoui`s delivery Kevin Holt climbed above the defence but could only send his header over the bar. A shot from distance from Dobbie that was going well wide of goal took a deflection that earned another corner, and once again Holt got his head to the ball but could only steer his effort wide.

Holt beats Rooney to the header

It seemed as though our best chance of finding a way past the Inverness defence would come from a set play as we struggled to find any real cohesion with our passing game and although we certainly had more possession, Ridger`s in the Inverness goal was hardly involved.

Robby McCrorie was also having a quiet first half and he was able to deal comfortably with a glancing header from Todorov after Rooney`s burst of pace gave him the chance to whip in an inviting cross, but following the next attack from the visitors, McCrorie was helpless as the deadlock was broken, A neat exchange of passes between Doran and MacGregor created an opening for Doran and his powerful drive - with virtually his first meaningful touch of the game - flew beyond McCrorie to spark joy amongst the hardy bunch of visiting supporters.

Having started the game brightly, following the goal Queens lost their way a bit and an error of judgement from Lee Kilday put us in danger of conceding again, but a last ditch challenge from Scott Mercer saved the day. That mistake apart, Kilday was solid in defence and was one of, if not the best Queens player over the 90 minutes.

Referee Kirkland ended what was a disappointing opening half for Queens as despite the bright start, they once again failed to make the most of their opportunities whilst they were on top.

HALF-TIME QUEENS 0-1 INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE

Queens made a change at the interval with Connor Murray replacing Michael Paton, a move which saw Dan Pybus take Paton`s midfield birth with Murray operating on the right side of midfield.

As in the first half, Queens started well, in fact for the opening 10 minutes they were in total control, but once again their problem was finishing off some very presentable chances.

The best move of the game from a Queens perspective came just 3 minutes after the re-start. Jack Hamilton sent El Bakhtaoui clear down the right with a superbly weighted pass and although the Frenchman seemed to be boxed in, he was still able to deliver a cross that picked out Dobbie, but uncharacteristically the Queens talisman dragged his shot wide. That was probably the sign that it wasn`t going to be our night as 9 times out of 10, Dobbie would have buried that chance.

Dobbie just drags his shot wide

Kevin Holt was the next to find himself with a sight of goal but he failed to get enough power into his shot and Ridgers dealt with it easily. Holt was a bit closer with his next attempt, this time their was plenty of power behind his shot, but from just inside the penalty box his attempt was a few feet too high. A shot across goal from the left from Dobbie was almost touched home by Hamilton, but as the opportunities mounted up, so did the misses.

There were some shouts for a Queens penalty after Scott Mercer thought that his run into the box had been ended illegally, but no decision was forthcoming and as play was allowed to continue a header from Hamilton needed to be saved by Ridgers.

The Inverness `keeper had certainly been busy in the opening minutes of the second half, but for the remainder of the game he was hardly involved.

Mercer believes that he was fouled inside the box

As the Queens attacks became fewer, the visitors began to work their way back into the game, and prompted by the impressive Carson gradually looked more of a threat going forward. Robby McCrorie had to react smartly to keep out an effort from Curry, and then the same player had a glorious opportunity to double his sides lead, but from 6-yards out he completely missed the ball. On the hour mark Shaun Rooney marked his return to Palmerston by becoming the first player to be booked, and then a cross from Mercer picked out Dobbie, but he headed wide of the target as yet another chance failed to find the target. Mercer`s next involvement saw him join Rooney in referee Kirkland`s notebook.

With 17 minutes remaining we made our second change when Gary Oliver replaced Hamilton, but in fairness neither Oliver or Murray offered much as our bright start to the second half slowly petered out.

On 90 minutes after cutting inside El Bakhtaoui`s shot from the edge of the area was easily gathered by Ridgers, and with many of the 1221 supporters in attendance starting to make for the exits the win for the visitors was wrapped up when Todorov was found by Walsh and he thundered the ball beyond the dive of McCrorie.

Lee Kilday was named  man-of-the-match, but after creating enough chances to at least draw the game, failure to convert any of at least a dozen opportunities ultimately proved costly.