PARTICK THISTLE 2
Lawless (pen, 51), Mullen (89) MORTON 1
Baird (57)
Supersub Danny Mullen netted in the final minute as Thistle claimed a dramatic win at Firhill.
After a lively opening to the second half, the game looked set for a draw until Mullen’s last-ditch strike gave the Jags a vital victory.
Boss Ian Mccall said: “I think we deserved to win, but that doesn’t always mean you do win. Last week we certainly didn’t deserve to get beaten.
“It’s a big result for us. I think Dundee are the team that most are aiming to finish above and that puts us just two points behind them.”
A bright start brought chances at both ends, the best falling to the visitors when Lewis Strapp sliced wide after some excellent work from Jai Quitongo.
Thistle were continually posing a threat, though were demonstrating a lack of potency in the final third, and the closest they came to breaking the deadlock in the first half was when Aidan Fitzpatrick’s floated cross struck the crossbar.
But the home side broke the deadlock early in the second half when Steven Lawless converted from the penalty spot after Morton’s Grant Gillespie was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area.
Then Morton’s players were stunned when Alan Muir waved play on after Robbie Crawford hit the deck in the other penalty box, and visiting boss Dougie Imrie was sent to the stands after venting his fury in the direction of the fourth official. The visitors were a bit happier when they levelled just before the hour mark as Jack Baird prodded home following a scramble in the box.
Opportunities were at a premium in the last half hour, though Thistle struck right at the death as former Ayr United midfielder Ross Docherty fired home from close range to clinch victory.
Mccall added: “I didn’t even claim for the penalty but I’ve seen it and, in these days, it probably is a penalty. I’d have been disappointed, but the rules these days say it is a penalty.”
Ton boss Imrie said: “Nobody in the stadium is looking for a penalty, normally if there’s a shout for a penalty their players would be going daft, but nobody moved – I actually sat down as I thought it was a corner.
“I got told after the game, one of my players asked the referee who it was, and he said he didn’t know.”