partick thistle 0 ross county 2 Mullin (15), McKay (pen, 56)
Alan Archibald’s position as Partick Thistle manager is under scrutiny following this latest setback. The Jags now sit third bottom of the table, 10 points behind league leaders Ayr United and there are doubts behind the scenes that Archibald can guide his current squad back to the Premier League. The jeers rang out from the Firhill faithful, with many leaving before the end. After the game, Archibald said: “We gave a goal away in the first half through an individual error, but we got a reaction after that. “We were wasteful with our opportunities. We fell flat a bit after the second goal. “As for the penalty, it just depends what referee you get. There is no black or white on that handball rule, but it wasn’t a booking.” Ross County had failed to win in their previous five visits to Firhill, a record stretching back to February 2015, but they ended that record in a canter with goals in either half by Josh Mullin and Billy McKay. County should have taken the lead in 13 minutes when Iain Vigurs threaded a superb ball through to McKay, but keeper Jamie Sneddon parried only as far as Jamie Lindsay. The midfielder’s follow up drive from 12-yards was brilliantly cleared off the line by James Penrice. Two minutes later County made the breakthrough when Sean McGinty was weak in a tackle on Mullin, allowing the striker to run on and clip the ball low past Sneddon from 10 yards. County might have doubled their lead seven minutes from the interval, but Vigurs was just off target with a curling 20-yard free-kick. The points were wrapped up by County in 56 minutes when McKay netted from the spot after Christie Elliott handled a Mullin effort for his seventh goal of the season. The only sour note for County was a red card in stoppage time to Draper for a rash challenge on Stuart Bannigan. County co-manager Steven Ferguson said: “Momentum in this league is crucial and the only way you get momentum is by winning games and there are tough tests ahead. “It hurt, to be honest, going down last year. We have a group of players who want to get out of this league.”