The Thistle Archive

Goals from Louis Moult and Scott McDonald helped Motherwell down Partick Thistle and climb into the Scottish Premiership top six. Moult capitalised on flailing Thistle goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann to guide in McDonald's cross from the left. And Moult returned the compliment as he squared for his Australian colleague to curl neatly past Stuckmann. Chris Cadden hit the bar after the break and Ade Azeez had Thistle's best chance, but headed over from 10 yards. The result means Thistle have yet to win at Fir Park on Premiership duty, with Well recording just their second win in seven league games. The hosts went into this match with just two wins in their past 12 games. Manager Mark McGhee knew something had to change. The Scotland assistant boss decided to match Partick Thistle with three at the back but it was the two at the front who did the damage.

When Moult and McDonald click, it's a joy to watch and they certainly clicked in the first half, when the damage was done. McDonald was provider for the the first. His cross from the left led to Stuckmann clashing with his central defenders and when the ball fell to Moult at the back post, he had a simple tap-in for his eighth goal of the season. Just after the half-hour Moult's ball from the right hand side found his strike partner and McDonald swept the ball beautifully past Stuckmann. Alan Archibald's side were looking for their third away league win in a row but in truth, never really looked like they'd secure it. They stroked the ball around well in spells but there was little in the way of a cutting edge. Azeez looked lively with the ball at his feet when Thistle enjoyed more possession in the second half, but when he found space for a shot they were always wayward. McGhee had asked his players before this game to turn performances into points and they answered his call. The Steelmen looked hungrier and were first to the loose balls all across the pitch. The clinical finishing in front of goal was matched by a work-rate that was deserving of the three points. It's a Motherwell side that has proved what it's capable of; the key now to climbing the table is consistency.

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee:

We changed our shape today and we didn't give Thistle a lot of room. I thought we won the battles all over the park and worked very very hard. (Scott) McDonald always amazes you, doesn't he? He plays against all these huge defenders and he still manages to take the ball down and control it. The strikers played very well today. Equally pleasing is that we have a clean sheet for the first time this season.

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald:

Motherwell deserved their win. We couldn't handle their front pairing. We had three centre-backs playing today and we couldn't get to grips with them. We had a little flurry in the second half but we just couldn't get back into the game. The boys have been playing well collectively and we know we have a big run of games coming up but we have big characters.

bbc.com

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