Substitute Mark Roberts dented Alex Rae's side's bid to reach the SPL by whacking in a 88th minute goal after collecting a Stevie Murray pass in the box.

Thistle looked to have a chance to go ahead earlier but referee Steven Nicholls denied a penalty to Ian McCall's men.

After replacing Damon Gray with Roberts in the 60th minute, Thistle thought they had the spot kick when the goal scorer crossed the ball to Stevie Murray who landed on the Firhill pitch after a foul from David Cowan.

As Simon Donnelly prepared for the penalty, assistant referee Steve Allan disagreed with Nicholls' initial decision and a drop ball re-started the match.

Thistle were not to be denied though with Roberts getting them back to winning ways, after drawing the last three league games, and taking them into fifth position.

Partick: Tuffey, Storey, Robertson, Kinniburgh, Twaddle, Chaplain, Rowson, Harkins, McKinlay (Murray 46), Gray (Roberts 59), Donnelly. Subs not used: Little, McStay, Hinchcliffe.
Dundee: Samson, Cowan, Noubissie, MacKenzie, Dixon, Daquin, McDonald, O'Brien (Swankie 66), Malone, Lyle, Antoine-Curier. Subs not used: Worrell, Clark, Sturm, Roy.
Attendance: 2,426

THISTLE'S assistant boss Gerry Britton has praised key players Alan Archibald and David Rowson for bringing consistency to the team.

The Jags No 2 even admits that the recent string of draws, before Tuesday's win, isn't something to worry about because it shows that the squad can get regular results.

He said: "The side is definitely more settled and the guys now have consistency in their performance.

"Players like Alan Archibald and David Rowson, who have played at Thistle for a while, have helped to drive this consistency in the results so a draw isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"The aim for us now is to get as high up the First Division as possible and already we are creating a benchmark this season for us to work on next year."

The Firhill side are hoping to improve on their current First Division position when they meet Dunfermline at home on Saturday followed by the rescheduled fixture against Stirling Albion on Tuesday night.

It's also good news for fans with kids as the remaining home league games will be free to under 16s – and this even includes visiting supporters with kids.

But with star striker Liam Buchanan still recovering from his on-going groin injury, the next few matches could prove to be tough.

Britton said: "Liam is still taking part in some light training and we don't know yet if he will make a game before the end of the season.

"But we've still got a lot of games at home to play and we hope that we can get maximum points with the squad we have."

Keeper Jonny Tuffey was also praised by Britton after putting on a shot-stopping peformance against Hamilton at New Douglas Park last Saturday.

Britton admits that although the team played well in the first half, Hamilton came on strong in the remaining 45 minutes, putting immense pressure on the under 21s Northern Ireland capped player.

He said: "Credit has to be given to Jonny because he put on a very good performance against Hamilton.

"Goalkeepers exist to make saves but the ones he pulled were out of the top drawer."