Taylor brace earns Partick victory
A Lyle Taylor double earned Partick Thistle a crucial 2-0 win over Motherwell at Firhill.
Defeat for the Jags would have seen them sit just a single point ahead of second-bottom Well.
But two second-half goals from Taylor were enough to allow Partick to put some much-needed daylight between themselves and the teams at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.
It was Motherwell who could have been ahead with just three minutes on the clock.
A poor pass back from Abdul Osman to goalkeeper Scott Fox was intercepted by Scott McDonald.
He squared to John Sutton but the striker could not keep his shot on target and fired across the face of goal and just past the post.
Thistle recovered from the early scare and enjoyed much of the possession but chances from either side were few and far between in a drab first half.
With 10 minutes to go until the break, Taylor tried his luck with an effort that was high and wide and failed to trouble George Long in the Well goal.
Kallum Higginbotham then fired a low cross into the box but there were no takers in front of goal.
Higginbotham had a go himself shortly after the restart but his fizzing low drive fell wide of the target.
The breakthrough came on 53 minutes when Thistle surged into the lead.
Higginbotham's free-kick picked out Conrad Balatoni at the back post and he nodded across goal for Taylor to head home from a yard out.
Taylor then passed up a great chance to double the lead when he collected the ball on the six-yard line and somehow managed to hook over with only the goalkeeper to beat.
But he made amends with Thistle's second of the day after 61 minutes.
Callum Booth whipped a low ball into the box from the left and, once again, all that was required was a simple finish from Taylor who stabbed home from close range.
The home side were hungry for more goals and only a decent save from Long prevented a fierce shot from Steven Lawless hitting the back of the net.
With 20 minutes to go, tempers began to flare and Taylor and Keith Lasley were both booked following an altercation in the middle of the park.
Thistle were desperate to put the game beyond Motherwell and they were threatening again when Balatoni threw himself at Higginbotham's free-kick but failed to keep his header on target.
The visitors were dealt a further blow when Stuart Carswell saw red with two minutes to go after picking up two cautions in the space of four minutes.
And there proved to be no way back for Motherwell, who passed up the chance to drag Partick into the relegation battle.
Source: PA
