THE weather outside was frightful, but Gary Harkins was delightful, and a masterclass from the Dundee playmaker in the snow of Firhill was the platform for a thumping win over Partick Thistle.

A steady blizzard fell on Maryhill for the duration of the game, but it was the first-half storm from the visitors that Partick Thistle failed to weather, as a penalty from Kane Hemmings and goals from the outstanding Harkins and Greg Stewart had Dundee three-up within quarter of an hour.

David Amoo’s header gave the home side a flicker of hope, but it was soon extinguished as Harkins added his second with a stunning effort eight minutes before the break.

Liam Lindsay saw red with 13 minutes left for a second booking, to round off a miserable afternoon for Alan Archibald’s side, before Kris Doolan netted a late poacher’s effort that even he was too embarrassed to celebrate.

The paucity of the home side’s performance was highlighted by the fact that the biggest impediment to Dundee leaving with all three points was the spectre of an abandonment, as the lines became harder to distinguish as the first half wore on.

The ground staff sportingly brushed the pitch at half-time despite a few fans in the Jackie Husband stand encouraging them not to, and thankfully for Dundee, the heaviest of the snow abated.Harkins, sporting the captain’s armband, revelled in the role, turning in a majestic first-half display performance to end the game as a contest.

First, he caught young defender Lindsay cold as he attempted to hack clear a high ball, nipping to steal the ball. Lindsay got back to face him up, but Harkins feinted to twist him inside out before the bamboozled youngster eventually tripped him to concede the penalty for Hemmings to convert.

Just three minutes later, the provider was on the scoresheet, as Stewart’s innocuous-looking free-kick was spilled under pressure by Cerny, and the ball landed at the feet of Harkins, who kept his cool to calmly slot the ball into the bottom corner.

He played a vital part in their third, too, when a brilliant piece of counter-attacking football led to his first-time pass setting Stewart away on the right, who bent a lovely curling effort inside the far post.

Then came the coup de grace, as he picked up a McGowan flick on the left-hand edge of the area and curled an absolute peach into the opposite top corner.

He said afterwards: “I enjoyed it, two goals and two assists isn’t a bad day at the office.

“Every time we went forward, we looked as though we were going to score. Kane Hemmings and Greg Stewart looked so sharp in attack and we were solid at the back with Darren O’Dea immense.

“There was a worry towards the end of the first half that the game could be abandoned. We were leading 4-1, so the weather became the biggest threat to us getting a win and at half-time I thought it was in real danger. The snow was coming down, but thankfully it eased up.

“I thought the conditions suited me, it was cold and wet and players were barely moving!” he added.

His Manager Paul Hartley has challenged Harkins to prove that he merits the armband long-term.

“It was a real captain’s performance, I thought he was outstanding,” Hartley said. “His ability has never been in doubt, it’s just been the other side that people have questioned, but you saw that he worked hard for the team today and he took on the responsibility well. If he keeps playing like that, he’s a joy to watch.”

For Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald, a former team-mate of Harkins, the failure to deal with him was just one of the long list of pre-match instructions his players failed to carry out, and he was sorely disappointed by their failure to adapt to the conditions.

“We analysed Dundee before the game. I know Gary well enough and I know his qualities. If you let him play, then that’s what he can do to you. ” he said. “We had a poor, poor start and we just didn’t recover from it.”