Title favourites Falkirk scored five without reply at Brockville against the unfortunate Queen of the South to end the year on a high note.

The Bairns remain second behind Inverness Caley Thistle in the First Division table but have a game in hand.

Falkirk opened the scoring in the 19th minute, when an Owen Coyle effort was blocked only as far as Lee Miller eight yards out and the striker swept home his tenth goal of the season.

The home side were two up six minutes later, when Andy Goram did well to palm a Coyle angled shot into the air, but John Henry sidefooted the rebound home from six yards.

Colin Samuel's electric pace took him to the byline and he cut the ball back to Coyle, who clipped home the third in the 36th minute.

Samuel slotted home the fourth two minutes after the break from a low Miller cross.

And, nine minutes later, the same player added the fifth after a beautiful sweeping move involving Henry, Coyle and Miller.

Miller's diving header in the 67th minute hit the junction of upright and crossbar, but there were to be no more goals.

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Falkirk: Hill, Henry, McQuilken, MacKenzie, Hughes, Rennie, Kerr, Miller, Coyle, McPherson, Samuel. Subs: Cringean, McSween, Creaney, Rodgers, Ferguson.

Queen of the South: Goram, McColligan, Crawford, Paton, Aitken, Thomson, O'Neill, McLaughlin, Weatherson, Lyle, McAlpine. Subs: Anderson, Atkinson, Gray, Shields, Scott.

Referee: Hugh Dallas.