PARTICK THISTLE 0 ST JOHNSTONE 2
Anderson (22) MacLean (64)
PARTICK THISTLE find themselves at the foot of the Premiership table this morning and they turned in a rock-bottom performance to match their new status.
The home fans booed them off the pitch and the players can have few complaints about that reaction after this truly dire display.
Apart from a lively five minutes at the start of the match, the Jags were never at the races and that left manager Alan Archibald baffled.
“It was a frustrating afternoon,” he said.
“We looked unrecognisable at times from the side which has played in recent games.
“I know we had lost the two prior to this but at least we played with a tempo and high energy in them.
“We didn’t have any of that against Saints. There was a lack of energy and we didn’t pick up enough second balls or win enough individual battles.”
Saints had already come close, with Tomas Cerny turning over a rising drive from Steven McLean, before they eventually broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute.
The unlikely goal hero was centre-half Steven Anderson, who stroked the ball behind Cerny after getting on the end of a deep cross from Danny Swanson.
Chris Kane, with an overhead kick, almost made it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time but his ambitious attempt cleared the crossbar by inches.
By then Ryan Scully had come on for Cerny, who suffered a repeat of the ankle injury which had sidelined him at the start of the season.
Saints continued to run the show, however, and they thoroughly deserved their second goal.
Thistle substitute Ryan Edwards could claim an
unwanted assist for sloppily conceding possession to Swanson, who supplied Steven McLean.
The veteran turned his marker before drilling the ball high behind Scully from 20 yards.
“Steven’s goal was a great finish,” said Saints manager Tommy Wright.
“I keep telling him to get in the box because he doesn’t have the power to score from distance and then he pulls that one out today.
“It was a good ball in from Danny Swanson as well, though, and Steven’s strike killed the game off.
“We had a few good performances but Steven Anderson and Joe Shaughnessy were outstanding.
“Kris Doolan has posed us problems in the past but they kept him and Ade Azeez quiet.
“Zander Clark had next to nothing to do, apart from one save early on.”