Steve Paterson will have to wait for his first home win as Aberdeen manager after John Lambie's Partick came and plundered all three points at Pittodrie.

The Jags were worthy of the three points gained thanks to Alex Burns' strike and the lacklustre Dons failed to assert their influence on this match, once again leaving the field with the sound of their fans' frustration ringing in their ears.

Aberdeen could have equalised through Phil McGuire after Leon Mike won a penalty after 34 minutes, but his weak effort summed up his side's performance.

The Dons pegged the visitors back for much of the opening period but were made to pay for a piece of sloppy defending after 12 minutes.

Aberdeen defender Jamie McAllister's throw-in was intercepted by Martin Hardie and he then played the ball towards veteran striker Gerry Britton.

The former Dundee striker cleverly flicked the ball into the path of his strike partner Burns, who bolted in on goal and slipped a low shot past David Preece to put Thistle in front.

The visitors were buoyed by opening the scoring and created another good chance after 19 minutes.

Scott Paterson, who has been linked with a move to Aberdeen at the end of the season, played a delightful 40-yard pass through the heart of the Dons defence for Britton.

He kept himself onside and managed to get in front of McGuire when chasing the ball. The veteran managed to get into a shooting position, albeit from a tight angle, but McGuire made a good recovery and cleared.

Aberdeen had the perfect chance to get back on level terms after 34 minutes when Mike was floored inside the area by Alan Archibald.

The Reds striker latched onto a through ball from Kevin McNaughton and used his pace to get past Archibald, but the defender took his legs away and referee Stuart Dougal had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

McGuire stepped up to take the kick, but never looked confident and his effort was well saved by Kenny Arthur, who dived at full stretch to his left to palm the ball away.

The second half started slowly but Aberdeen created a decent chance after 56 minutes when Russell Anderson picked out Darren Mackie with a superb pass.

The Scotland Under-21 striker had plenty of time to steady himself and shoot, but he tried to advance into the penalty area and was quickly closed down by Kevin McGowne, who made it difficult for the youngster to get any power in his effort.

Thistle goalkeeper Arthur had to be alert, but Mackie's effort bounced weakly into his hands.

Referee Dougal was once again called into action after 75 minutes when McAllister fouled Burns on the right win and the former was issued with a yellow card.

From the free-kick, substitute Derek Fleming whipped in a cross for Britton, who appeared to get the slightest of touches on the ball and send it goalwards, forcing Preece into a diving save.

Substitute Leigh Hinds had a good chance to get his first goal for the club with only 10 minutes remaining. He gathered a McNaughton pass on the edge of the box, turned his marker and fired in a low shot on goal but his effort lacked pace and direction, allowing Arthur the simplest of saves.

McAllister was red-carded with only three minutes to go for being abusive to the referee.

Dougal awarded a throw-in to Partick, prompting the Dons defender to launch a tirade of abuse at him and he was shown the red card, compounding a day of misery for Aberdeen and their under-pressure management team.

Teams

Aberdeen: Preece, McGuire, Anderson, McAllister, McNaughton, Tosh, Rutkiewicz (O'Donoghue 64), Sheerin, Clark, Mike (Derek Young 76), Mackie (Hinds 65).

Subs Not Used: Kjaer, D'Jaffo.

Sent Off: McAllister (88).

Booked: McAllister, Anderson.

Partick: Arthur, Craigan (Fleming 45), Paterson, McGowne, Lilley, Buchan, Rowson, Hardie, Archibald, Burns, Britton (Mitchell 84).

Subs Not Used: Budinauckas, Gibson, Waddell.

Booked: Craigan, Britton.

Goals: Burns 13.

Att: 11,334

Ref: S Dougal (Scotland).