THE snaking queues were so long they put the kick-off back 15 minutes just to squeeze everyone into the ground.

So many crammed into Firhill they had to spill out of the Jackie Husband Stand and across the trackside to find room behind the goal. Even the dusty Main Stand, last full when the old king was still alive, was heaving.

What sights and sounds there were as Maryhill crackled with the electricity of first against second in the Irn-Bru Division One: the title, promotion, the Scottish Premier League and hundreds of thousands of pounds at stake. When it was all over, and they had shouted themselves hoarse and poured out on to the streets, it felt like the battle was over and Thistle were the last men standing.

If this was to decide the league and who enters the top flight next season then surely it will be Partick Thistle. They are not over the line yet and there is football still to be played – almost certainly of higher quality than the jittery dogfight 8857 fans endured here – but Thistle sit five points clear of Morton with a game in hand. Morton, so long the pacesetters and unbeaten in three previous games against Thistle, have been caught and overtaken.

Some will use this vibrant night as evidence of the health of all football below the top flight, but that would be an exaggeration. What had them piling through the turnstiles in their droves was an irresistible set of circumstances: the raw, authentic appeal of a fixture in which the winner takes all. This was Thistle's 21st win in 31 league games, and thanks to James Craigen's first-half goal it had the feel of the season's pivotal 90 minutes. If Thistle do soon find themselves back in the top division for the first time since 2004, these were the three points which broke their challengers. Morton had to win and it was beyond them.

"It's a fantastic victory," said Alan Archibald, Thistle's manager. "I thought that their character was outstanding. They are young lads and they've bounced back from the disappointment of the Ramsdens Cup final.

"Morton will keep winning, they are a very good team and there are a lot of twists and turns. We've not won the league yet. I don't remember an atmosphere like this at Firhill. The only disappointment is that only one team comes up: two teams should come up, or at least there should be a play-off place."

All this tension and excitement doesn't come without a cost, mind you. Anyone unsure of the high stakes these teams were contesting could have quickly worked it out from watching the quality of the play. Boy, the nerves were palpable. Everyone took an age to settle and much of the night was pock-marked by poor passing and moves which petered out. Even Thistle's reliable defence was slow to find any composure and put themselves under pressure by repeatedly gifting possession straight back to Morton whenever they'd dealt with an attack.

Morton had only half-chances. "We had to win or at least get a draw to keep us alive," Allan Moore, their manager, conceded. "I told the boys we'd need to keep a clean sheet to keep the league dream going and we didn't, and that's been our problem."

Thistle goalkeeper Scott Fox wasn't worked. David O'Brien cut along the box and dug out a shot comfortably saved, and Fouad Bachirou spun a defender and fizzed a shot past the post. Bachirou and Michael Tidser tried to play some football in the centre of Morton's midfield, but in truth neither side could properly impose itself or find any rhythm.

Thistle had not offered much up front – a Kris Doolan header was easily held by Derek Gaston – in the 40 minutes of scrappy, ugly play which preceded their opening goal. It came from nothing.

Left-back Thomas O'Ware cast his team into desperate trouble by giving the ball away cheaply and suddenly Thistle had Morton opened up. Chris Erskine fired the ball across from the left, Doolan tried to connect but fluffed it and the ball fell to Craigen at the back post. The Thistle fans were up off their feet and Craigen did not let them down, finishing emphatically.

Morton slugged away. Plenty of the second half took place in the Thistle half but the pressure was laboured and they had little to show for it. Scott Taggart was off target after Craigan tried a silly pass across his own area, giving the ball away once again.

Those who have watched these teams regularly were united in the view that both had consistently played much better than this. To be blunt, on this evidence Thistle would need substantial improvement to prevent the top flight becoming an unforgiving ordeal rather than a joy.

Who cared about all of that last night, though? On this, one of the most vivid nights of the Scottish season, the message was roared loud and proud across Maryhill: Thistle are going up.