GOALS, they say, change games, but Ryan Edwards may just have scored the goal that has changed Partick Thistle’s season. It may not have been the best goal the midfielder has ever bagged, but his winner against Hamilton on Saturday could well turn out to be his most important.

The Australian climbed off the bench to complete a rousing Thistle comeback against Hamilton after Kris Doolan had cancelled out David Templeton’s opener for Accies. Alan Archibald’s men hadn’t won in 10 games prior to the match on Saturday, and hadn’t scored in 595 minutes until goals from Doolan and Edwards gave them a massive three points in their battle for survival. It was a fitting way to round off an emotional afternoon when the life of John Lambie was celebrated just as wholeheartedly as the crucial three points that were gained.

The Firhill side are now off the bottom of the table and just two points behind tenth-placed Accies, and Edwards believes that the win over Hamilton can be the springboard that propels his team to safety.

“This goal wasn’t a contender for the best this season but in terms of importance I’m sure it’s right up there,” Edwards said.

“Last season Kris Doolan’s 100th for the club was nominated because it meant so much to him and the club and this is hopefully up there as the one that gives us the momentum to push on.

“We’re all working towards one goal and that’s to stay in this league.

“Kris Doolan did brilliantly to get his 100th league goal when he scored the header but the way our season has gone it could have gone past the post.

“For my goal you could sky it, or it could hit the first defender and get cleared but thankfully it went through a few legs and went in.

“It came out pretty quickly and I just hit it low and hard and hoped for the best and it went in. It meant a lot, especially on an emotional day with the tributes to John Lambie.

“We’ve come together as a team since the split to focus on our goal of staying in the league and it was a special day for fans and the club with it being John Lambie Day.”

Thistle manager Alan Archibald stated after the match that he felt his side fed off the energy of the home crowd after the pre-match tributes dedicated to former boss Lambie. And Edwards agreed that the Jags players were given a huge boost by the positive backing they received from the stands.

“That was the loudest the fans have been all season for us and it shows how much it meant,” he said.

“A few of the boys went to [John’s] funeral and it meant a lot to get three points for his memory and us.

“We’ve been on a tough run but we look forward now. We’ve got four games to get out of the position we’re in. Every time we’ve had a good performance or result the following week has been below the high standard we set for ourselves, so we need to use that for motivation to keep up the momentum.”

For Hamilton, if the realisation hadn’t dawned on them already that they are in a relegation battle, then it certainly has now., as Templeton acknowledged this sixth straight defeat has dragged them right back into the mire.

They are now just two points ahead of Saturday’s opponents, who sit in the play-off position.

“We were in it before but we’re massively in it now,” said Templeton. “Winning here would have put us in a really good position but losing has really dragged us into it. We need to start winning games because, if we don’t, we won’t be staying in this league.”

As well as appallingly slack marking, one of the major failings that contributed to the defeat for Hamilton was their wastefulness in front of goal.

Accies could have wrapped up the game on several occasions on the break as Thistle threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but Rakish Bingham and Marios Ogkmpoe were guilty of glaring misses.

“We had two unbelievable chances when we were 1-0 up and you’ve just got to take them if you’re going to win games like this,” said Templeton.

“Thistle were always going to come back at us if we didn’t take them and, to be fair, they played well – they put us under pressure in the second half but it’s disappointing losing this one after being in front.

“You could sense that their players and their supporters got a lift when we missed those chances.”