Daniel Carmichael scored the only goal of the game as Queen of the South extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Second Division to nine points with a hard-fought win over Brechin.
Derek Lyle came close to giving the hosts an early lead when he got on the end of a William Gibson cross, but Michael Andrews produced a smart stop to keep the header out.
Gibson was next to go close but Andrews was again in fine form, pushing the effort from range away to safety.
However, the Hedgemen finally gave in to the early onslaught on 21 minutes when Nicholas Clark picked out Carmichael who produced a neat finish inside the box.
Jonathan Stewart had the visitors' best chance to equalise just after the half-hour mark but was denied by a fine save from Lee Robinson.
The visitors nesrly stole a point at the death after a rare defensive lapse by Queens.
There was also much debate afterwards about the actual fugure of the Brechin support. I actually counted 7 or 8 in the East Stand but there are reports that two more were in the West Stand.