PARTICK Thistle might have expected a Pittodrie pounding and for much of this game that's just what they were faced with.

 

What was also indisputable was that they did not deserve a point from this compelling 90 minutes; they deserved all three as they ensured that Aberdeen's tenuous link as Premiership contenders was severed.

Indeed, had Lyle Taylor, said by Alan Archibald to be still jet-lagged after returning from international duty for Montserrat in the Caribbean last week, converted the game's two best chances, victory for the Maryhill Magyars would not have been undeserved.

"We changed the shape a wee bit during the first half and it worked," said the Thistle manager. "It let us get at them a wee bit on the break.

"We'll have to put in a similar performance against Celtic on Wednesday night now.

"To a man, they'll all have to work hard and if we get chances we'll have to take them. Another performance the same as this and we'll not be too far away.

"We're getting consistency now and we've had the rewards in recent weeks but we still need a lot of points to make sure we're safe."

Tony Docherty, the Aberdeen assistant manager, was at pains on the eve of this game to point out that Thistle's recent form was indicative of their threat.

He cited wins over St Johnstone, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dundee United in their previous three Premiership games as an example.

Lawrence Shankland's inclusion in the starting XI for the Dons, however, was a surprise. The striker, with 26 goals for his club's under-20s this season and a match-winning brace for the Scotland under-21s in Budapest last week, was given his first start and, with predictable enthusiasm, he came mightily close before two minutes had been played as he found space in the area to accept Jonny Hayes's knee-height ball into the area, only to hook it over the bar.

It was a move followed up soon after as he delivered a clean header that slipped wide of goal but which underlined his eagerness to illustrate how right his manager was to name him in the starting line-up.

Yet it was the visitors who produced the best chance of an energetic first half as Taylor, introduced as a replacement for the injured Kris Doolan after half-an-hour, found himself one-on-one with Jamie Langfield less than a minute later, but he could not put his shot past the goalkeeper's sprawling legs. If that was a warning for the Reds, it went unheeded and eight minutes later in an identical manoeuvre, the Thistle striker this time chipped the ball over Langfield's limbs, only to watch it slip past the post.

This was not part of the DerekMcInnes plan, nor was the glaring opportunity which fell for James Craigen within seconds of the restart as, unimpeded, he raced into the Aberdeen penalty area, only Langfield's touch over the bar preventing his strike from opening the scoring.

It was the latest of a series of difficult moments for the Dons whose flatness since their early burst of fizz was worrying for their management team, hence their search for reinvigoration through Niall McGinn and Peter Pawlett, substitutes for the ineffective Willo Flood and Shankland 10 minutes into the second phase.

Later, a high ball towards Langfield wasn't held under challenge from Taylor and there were sighs of relief as the ball fell in favour of a defensive clearance, although the Thistle striker continued to be problematic as Ash Taylor and Mark Reynolds seemed incapable of curbing his determined approach.

A sizzling 30-yard strike from Hayes in the dying minutes of this tense encounter, stung the hands of Scott Fox in the Jags' goal and the Aberdeen manager might have wondered why there was a lack of such shooting from his side earlier in the contest.

He was, however, extremely annoyed as the Irishman broke clear in the 82nd minute following a challenge from Frederic Frans but was penalised by referee Kevin Clancy, who judged that the Thistle defender, one of their many outstanding performers on the afternoon, had been fouled.

And Hayes was adamant the match official got it wrong, saying: "I'm frustrated with the decision. I didn't expect the whistle at all, to be honest. I was the one that took the ball forward. I was the one that got kicked.

"I've stayed on my feet but the lad has gone down as if he's broken his leg and that has got the referee's attention. It's another pitiful decision that has gone against us.

"We should have had a penalty against Dundee for a handball. Through one-on-one, I would have fancied myself to score. Every point matters at this stage. We don't know how important it could be.

"All we can do is hope it doesn't come back to bite us, but that's a few points dropped now due to dubious decisions."

Aberdeen (4-1-3-2): Langfield; Logan, Taylor, Reynolds, Considine; Jack; Hayes, Flood (McGinn 55), McLean (Smith 81); Rooney, Shankland (Pawlett 55). Subs not used: Brown, Robson, Goodwillie, Daniels. Booked: Logan 75.

Partick Thistle (4-2-3-1): Fox; O'Donnell, Frans, Balatoni, Booth; Bannigan, Osman; Craigen, Stevenson Lawless (Higginbotham 76); Doolan (Taylor 30) Subs not used: Gallacher, Richards-Everton, Fraser, Wilson, Keenan. Booked: Bannigan 41.

Referee: K Clancy. Attendance: 12,727.