JIM GOODWIN hailed his players for ending the first half of the Championship season on a high as they secured a vital three points against Queen of the South.

Iain Flannigan's measured free kick and a late Dario Zanatta tap in made the difference as the Wasps leapfrogged Partick Thistle in the relegation dogfight.

And after the game Goodwin was full of praise for his squad and insisted there was more to come from the Wasps.

He said: "It's a huge three points and a great way for us to finish off the first half of the season.

"It was thoroughly deserved. I thought in the first half we played some really good football and had Queen of the South pinned back for large spells, although they were always dangerous on the break and they hit us a couple of times and Neil Parry made a couple of good saves.

"Defensively keeping a clean sheet was huge and we scored a couple of good goals. Flannigan is always a threat from set-plays and for the second I'm really pleased for Liam Burt as he's been patient on the sidelines for a number of weeks and he came on and made an impact when Dario got his goal. Dario was also outstanding.

"There were a number of really good individual performances but collectively we were outstanding."

On the day, both Falkirk and Partick Thistle lost meaning Alloa celebrated Christmas outside of the relegation zone.

The Wasps have played well all season and Goodwin has been critical of their inability to turn one point into three.

He was especially scathing of their two draws away to Falkirk and Thistle in recent weeks, where Alloa dominated but failed to take their chances.

They did so on Saturday against Queens and Goodwin admitted he was left feeling frustrated by their profligacy.

He continued: "Results definitely went our way on Saturday.

"I'm still slightly frustrated as I look at our points and feel we should be five or six better off. We've had too many draws and that's disappointing.

"On the whole for the first half of the campaign I'm pleased and the most satisfying is there's more to come from this team.

"We've played everybody twice now and I can only think of two games we've been poor and didn't deserve anything.

"In our last three games we've dominated the ball, we're good in possession and we're now scoring from open play and cutting teams open and we'll get better in the second half of the season."