PARTICK THISTLE fought back from a goal down to claim a 2-1 victory away to Hamilton and avoid a third successive cinch Championship loss.

The Jags travelled to New Douglas Park looking to bounce back from back-to-back defeats to Greenock Morton and Dunfermline in their previous two outings, while Accies came into the contest knowing a win would lift John Rankin’s side into sixth place.

Despite the freeze sweeping across the Central Belt, the game got the green light to go ahead following a midday pitch inspection and kicked off with the thermometer reading -6C.

Here are three talking points from an intriguing contest.

Fitzpatrick dropped

Kris Doolan made two changes to the starting line-up from the side that lost 4-1 to Dunfermline last weekend. In defence, Luke McBeth slotted in at centre-back as left-back Charlie Sayers was dropped to the bench, with Dan O’Reilly shifted out to the left. But the big decision was made further forward.

Aidan Fitzpatrick, usually one of the first names on Doolan’s teamsheet and arguably the most talented player in the squad, had to make do with a place on the bench. It was a brave call from the Thistle manager, given the winger’s undoubted talent, but also one that has been coming. The 23-year-old has been far from his electric best recently, offering little on the ball and even less off of it.

Central midfielder Robbie Crawford got the nod to start in Fitzpatrick’s stead, with Scott Robinson moving out to the left wing. It meant Thistle’s attack was severely lacking pace, and so the visitors had to adopt a patient approach as a result.

Chances from open play were hard to come by at both ends of the park. Thistle enjoyed decent spells of possession without ever really troubling their hosts’ goal, while forays into the final third for Hamilton were few and far between.

It was hard to shake the feeling, though, that the Jags were missing the cutting edge usually provided by Fitzpatrick when he’s on form. He was brought off the bench with 20 minutes to go and his side chasing the game, and quickly make a decisive impact by setting up Brian Graham for the equaliser.

Doolan’s decision to drop the attacker was understandable – and, indeed, had been called for by some supporters for weeks – but Fitzpatrick seized his chance after clambering off the bench. This matched showed this Thistle side is not blessed with an abundance of creativity, and Fitzpatrick demonstrated he has the ability to provide it.

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Plenty of industry, not enough guile

The match got off to a rather subdued start, with both teams attempting to feel the other out. The Jags saw plenty of the ball without really doing all that much with it, while Accies looked at their most threatening from set-pieces. Oli Shaw headed wide from a deep free-kick midway through the first half in the game’s first effort on goal; at the other end, Crawford struggled to connect with Robinson’s flick-on and volleyed wide.

Graham would come within inches of breaking the deadlock a minute later. McBeth burst forward from defence, carrying the ball 40 yards before teeing up Graham, who was stood on the edge of the box with his back to goal. He turned his man and got his shot away, only to see it cannon off the bar and go behind for a goal kick.

Hamilton had a few half-chances of their own before the break. Scott Martin tested David Mitchell with a pot-shot from the edge of the box and tried to lob the Thistle keeper from distance a few moments later after intercepting a slack pass from the goalie, but Mitchell kept the midfielder at bay on both occasions. He had to react quickly, too, to palm a close-range Sean McGinty effort behind minutes before half-time.

The second half got off to a familiar start as Thistle once again enjoyed the lion’s share of possession without ever really troubling Charlie Albinson in the Accies goal. It was a similar story for the home side; there were some neat passing moves in midfield and defence, but little to write home about in the final third where it really matters.

Kyle Turner blazed over from a rare sight of goal shortly before the hour-mark for the away side and the playmaker was made to rue his profligacy minutes later when Hamilton broke the deadlock from a corner. The initial delivery was met by a Thistle header but when the ball broke to Reghan Tumilty at the far post, the right-back hit a sweetly-struck volley that was drilled into the bottom corner.

Hamilton very nearly went two up when Tumilty drove down the wing, carefully choosing his moment before playing a well-timed cross in towards Shaw, only for the striker’s glanced header to whistle past the far post. Moments later, a long shot from Tumilty forced an excellent stop out of Mitchell.

Fitzpatrick soon entered the fray and made a near-instant impact, dribbling down the left before drilling a low cross into the box for Graham to stab home and draw his side level.

Thistle weren’t done there, though. Doolan’s men raised the tempo in search of a winner, and it would arrive through substitute Ben Stanway. Holding off an Accies defender, the midfielder curled an excellent effort into the far corner from the edge of the box with 10 minutes to go to wrap up the three points for the Jags.

O’Reilly provides food for thought

Sayers didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during the 4-1 defeat to Dunfermline – all three of the Pars’ first-half goals originated from attacks down his wing before he was hooked at the break – but Harry Milne’s injury left Doolan with few alternatives. At New Douglas Park, he may have just discovered one.

The central defensive partnership that O’Reilly and Lee Ashcroft have forged has been a successful one for Doolan, and so it is understandable if the Jags boss was reluctant to break up the pairing. He did so against Accies, bringing McBeth in at centre-half and moving O’Reilly to left-back, and the pair did not disappoint.

McBeth was his usual dependable self, playing a simple game but doing so well. O’Reilly, meanwhile, was a safe pair of hands out wide. Hamilton got very little joy down his side but on the ball, he perhaps didn’t get forward quite as much as he should have. Understandable for a natural centre-back, but the Irishman showed that he can be a steady presence if required out wide.