LAWLESS GANG GUN ’EM DOWN
TUESDAY NIGHT DRAMA
TOMMY WRIGHT is fed up hearing Saints are streetwise but Thistle are thrilled to have a Lawless streak.
Partick midfielder Steven showed nerves of steel at McDiarmid Park as he slotted home the penalty early in the second half that put his side on course for the quarter-finals.
Ryan Edwards brought further comfort with a stunning second in 62 minutes before man of the match Chris Erskine wrapped it up.
Saints – smarting at suggestions they operate on the dark edge of town – couldn’t claim they were mugged when ref Euan Anderson pointed to the spot after Steven Anderson’s rash tackle on Kevin Nisbet.
Instead Perth boss Wright pointed the finger at shoddy defending and sloppy striking as his side went out.
The Northern Irishman said: “We created as many chances as them but the first goal was vital.
“Once a defender goes to ground and with his wrong foot a referee is always going to give a penalty. I have no qualms with his decision.
“Their second strike was a wonder goal but we were guilty at times of trying to walk the ball into the net rather than pulling the trigger.”
The ref got it right when he decided Anderson caught Nisbet first on the far side of the box before knocking the ball out for a corner.
It was a tackle the usually shrewd centre-back should never have made and his night got worse when he headed wide five minutes later after being picked out unmarked in the six-yard box by David Wotherspoon.
Saints didn’t put up much of an argument when Nisbet tumbled but were rightly furious when Niall Keown got away with clambering all over Graham Cummins five minutes from time.
By then Lawless had confidently sent Alan Mannus the wrong way before Edwards stepped forward with a goal the Jags will struggle to better all season, a curling 25-yard effort into the top corner. The strikes came from nowhere after a first half with only occasional flashes from Erskine on one side and Wotherspoon on the other to lift it above bang average.
Nisbet, in for crocked Kris Doolan, at least brought a save from Mannus midway through the first half with a shot at the front post. Apart from that though there was little to raise the mood of a crowd of just 2619.
Saints upped the pace as half-time neared, Wotherspoon turning Adam Barton in the box but unable to direct his shot from a tight angle on target.
The frustration of the Saints support was summed up a couple of minutes before the break when Michael O’Halloran slipped in Liam Craig only for the midfielder to stand on the ball.
Their grumbles and groans intensified after the break when Thistle raced into their two-goal lead but Saints scorned a couple of glorious chances to at least pile pressure on Alan Archibald’s men.
Sub Cummins raced on to a through ball from Steven MacLean but fired wide from 18 yards with only keeper Tomas Cerny to beat.
The Czech also happily flopped on an effort from Joe Shaughnessy from six yards after Stefan Scougall’s cross left the Jags defence exposed for once.
Cummins came close with a header over the top before Wright reacted angrily when ref Anderson waved away legitimate appeals for a penalty that would have thrown the game back in the balance.
Thistle took the warning to heart and Erskine raced on to a flick from Nisbet on the counter in the closing minute to slide a shot past Mannus.
A three-goal defeat was harsh on Saints but Archibald – whose side lost their Premiership curtain raiser 3-1 at Hibs – said: “I asked the players for a reaction and we got one.
“We will take a lot from this as it’s a tough place to come. I hope we can now take our confidence into Friday night’s game at home to Celtic.”