PARTICK Thistle kept their slender title hopes alive by scoring right at the death to defeat Livingston 1-0 at Firhill. Comeback striker Liam Buchanan netted from the penalty spot in the third minute of injury time after Liam Fox was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball to keep the Maryhill side within four points of leaders St Johnstone.
Thistle manager Ian McCall admitted afterwards: "I'm very proud of my players as they have never given up and to take the championship as far as they have shows they don't lack guts."
McCall reserved special praise for Buchanan, though, saying: "H
e showed again the value he brings to the squad and if he had stayed fit all season he would have scored more than 20 goals."
Livingston have now lost three games in a row although the manner of this defeat left Almondvale manager Paul Hegarty – in one of his last acts before being suspended by the club – stunned. Hegarty said: "It was a harsh decision as Liam had to protect himself. We deserved something from the game and Armand One missed the best chance of the match."
Airdrie United manager Kenny Black praised his players for the manner in which they bounced back from their heavy defeat by Clyde to see off Ross County by a goal to nil.
"The players showed today that they had been hurt by questions over their desire. Their character has never been an issue, last week we were simply beaten by the better team," said Black.
But Airdrie's goalscorer Steven McKenna was lucky to still be on the park after appearing to handle the ball on the stroke of half-time. Craig Brewster looked poised to give the visitors the lead from close range before McKenna seemed to stick out an arm and deflect the ball from the striker with the officials not noticing anything untoward had occurred.
McKenna was more positively involved 20 minutes into the second half when he drilled home a fine first-time shot to secure the three points.
Queen of the South banished fears of being involved in an end-of-season scrap against relegation with a comprehensive 7-1 defeat of Clyde. Striker Stephen Dobbie impressed the watching posse of scouts by opening the scoring before netting a second-half hat-trick. Stewart Kean and Stevie Tosh had the Dumfries men three up before Willie McLaren pulled one back for the Bully Wee from a free-kick.
Dobbie netted shortly into the second half before Robert Harris added a fifth with wanted man Dobbie scoring two more with half an hour still to play to delight his manager Gordon Chisholm. "When Stephen Dobbie plays like that he is unstoppable and I hope I can convince him to stay here at the end of the season. That was a great performance when you consider we were up against a team fighting for their lives."
A shell-shocked Clyde manager John Brown added: "Dobbie's class turned the game."
