Mind the Gap! Crunch time for Binos as Queen's close in on title.

It was expected that Queen's Park would find the return of football (and the cramped fixture list drawn up to resolve this most unique of campaigns) more to their liking than most of our League Two rivals. A strong squad full of experience, and status as a full time professional football team suggested as much - and so it has proved over a highly successful last 14 days for The Spiders.

Commanding victories over Stranraer at Hampden, Brechin City at Glebe Park and old foes Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill have helped Ray McKinnon's champions-elect roll towards the finishing line, and it could be argued that this Saturday's fixture against Stirling Albion is the vital match in deciding the destination of the League Two title. 

Kevin Rutkiewitcz's Binos were our first league opponents of the season all the way back in October, and they proved themselves to be a dangerous rival on that day at Forthbank. Albion, like Queen's, had an extremely busy summer transfer window and had bolstered their ranks with many familiar names from the lower leagues. There was very little between the teams that day, Queen's creating little in attack, as it finished 0-0.

Stirling remain one of only two sides to take points off Queen's in the league this season (the other being Edinburgh City), and in truth nobody could have begrudged them all three on a day that goalkeeper Willie Muir had to be at his very best, pulling off two or three tremendous saves. 

As the league table stands, The Binos sit seven points behind Queen's having played the same amount of games (with the rest of the chasing pack having played one game more). They realistically appear to be the only side able to catch us at this stage of this campaign, and therefore Saturday's fixture at our new Falkirk Stadium 'home' has all the makings of a crunch encounter.

All this being said - it really is difficult to see Queen's being hauled back at this stage. The seven point lead isn't insurmountable but performances since the restart have given off a real air of confidence and the signing of Luca Connell (already proving himself to be one of the best players in the league) looks like it could be the catalyst for an impressive run between now and the end of the season.

Connell returned to the Queen's starting XI for Tuesday's fixture at Cliftonhill and put in a second Man of the Match display in as many games. His flair and movement add a totally different gear to the Queen's midfield, and the overall team performance was much improved from the comfortable, if industrial, 2-0 success over Brechin on Saturday. 

His strike to make it 2-0, a searing effort from all of 25 yards into the bottom corner, will be hard to beat in the Goal of the Season stakes come the end of the season - and he also provided the assist for our third goal of the night, his teasing corner headed into the net by Salim Kouder-Aissa (looking sharp after a disappointing return to action against Brechin). 

Midfielder Darren Lyon, a player who has yet to set the world on fire in a Queen's Park jersey, was responsible for our opening goal (a fine outside of the foot finish from around 16 yards) with only 7 minutes on the clock. Many Queen's fans were surprised to see Lyon retain his place in the starting line up ahead of Grant Gillespie (terrific up at Brechin) but Darren put in one of his most assured displays for the club and proved that gaffer McKinnon was correct to keep him in the starting team. 

Rovers are not the best opposition we will face between now and the season's end. The additions of experienced players such as Ryan Stevenson, David Cox and ex-Spider Jamie McKernon look like desperate last throws of the dice by manager Brian Reid - and if Brechin are able to find a couple of results between now and the end of the campaign there is a very good chance of our old friends from Coatbridge being dragged into a relegation playoff that they would almost certainly lose. 

Despite this fact, this was much more like it from Queen's in terms of tempo and aggression when compared to the Brechin victory. The ball was moved about with far more purpose which in turn led to the creation of a barrel load of chances, had it not been from a top class performance by Rovers on-loan Hearts keeper Harry Stone, McKinnon's men would have racked up the hatful they have been threatening to find all season. 

With Connell back in action (and heavy hitters Canice Carroll, Simon Murray and the mysterious Craig Slater still to return) this looks like a Queen's Park side well equipped to finish the job and secure promotion to League One for next season. Stirling Albion may well be the only side that can stand in our way, but they will have to derail the Spiders express at The Falkirk Stadium if they are to have any chance of clawing back the gap.