Partick Thistle 3-0 St Johnstone

Partick Thistle took a big step towards Scottish Premiership safety as they benefited from a blistering opening 10 minutes at home to St Johnstone.

Kris Doolan and Conrad Balatoni headed home amidst a flurry of early chances to give the home side a dream start.

As St Johnstone toiled Thistle continued on the front foot and Stuart Bannigan's long-range drive eventually added a deserved third.

Saints managed a brief flurry but goalkeeper Scott Fox had little to do.

It was Alan Archibald's first win over the Perth men since they returned to the top flight, and Thistle's first over Saints since 2008.

More importantly, with the three sides below them in the table all failing to pick up a win, Thistle stretch the gap between themselves and the danger zone to nine points.

The threat of the drop had lingered around Maryhill pre-match and it clearly inspired something within the bowels of Firhill as they stormed out of the blocks in a devastating opening spell.

Abdul Osman's ball into the box was easily dispatched into the net by Doolan, who was allowed an unchallenged header from close range.

He should have scored again when he rounded goalkeeper Alan Mannus minutes later, but this time his left foot shot spun well wide.

The early chances continued and when Brian Easton conceded a cheap corner, Balatoni stooped in to send his low header inside the near post.

Ryan Stevenson's shot was tipped over as Tommy Wright's men were again cut open, looking a pale shadow of the team that had won at Celtic Park just 10 days previous.

Despite the blistering start it had not been all one-way traffic. David Wotherspoon in particular was looking busy, firing in a couple of corners and also drilling a low shot at goal.

Saints lacked the sparkle of their hosts, though, and the deficit nearly grew when Murray Davidson headed the ball back into his own box.

Stevenson was quickest to react, leaving the Saints defence in his wake, but he could not hide his frustration as he cracked a volley off the post.

The home side were beginning to play with a confidence that had been lacking from recent performances, and Balatoni and James Craigen kept the pressure on the visitors, but could not keep their efforts on target.

That was not a problem suffered by Bannigan who made it three with a thumping drive from the edge of the box that gave Mannus little chance.

Saints rallied for a brief period, partly due to the introduction of James McFadden, but they never looked like scoring and Stevenson almost had the last say when he hit a shot past the post.