Partick Thistle beat Dundee to avoid automatic relegation from the Scottish Premiership and set up a two-legged play-off final duel with Livingston. Replacement Kris Doolan stabbed home the game's only goal in the 63rd minute, ensuring Thistle finished 11th. The Jags end the league season four points clear of bottom side Ross County, who drop to the Championship. Thistle travel to Livingston on Thursday, 17 May, before hosting David Hopkin's men three days later. The victor will play Premiership football next season.
The stunning Tayside sunshine provided the perfect paradox to the relegation cloud that was hanging over the heads of the visitors. Thistle, two points ahead of the Staggies, knew victory would preserve their top-flight status, but a draw, or defeat, would give County the chance to send them down. The Dingwall side heaped pressure on their Firhill foes by taking an early lead against St Johnstone, and Alan Archibald's men started in a manner befitting a team scrapping for their lives. They pushed and probed in numbers as Dundee, with pride only at stake, continually found themselves pinned back in their own half. After Simon Murray flashed a fairly harmless effort across the face of Tomas Cerny's goal, at the other end Adam Barton's looping header was tipped over the bar by 19-year-old Calum Ferrie, making his first Dees start. The hosts fought their way back into the contest and Paul McGowan had a fierce close-range effort parried away by Cerny - although the influential captain hobbled off with a hamstring injury shortly afterwards. Just before the break the Jags should have taken the lead they craved so desperately, but Barton inexplicably hesitated from six yards, failing to show the necessary conviction to meet a fine Christie Elliot cross. Conor Sammon kept the play alive, but when the ball fell to him, Miles Storey lashed wide.
It was pretty stodgy fare after the break, neither side seizing control until just after the hour mark. Replacement Doolan, so often Thistle's go-to man, delivered the precious filip. Stevie Lawless picked up possession inside the Dundee half, drove to the edge of the box, and when his through-ball ricocheted into the path of Doolan, the 31-year-old striker clipped the ball past Ferrie into the bottom-right corner of the net. It was Doolan's 114th Jags goal - few will have been so important - and his 10th of the season, as he became the first Thistle player to hit double figures in eight consecutive campaigns. When the celebrations subsided the visitors looked as though they couldn't quite decide between defending their lead or pushing for another that would surely kill the contest. In their confusion Murray almost capitalised on poor defending to level, but his strike from 12 yards was blocked late when it looked goal-bound. Wolters then lashed a left-foot drive on-target but Cerny saved low at his near post as the Thistle fans continued to chew on frayed fingernails behind the goal. Neil McCann's men continued to throw everything at it but in the final throes, news of a St Johnstone equaliser in Perth reached Dens Park - blessed relief for the Jags. Their supporters were jubilant, but they have two meetings with Hopkin's dogged and effective Livingston to negotiate before their Premiership status is secured.
Dundee manager Neil McCann described his team's final-day performance as "poor", and admits there is much to be improved upon as the Dark Blues finished ninth:
Disappointing season in terms of our league position. Pleasing in terms of we put a lot of work in behind the scenes to put us in a better position next season, but you always look at progression in terms of the first team and we shouldn't be happy with our league position. I wanted more, I set them targets to get more, and we've been too inconsistent. There have been real highs but big lows and we need to find a level of consistency that allows us to be more solid throughout the season and gain a better league position. A lot of the work in how I want to play has been bedded in, but there's a lot more to be done in he summer.
Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald:
The attitude has been fantastic since the split, the players have gone after every game, we’ve just not scored at the right times. First-half, we had a lot of pressure, balls whipped across the front area, couple of half-chances and it just didn’t fall for us. Thankfully, Kris [Doolan] comes on and does what he does. I thought we needed that impact from the bench. I know that sounds bizarre, because I get pelters when I don’t play him, because he’s such a hero here, rightly so. I just thought we needed that impact and the game would open up. We played Livingston at the start of the season [in the League Cup] and we drew with them, and they rightly won on penalties. We know what we’re going to face. The players have all seen them first-hand. People say they’re aggressive, but they’ve got good footballers in their side and we’ll give them the utmost respect. We wanted to make sure we went into the game on the front foot, with a good victory.
Partick Thistle match-winner Kris Doolan:
I've scored some big goals in big games over the years but that was special, coming off the bench. All we were focused on was our result but we did hear snippets of what was going on with Ross County. I was disappointed not to start in such an important game but you can't take it personally because it's all about the team. Today's win will give us momentum going into the play-off.
Chris McLaughlin, 12-May-2018,
bbc.com 
Paul McGowan
Faissal El Bakhtaoui
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