THE finishing line is now in sight but there are still five hurdles to be overcome.
Partick Thistle lead the field in the Premiership relegation race going into the home straight and, thanks to this 2-0 victory over Motherwell, will now be hotly tipped to hold on to their top flight status.
What looked like being the game of the day before the kick-offs across the country never materialised into the thriller that it could have been, but Alan Archibald's side got the job done, got the points on the board and have moved themselves another step closer to ensuring they will be playing Premiership football next season. Now eighth in the table, they are 17 points clear of the seemingly doomed St Mirren and seven in front of Ian Baraclough's side with only 15 left to play for.
In the swirling wind, sunshine and driving rain in Glasgow, this was far from a classic. That won't bother Alan Archibald, his players, or the Thistle fans, though as they moved onwards, upwards and in the right direction once again.
"We have confidence and momentum going into the split, and a seven point cushion as well," Archibald said. "We know the split and the way it works, we could get them again next time and it could go to ten [points] or four [points]. We are in a good place with momentum and confidence and we got another clean sheet as well."
This may not have been Thistle's finest performance of the season but it will go down as one of their most important wins. It was secured courtesy of Lyle Taylor. Just a week ago, the striker was again central to the result as Thistle drew 0-0 with Aberdeen, with his two missed chances at Pittodrie resulting in two dropped points for the Jags.
There was no blame attached to the 25-year-old on that occasion, with Archibald backing his man to find the target more often than not and his faith was to prove well founded and repaid at Firhill. After a first half in which chances were at a premium, Taylor made the most of those that came his way after the break as he clinched the points with two goals in seven minutes.
Both were scored from just a couple of yards out, the first a header after Conrad Balatoni nodded a Kallum Higginbotham free-kick to the back post and the second a tap in after a Callum Booth cross.
"It is a great feeling and it is nice to get a couple of goals, it has been a while," Taylor said. "I suppose with all the talk from last week about missing chances here, missing chances there, it is nice to put the ball in the back of the net and walk away with the three points."
The match may have been low on quality but it was one that Thistle more than deserved to win, and could have done so by more as Taylor was denied on a couple of occasions and full-backs Stephen O'Donnell and Booth showed their attacking intent. Stuart Bannigan was also thwarted after he burst forward from the middle of the park but those spurned opportunities didn't prove costly.
After Archibald's side had got their noses in front, they never looked like being pegged back by a Motherwell outfit that didn't get out of first gear before the break and never got going at all after it. The best chance of the afternoon for the Steelmen arrived with just seconds on the clock but John Sutton couldn't make Thistle pay after an error from Abdul Osman. It was one of the few times the visitors were able to venture as far as Scott Fox's area.
On a high after their midweek win over St Mirren, Motherwell's momentum, and winning run, came to a halt at Firhill. They must now wait until Monday night, when County make the trip to Paisley, to discover how costly defeat here is in the relegation battle and if they will head into the split six points adrift or not.
"We have got five massive games, we have got a chance and it is in our hands to go and make sure we get into at least tenth spot," Baraclough said. "There are five clubs there that have got massive games and they are all going to be feeling the same. We need to make sure we pick ourselves up, we have got a free weekend now to make sure we are back to where we have been for the last five or six games."
Partick Thistle: Fox; O'Donnell, Balatoni, Frans, Booth; Bannigan, Osman; Lawless, Stevenson, Higginbotham; Taylor (Doolan 80)
Subs not used: Gallacher, Richards-Everton, Fraser, Wilson, McDaid, Keenan.
Booked: Taylor, Balatoni
Goals: Taylor 54, 61
Motherwell: Long; Law, McManus, Laing, Straker; Ainsworth (Thomas 65), Pearson, Lasley (Carswell 75), Erwin; Sutton (Moore 75), McDonald.
Subs not used: Twardzik, O'Brien, Kerr, Ramsden
Booked: Lasley, Carswell
Sent off: Carswell
Goals:
Man of the match: Lyle Taylor
Referee: Bobby Madden
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