LEE Clark cut a frustrated figure after seeing his Kilmarnock side blow a number of golden opportunities on an afternoon when Dundee United reduced the gap between the sides at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership to just five points.

There was an element of ill- fortune in the result for the visitors with Miles Addison and Rory McKenzie being denied by the woodwork and Kris Boyd placing the ball in the net only to have his effort disallowed by referee Don Robertson.

However, the Rugby Park side have managed just one goal in six matches and that cannot continue as they feel the hot breath of United, who pulled off an impressive victory at St Johnstone, on their necks. “Of course I’m disappointed,” said Clark. “We came here to win and hit the post and the bar. We just need to find a wee bit of luck in front of goal to start getting the wins we require. It’s not as if we are not making opportunities. We just need to keep having some belief.

“I’m not going to stand here and lambast my players for not taking chances. I would be lambasting them if they were not being brave enough and getting themselves into positions.

“We are at the stage now where we may need just to get a lucky goal, even a ricochet.”

The visitors went close to opening the scoring in the third minute when a free-kick was awarded after Greg Kiltie was bundled over by Gary Miller. Julien Faubert found new recruit Addison, who headed the ball against the right post.

Ten minutes in and Addison was fortunate at the other end when he failed to clear a dangerous ball, allowing Ryan Edwards an opportunity which the Thistle man blazed over.

With 18 minutes on the clock, Gary Dicker released Boyd, but the former Scotland striker could only muster a weak effort which was easily stopped by Tomas Cerny.

Partick struggled to create chances, with one neat interchange between Sean Welsh and Stevie Lawless just before half-time resulting in a long-range effort from Welsh which trickled past Jamie MacDonald’s left-hand post.

After three minutes of the second half, the hosts were fortunate not to fall behind. Robertson blew for a foul on Cerny by Boyd after the Kilmarnock striker slotted home the rebound after McKenzie hit the post.

With no signs of any breakthrough, managers Clark and Alan Archibald opted to introduce more attacking options to their respective armoury with Josh Magennis and Kris Doolan brought on.

It was from a Magennis burst down the right flank that the unmarked Boyd was presented with a great chance that he lashed over the bar from 10 yards. “Kris said the ball came just behind him and I’m not going to criticise him,” Clark said. “He’s someone who has scored at the highest levels and these are just things which are not going for us at the moment.”

Partick manager Archibald was clear in his after-match assessment that his side deserved nothing more than the point they gained.

“It was a disappointing performance,” he said. “We just didn’t pass the ball properly and the match was a battle more than anything else. It was an ugly match and we now have two big games we need to win if we are to reach the top six.”

However, Archibald did admit he saw improvement in his side’s attitude from earlier on in the campaign. “I must give credit to my back four today,” he added. “At the beginning of the season we would have lost a match like today’s.”