Sunday 12th April, 2026 at 4:34pm
Partick Thistle confirmed a minimum second placed finish in this season’s Scottish Championship following a 2-0 victory over Dunfermline Athletic at The Wyre Stadium at Firhill on Saturday.
The Jags knew a result of any kind would secure a place in the top two but also had an eye on things happening at McDiarmid Park where league leaders St. Johnstone hosted Airdrieonians.
Fourth-placed Dunfermline came to Maryhill with next week’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk in the back of their minds although a promotion play-off position in the league was not yet confirmed after a Friday night win for Queen’s Park against Ross County.
There were two changes to the Thistle starting XI from the game at Somerset Park seven days prior. Luke McBeth deputised for the suspended Lee Ashcroft while Robbie Crawford dropped to the bench, replaced by Ts’oanelo Lets’osa.
The Jags were given a considerable boost in squad depth, with Tony Watt, Oisin Smyth and Logan Chalmers all returning from injury ahead of schedule on the bench.
It was all Thistle in the early goings, with Aidan Fitzpatrick and Ben McPherson causing Dunfermline’s full backs no end of hassle as they bombed up and down the wings.
The first chance of the game came on four minutes, when a cross from McPherson found its way past the Dunfermline defenders right into the path of Alex Samuel. However, the Welshman’s header was off target, going just wide.
On 17 minutes, the Firhill faithful were on their feet – howling for a penalty after Freddie Turley seemed to handle the ball in the box, blocking a pass heading towards Aidan Fitzpatrick. Referee Kevin Clancy, however, was unmoved by the protestations, waving play on.
Thistle wouldn’t dwell on the decision though, taking the lead 60 seconds later. Samuel held the ball up in the box and laid it off to Ben Stanway whose shot was blocked by Kieran Ngwenya. The ball ballooned out to the edge of the box where Samuel was on hand once again to control over his shoulder and rifle a low shot past Aston Oxborough at the goalkeeper’s near post.
Four minutes later, the Maryhill Men doubled their lead. Fitzpatrick was released down the left flank by an inch-perfect Josh Clarke pass which just evaded the reach of the defender Turley. The Dunfermline man then tried to recover and caught Fitzpatrick just outside the box but Thistle’s winger stayed on his feet and squared the ball to Alex Samuel who had the simplest of finishes to make it 2-0.
Midway through the first half, there was a round of applause from both sides for the Thistle Ultras and their clear response to the vandalism and racist graffiti discovered following the KDM Evolution Trophy final on Sunday. The message was clear and simple – “No place for racism at Firhill.”
The Jags were in their element for most of the first half, posing problems for the Pars throughout. Oxborough was called into action twice in quick succession with around ten minutes left until the break. First, Fitzpatrick was teed up by Taylor on the left, but his shot went straight at the Pars ‘keeper. Not long after, Samuel had a great opportunity to score Partick Thistle’s first hat trick in three years. However, Oxborough was quickly down to his right to save his low effort.
Between those two opportunities, Dunfermline were presented with a gilt-edged chance to reduce the deficit. After carving out an opening down the left, Matthew Todd burst into the box and played a ball across the face of goal. John Tod was close by, lunging at the ball in the six-yard area, but he couldn’t make any contact as it trundled away for a goal kick.
Moments before half time, there was a scare for Thistle as Aidan Fitzpatrick pulled up with a knee issue. Despite initial concerns, he was given a once over by the physio and managed to shake it off as Thistle took a 2-0 lead down the tunnel at half-time.
Half-time – Partick Thistle 2 Dunfermline Athletic 0
The second half saw Dunfermline find more of a foothold in the early stages after switching to a back four. The Jags backline remained resolute, suffocating the Pars attack as the tempo dropped down.
Around the hour mark, Oisin Smyth made his return to action as Fraser Taylor was withdrawn whilst Gary Mackay-Steven made his debut in red and yellow, replacing Ethan Ingram as McPherson returned to his natural position of right back.
It should have been three on the sixty-minute mark, as Fitzpatrick hit a miscued an effort from 12 yards out, only for the ball to rebound back to Samuel not once but twice. Both times, Samuel’s attempts were hurriedly cleared off the line as Dunfermline kept the deficit down.
On 68 minutes, Samuel came within a hair’s breadth of grabbing his third. Fitzpatrick, once again, dazzled down the wing before sending an enticing ball across the face of goal. However, despite a stretching Samuel’s best efforts, the ball evaded him and went begging.
The final twenty minutes saw little in the way of incident, as Crawford, Watt and Chalmers joined the fray. Chalmers’ substitution saw Aidan Fitzpatrick come off, with a standing ovation from those in attendance at Firhill for the 25-year-old.
Dunfermline tried to turn up the intensity late on to little effect, as Thistle held firm to secure a comfortable three points.
Full-time – Partick Thistle 2 Dunfermline Athletic 0
St Johnstone’s 4-0 win over Airdrieonians saw the gap remain at five points with three games of the season to go and the beaten Diamonds will be Thistle’s next opponents as Mark Wilson’s men head to the Albert Bartlett Stadium next weekend.
Teams
Partick Thistle: Josh Clarke; Paddy Reading, Luke McBeth, Dan O’Reilly, Ethan Ingram (Gary Mackay-Steven, 60’); Fraser Taylor (Oisin Smyth, 60’), Ts’oanelo Lets’osa, Ben Stanway (Robbie Crawford, 71’); Aidan Fitzpatrick (Logan Chalmers, 79’), Ben McPherson, Alex Samuel (Tony Watt, 71’).
Unused Substitutes: Lewis Budinauckas; Kyle Turner, Ricco Diack, Cale Loughrey.
Dunfermline Athletic: Aston Oxborough; Kieran Ngwenya, John Tod, Freddie Turley (Keith Bray, HT), Robbie Fraser (Kyle Benedictus, 72’); Alfons Amade (Charlie Gilmour, 57’), Chris Hamilton, Shea Kearney; Matty Todd (Chris Kane, 57’), Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Josh Cooper (Callumn Morrison, 57’).
Unused Substitutes: Billy Terrell; Kyle Benedictus, Alasdair Davidson, Ewan McLeod, Lucas Fyfe.
Referee: Kevin Clancy
Attendance: 4,017
By David Forrest
