Archibald’s all-rounders put Jags into last eight
Alan Archibald praised the versatility of his Partick Thistle squad after they reached the quarter-finals of the Cup for the first time in nine years.
Saints keeper Zander Clark made a string of saves but couldn’t deny Adam Barton a seventh-minute strike that earned Thistle a place in the last eight.
Boss Archibald, who was playing for the Jags the night they were knocked out in the quarters by Rangers in 2008, said: “I’m delighted for the players that we’ve reached this stage again.
“We had to ask a number of guys to play out of position because we had people missing so it was a good result. As far as the Cup draw goes, I’d rather get a home tie – even though we have a good away record this season.”
Defender Steven Anderson returned to St Johnstone’s starting line-up after recovering from illness.
Thistle meanwhile were missing Christie Elliott through suspension, while Ryan Scully, Stuart Bannigan and Gary Fraser remained sidelined. It didn’t take long for the Jags to open the scoring. Wing-back Sean Welsh found Stevie Lawless who bolted down the left flank before squaring for central midfielder Barton to rifle in from 15 yards.
Three minutes later, following a slip from Richard Foster, Ade Azeez saw his shot from the edge of the Saints box hit a defender and skid inches past Clark’s left-hand post.
The home side rallied and Foster was denied from an acute angle after racing onto a defence-splitting pass
St Johnstone....................... 0 Partick Thistle .................... 1
from David Wotherspoon. Danny Swanson also went close as Saints pressed for a leveller.
Just before the break Jags star Liam Lindsay headed a Welsh corner over. Then, on the stroke of half-time, Clark pulled off a terrific one-handed save from David Amoo after the Firhill ace had danced into the box.
Early in the second half Blair Alston let fly from the edge of the Thistle area but his shot was held by Tomas Cerny.
Clark pulled off another top-drawer save on the hour when Lindsay’s header looked goalbound. Amoo had a follow-up shot but he hit it straight at Anderson who was on the ground.
St Johnstone made a double sub in 73 minutes, bringing on Liam Craig and Chris Kane for Chris Millar and Graham Cummins.
They kept pushing for the equaliser and with five minutes left Kane’s 20-yard volley flew just over.
Saints boss Tommy Wright said: “It’s really frustrating. We have to start games better and not give the away team something to hold on to, although they scored a good goal on the counter.”