Motherwell's hopes of staying in the Scottish Premier League suffered a blow
when they were defeated by Partick Thistle.
The passion they had shown in last week's Scottish Cup semi-final against
Rangers was gone as the bottom side slumped to an Alex Burns opener and a double
from Gerry Britton.
That meant they lost the opportunity to drag Partick into the relegation
battle between themselves and Dundee United.
With Glasgow's other two top flight teams not in action until tomorrow, the
city's attention turned to this game - a clash which could play a major part in
deciding the relegation issue this season.
Thistle headed into the match in 10th but they were just five points ahead of
bottom side Motherwell, who still have a game in hand.
With so much at stake, both sides cancelled each other out in the opening
spell when chances from either side were few and far between.
The first chance fell to Partick after five minutes when David Lilley met
Stephen Craigan's long throw-in only to nod over the crossbar from six yards
out.
A few minutes later, Burns called Francois Dubourdeau into action with a shot
from the edge of the 18-yard box which the Motherwell keeper did well to hold.
Partick had a great chance to take the lead when they were handed a free-kick
on the edge of the box after 26 minutes.
Burns presided over the set piece and he did well to curl the ball past the
Motherwell wall only to be denied by a great save from Dubourdeau who dived low
to block at the post.
Another free-kick at the other end of the park gave Motherwell the opportunity
to put Partick under pressure but James McFadden fired well over.
The breakthrough came after 28 minutes when Partick took the lead. Ian Ross
supplied the pass for Burns to embark on a run down the left flank before
slotting home from a tight angle.
Thistle were clearly boosted by the opener and they tried to put Motherwell
under even more pressure.
Derek Whyte aimed to pick out Britton in front of goal but he was denied the
chance of a header by Dubourdeau who managed to punch the ball clear.
Britton then turned provider when he squared the ball into the box from the
left wing. David Lilley failed to connect properly and the ball fell to Burns
but he fired well over the bar.
The start of the second half was delayed slightly as Motherwell took their
time emerging from the dressing room and, when they finally appeared, Thistle
showed they were far more motivated for the start of the second 45 minutes.
Within a few minutes, David Rowson released Britton into the six-yard box but
his shot was weak under the close attention of David Partridge.
Motherwell's first chance after the restart fell to Steven Craig but his
effort was poor and never troubled goalkeeper Kenny Arthur.
Partick were still creating the best of the chances and they came close again
when Burns fired the ball into the area, which was met by Jamie Mitchell, who
played the ball on to Hardie but his effort was poor and fell harmlessly past
the post.
A few minutes later, the home side were threatening again when Hardie met
Burns' free-kick only to nod wide of the upright from a few yards out.
Thistle doubled their lead after 69 minutes despite the best efforts of the
Motherwell defence.
Burns swung the ball into the box, where it was blocked by Dubourdeau, only to
fall to the feet of Mitchell but both he and Britton saw shots cleared off the
line before the former Celtic striker eventually rammed the ball home.
Richard Offiong had replaced Craig and he almost had an immediate impact when
he unleashed a shot from the right wing only to send the effort well over the
crossbar.
Britton could have grabbed his second goal of the day when he produced a
well-struck shot from the edge of the penalty area but Dubourdeau produced an
impressive save to prevent another Thistle goal.
The Motherwell goalkeeper was called into action again when he blocked a
Stephen Craigan header from Burns' corner and he managed to scramble the ball to
safety before Britton was able to tap home on the line.
But Dubourdeau was helpless to prevent Britton's thunderous last-minute volley
from hitting the back of the net after he met Hardie's header.
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