Archibald hails young midfielder’s maturity

Alan Archibald lavished praise on Partick Thistle midfielder Andrew McCarthy after the teenager starred in their 2-2 Ladbrokes Premiership draw against Hearts.

The Jags academy product made just his second Premiership start for the club at Tynecastle and cut a composed figure in the heart of midfield.

Archibald hailed the youngster’s maturity after he was drafted into the starting line-up at short notice following an injury to Liam Lindsay, proving far from overrawed by going head-to-head with 63-times capped Alex Tziolis and Africa Cup of Nations winner Arnaud Djoum.

Archibald said: “We had a lot of injuries and had to bring Andy McCarthy into the middle of the pitch, as well as putting Kris Doolan in a wider area – so I think it was a fantastic performance in the circumstances.

“I was delighted with young Andy in there. He only found out he was playing on Saturday morning.”

Thistle claimed the lead in the second period when Doolan headed home from close-range following some fine work by Steven Lawless.

However, the game was turned on its head when referee Andrew Dallas awarded a penalty for a handball against Daniel Devine, brandishing a second yellow card to the centrehalf in the process. Esmael Goncalves slotted home the spot-kick.

Lawless restored the visitors’ lead before Andraz Struna struck in the dying embers to rescue a point.

Jambos head coach Ian Cathro is adamant he witnessed signs of progress, despite seeing his record extend to four wins in 18 Premiership matches.

Cathro believes the showing at Tynecastle was night and day compared to the stalemate against Kilmarnock in their previous outing.

He said: “The only thing missing was us putting the ball in the net and scoring goals. I think that’s a game that the majority of times we play it we would win.

“We are making progress but we have to prove it – and it’s the results that do that.”

Meanwhile Kilmarnock moved a huge step closer to safety after a comfortable 2-0 win over Hamilton.

Conor Sammon broke the deadlock for the visitors before Jordan Jones added a second to put the Rugby Park men in a commanding position.