Partick Thistle 3-0 Dumbarton: Three and easy for table-topping Jags

This time last year Thistle had been knocked out of two cups and were yet to record a league win. Life’s looking a lot more rosy at Firhill these days and a crowd of almost 3,000 saw Thistle masterfully put to bed a match they were expected to win. Goals from Kris Doolan, Chris Erskine and Stuart Bannigan did for newly-promoted Dumbarton who find themselves bottom of the table.

“I’m happy things are going well, I just want to keep it going,” said McNamara. “That’s a game last year we might have drawn but we stuck at it and got what we deserved. We’ve added some experience and there’s healthy competition in the squad, and that’s something we maybe didn’t have last year.”

The match announcer fairly got the home supporters worked up before kick-off. “Let’s hear you get right behind the unbeaten Partick Thistle!” he cried and the Thistle fans didn’t let him down.

The home team dominated from the outset, bringing the game to Dumbarton, piling men into their box and taking the lead with barely quarter-of-an-hour gone. Bannigan’s cross from the left was met superbly by Doolan who headed high past Dumbarton keeper Stephen Grindlay for his third league goal of the season. The rain was bucketing down but the outlook looked bright for Thistle.

Doolan soon had another go, curling a low shot just wide of the post, before team-mate Stephen O’Donnell let fly from distance, his drive narrowly off target. Dumbarton were having to withstand a fair amount of pressure but their supporters were giving them some great backing and might even have been celebrating an equaliser after half-an-hour were it not for Thistle keeper Scott Fox’s excellent reflex save from a Jim Lister effort. From the resultant corner Andy Graham fired over the home crossbar to serve a further reminder to Thistle that their lead was a slender one.

Thistle, though, came close to doubling their advantage shortly before the interval as they broke from their own half in some style. O’Donnell slipped into the box and set up Erskine, whose shot was on target but was cleared off the line for a corner.

But Erskine was to get his name on the scoresheet shortly after the hour mark following another well-worked move from the hosts. Paul Paton made the neat cutback and there was Erskine to sweep the ball past Grindlay to put Thistle firmly in the driving seat.

Minutes later the goalscorer turned provider in a clinical move not dissimilar to the one that had brought about the second goal.  Erskine produced the cutback this time for Bannigan to calmly stroke the ball past Grindlay.

Thistle substitute Christie Elliott came close to putting his team four up but Grindlay produced a good save to keep the scoreline semi-respectable. O’Donnell too had a near thing with a late effort but it stayed out, keeping it at three goals and three points for an on-form Thistle side who were warmly applauded by their fans at the final whistle.

“I think that’s the best we’ve played this season and we’ve been beaten 3-0,” said Dumbarton manager Alan Adamson.