DUMBARTON manger Stevie Aitken hailed a ‘big night’ for Sons as they took a big step towards Championship safety with a 4-2 win over Queen of the South at the Rock on Tuesday.

Sons now need two wins from their remaining four games to guarantee safety, however with a five point gap to Livingston and the West Lothian side facing some difficult fixtures, it would take a momentous effort from Livi to now avoid the relegation play-off.

With his side trailing 2-1 at half-time, Aitken praised the resilience of his players to come back and win on a roller-coaster night at the Rock.

He said: “It was a big result for us tonight, we knew the three points would go a long way. We’ve deserved it tonight.

“Queens were probably the better side in the first half. We asked the players for more in the second half and they definitely gave us that.

“We started more attacking tonight with two wingers, but had to sacrifice a midfielder. That hurt us in the first half so we felt we had to go 4-3-3 in the second half and get the extra man in there.

“I think it worked a treat and it could be big night for us.

A brace from Christian Nade and goals from Tom Walsh and Garry Fleming was enough for Sons.

Aitken couldn’t hide his delight about Nade’s impact since he arrived in January, the Frenchman has seven goals in just 11 appearances. While he also praised Walsh who had probably his best game for Sons since arriving on-loan from Rangers in January.

He said: “Christian has been terrific since he came he has really helped us as we were relying a lot on Garry Fleming. You can see the ability Tom has, a two-footed player, you don’t get many of them nowadays.

“He can get past players. I thought he was a constant threat and scored a cracking goal to top it off.

“I’m delighted for him because when players come in on loan it is not easy. They have to fit in to a different environment, still train full time and have a responsibility to the parent club."