But Gary Jardine’s men were never at the races against Gala and, after a goalless opening 45 minutes, a Gala corner opened the scoring within a minute of the restart, Galbraith’s in-swinger causing mayhem in the six-yard box and Allan Smith claiming the final touch to make it one to the visitors.

Nine minutes later it was two for the visitors as skipper Gareth Rodger got his name on the scoresheet with a neat finish. But the best strike of the night arrived on the hour when Galbraith, who was the best player on the park, pinged a 25-yard effort into the top corner leaving Strollers keeper picking the ball out the net.

And although substitute Jonathan Moffat did find a consolation with a couple of minutes to spare, the hosts got what they deserved.

Jardine told Edinburgh Evening News afterwards: “The guys were a bit leggy after the Rangers game but I’m not using that as an excuse as Gala were the better side.

“I didn’t think they looked like they were going to score in the first half, so I’m really disappointed with a lot of aspects of the first goal. The second goal was a good finish and then the third one is a bit of magic.

“Galbraith played really well. As much as Marc Laird is a good player, his work was done a lot deeper. They’ve both played at the highest level. We just lacked that bit of quality in the final third”

“But all in all, it was a disappointing night. We’ve just got to get ready for the weekend now against Open Goal Broomhill FC“