The first half, in fairness, resolved little, with two of the League’s better footballing sides refreshingly adventurous and purposeful. After the break, though, Thistle did what Inverness had done just a few days earlier, over-running the Ross County midfield and proving just too inventive, quick and strong on the ball for the hosts.
The only real negative for Gerry Britton and Derek Whyte’s side was a failure to kill the game off. However, while Partick recorded their fourth successive victory, this was County’s third successive 1-0 defeat. So far, the undoubted experience and ability in their ranks has failed to click to its full potential, though it must be a little too early for alarm bells to sound.
“We need to bring a different type of player into midfield — somebody with more strength and grit,” said Alex Smith. The veteran County manager’s enthusiasm for football is unflinching, but he looked as drained as Paula Radcliffe at mile 19 of the Olympic marathon.
Britton looked only slightly happier, such is his downbeat demeanour, stressing: “We are very happy with the progress, but the fact we didn’t add to the first goal always left us at risk of an equaliser.” There was no denying, though, that Leigh Hinds’ fourth goal in as many games — a simple poacher’s finish — was the least Thistle deserved.
There was a pre-match blow for the visitors when Juan Ramon, who had scored six in his first five games, pulled a calf muscle in the warm-up. Armand One stepped into the starting line-up and the tree trunk-legged Frenchman, a real handful for defenders, was a more than able deputy.
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County were slightly on top on chances through an evenly fought first half, but neither was penetrating in the first 15 minutes. Thistle’s best chance of the half came courtesy of a Martin Canning mistake that let Hinds close in on goal, only for Mark McCulloch to produce a well-timed tackle.
Alex Burke’s invention — the most encouraging aspect of the Dingwall side’s season so far — almost created the opener with a delicately chipped pass in 29 minutes. Sean Kilgannon collected inside the left of the box but delayed his shot too long and was firmly dispossessed.
Thistle made two half-time changes with Emmanuel Panther a tricky addition on the left side of midfield. He played an important role in the 54th-minute goal, swinging a crossfield pass to Jamie Mitchell. Willie Gibson’s shot deflected and bobbled through the packed penalty box, leaving Hinds with a simple finish at the far post.
It was one-way traffic in Partick’s favour from then on, barring a late Burke attempt that curled inches over the bar. A familiar story for County and a growing pattern of success for Thistle.
STAR MAN: Armand One (Partick Thistle)
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Player ratings: Ross County: Garden 6; Robertson 6, Canning 6, Lauchlan 7, McCulloch 7; McCunnie 6, Rankin 6, Kilgannon 6 (Mackay 48min 6); Burke 6, Higgins 5 (Winters 68min), McGarry 6 (McSwegan 76min 6)
Partick Thistle: Arthur 6; Gibson 7, Murray 6,Dowie 7, Fleming 7; Anis 6 (Panther h-t 6), Fulton 7, Mitchell 7, Milne 6 (Howie h-t 6); One 7, Hinds 7
Scorer: Partick Thistle: Hinds 54
Booked: Robertson (38min), McCunnie (65min), Lauchlan (88min)
Referee: I Frickleton
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Attendance: 2,781