ST JOHNSTONE 1 MacLean (18) PARTICK THISTLE 2 Doolan (17), Osman (90)
SAINTS missed the chance to move into second in the Premiership with their second successive home league defeat.
Just two weeks after going down by a single goal to Kilmarnock, this time it was the odd goal in three to a Jags side who deserved the win.
“It’s been a good week for us, with seven points from the last three games,” reflected Thistle boss Alan Archibald.
“We know it’s tough here, so the win was great.
“We’ve been in the habit of losing goals late on recently, so it was a nice change to score one and I felt we deserved to take the three points.”
That’s two wins in 10 games for the Glasgow men after their victory at Dens in midweek but, for Saints, sloppy defending was the problem.
“We should be seeing the game out in the final few minutes for a point, but you will get punished for defending like that and deservedly so,” moaned Tommy Wright.
With Archibald opting for three at the back, the Firhill men had an extra body in the engine room of the side, which helped them in the vital areas.
And it was Kris Doolan who had the away side ahead when he connected smartly with Danny Devine’s headed ball across the face of Zander Clark’s goal line.
Just 40 seconds later though, Saints found that little bit of magic in the box, which ended with Steven MacLean finishing from six yards, past keeper Thorston Stuckmann.
It would be fair to say that with such a congested middle third, both sides tended to over-pass the ball in an effort to create a little space.
The problem was that when the time came to play the killer ball forward, it was too often misdirected or blocked
by an outstretched leg to prevent progress.
Both teams fell for the current vogue of passing the ball along the back four and then back the other way, when threading a pass forward needed a pinpoint eye.
The home players were the best-looking unit in the first half, but Thistle upped their game after half time and shaded the second 45.
David Wotherspoon almost nicked one for the Perth side in 65 minutes, when his centre from the right curled beyond Stuckmann and thumped the top of the bar.
But one minute into injury time, substitute David Amoo squared the ball and Abdul Osman, thumped in the winner.
Two players were booked, Saints’ Graham Cummins along with Thistle’s Barton and Liam Lindsay.