Paul Heffernan scored his first goal for Queen of the South as they recorded a narrow 1-0 victory over struggling Dumbarton in the Scottish Championship.The visitors started brightly and had a number of early opportunities to take the lead in the opening stages but they could not find a way past Queens goalkeeper Robbie Thomson.And it was the hosts who broke the deadlock seven minutes after the break when Heffernan got on the end of Lewis Kidd's cross to head in.Dumbarton almost levelled things up in the dying embers when substitute Kevin Cawley hit the post, while Willie Gibson also went close in added time but Queens clung on to move them within a point of fourth place.