Neilson’s reign starts off on the right note
partick thistle 1
Quitongop (78)
dundee united 2
Aird (45), Safranko (48)
Robbie Neilson has warned his Dundee United players not to get carried away with grinding out a victory in his first match. The new Tannadice manager was delighted with a performance that showed talent and toughness in equal measure. He admitted watching players cling on for the points pleased him more than seeing a side strolling to success. “They showed energy in the first 60 minutes, but when they have a new manager coming in you often get that bounce,” he said. “But you also saw their resilience at the end. “We could have gone two up, then lost a goal and people would have said United have often crumbled in the past few years. “Being able to see it out 2-1 by putting bodies on the line, winning headers and being together with the fans was probably the best outcome, as opposed to coming here and winning two or three nil. “Let’s hope this is the start of something, but we need to prove it again next week. This is just three points.” Being overly optimistic isn’t in Neilson’s nature, but he likes what he’s seen so far. He went on: “One of the reasons I came was the good fan-base and the good club. “We have a great training ground and the quality in the team is very good. “We have to build on this. Let’s hope is not a false dawn, but the start of something. “I can feel that togetherness in the dressing-room. The club has been through a lot recently and so have the fans. “We had a great travelling support of nearly 1000. I didn’t realise it would be that many. Let’s hope this is the turning point.” While there are grounds for optimism at fourth-placed United, the Partick Thistle fans had only a late flurry from their favourites to offer some encouragement. Thistle chief executive Gerry Britton took charge of the team following last weekend’s sacking of Alan Archibald. Thistle are now only five points above the Championship relegation play-off spot, but also just five below the promotion play-off zone. Defending was certainly poor from the Maryhill men, but defending starts from the front. United were allowed to run through the home midfield with ease for the first hour. The only real surprise was that it took the Tangerines until the stroke of half-time to take the lead. Cammy Bell had produced three fine stops and Paul McMullan hit the post before Fraser Aird hit the net. Sam Stanton skipped down the right – an area where he had lots of success – and crossed for Aird to slam the ball past Bell. The lead was extended just three minutes after the break when Bell saved a McMullan shot, but couldn’t stop Safranko’s follow-up. It was only when some of United’s players tired – Fyvie, Stanton and McMullan aren’t long back from injury – that Thistle got a foothold in the match. The livewire Jai Quitongo pulled a goal back when he raced past Bouhenna and slipped a shot under the keeper. The Jags battled for an equaliser, but couldn’t create any clear-cut openings. Gerry Britton is confident Thistle will have a new man in charge when they travel to Alloa on Saturday. He said: “The way we finished shows the commitment and work ethic you can build a team around. We have a core of quality players and we can marry that to determination and willingness to do the ugly side of the game, which we showed at the end. “We’ve been working hard all week. We’ve identified a shortlist and the board is now vetting them and going through the usual process. Hopefully, we’ll have the new man in place for next weekend’s game.”