Queen’s Park knew they had to win to keep any chances alive of avoiding automatic relegation and they made a dream start after only 47 seconds when hesitation in the Arbroath defence allowed Robbie Leitch to net an early opener.

Arbroath struggled to get forward as the Spiders who were fighting for their lives harassed the Arbroath players all afternoon.

David Hutton was deemed to have fouled David Galt in the 38th minute when Queen’s Park were awarded a penalty but Hutton pulled of a remarkable save to deny Sean Burns and keep the Lichties in the game.

At half time Dick Campbell took off Omar Kader and Danny Denholm for Leighton McIntosh and Bobby Linn but in deja vu of the first half Luke Donnelly doubled the Queen’s Park lead seconds into the second half.

Thomas O’Brien was introduced for skipper Mark Whatley in 50th minute.

Arbroath toiled but couldn’t make any impression going forward and Luke Donnelly scored his second in the 70th minute with a stunning strike.

It was a real disappointing feel for the last game of the season and Manager Dick Campbell wasn’t happy as he addressed the press after the match.

The result means Arbroath now finish 4th place, a pint behind Alloa Athletic who drew with Raith Rovers as Ayr United sealed a 2-0 win over Albion Rovers to win the League and automatically relegate the Wee Rovers.

Arbroath will now face Championship side Dumbarton at Gayfield on Wednesday evening before traveling to Dumbarton on Saturday.

It still has been a sensational first season in League One and today was a blip. We will move on and plan towards Wednesday and beyond.

C’mon the Lichties