Scottish Premiership: St Johnstone 1-2 Partick Thistle

Abdul Osman blasted a late winner for Partick Thistle to prevent St Johnstone moving into second place in the Scottish Premiership.

But Saints swept to the other end from the restart and Steven MacLean fired in the equaliser from eight yards.

Ade Azeez and Ryan Edwards had already gone close for Thistle before Osman found the top corner from 16 yards.

Thistle's second away victory of the week on their travels east - they beat Dundee on Wednesday - moves Alan Archibald's side up to seventh.

Saints, meanwhile, drop to fifth having been brought back down to earth after their fine 1-1 draw away to Rangers in midweek.

Jagged into action

Thistle would have taken the lead with just over a minute played had it not been for quality defending from Brian Easton.

Azeez produced a neat piece of skill to set himself up for a shot eight yards out, but just as he pulled his foot back to strike the ball, Easton slid in with a timely tackle to clear the danger.

Danny Swanson produced the best piece of early skill for the home side, on their 600th competitive match at McDiarmid Park, when he nutmegged Edwards at the edge of the area before releasing a shot that goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckman did well to save.

Minute madness

However, the visitors did make the break through after Liam Craig was penalised for a needless foul midway inside his own half on Azeez.

From the resultant free kick delivered by Sean Welsh, Danny Devine rose highest at the back post and his headed effort was turned home from close range by the merest of touches from Doolan.

It was another example of the striker's poacher instincts that produced massive celebration from the visiting players, but their joy was short lived.

Less than 60 seconds after the restart, Saints were back on level terms. After neat play down the left, they manoeuvre themselves inside the Thistle box.

David Wotherspoon turned and found MacLean with a square pass and, from eight yards, he slotted the ball behind Stuckman for his seventh goal of the season.

Christie Elliot came close to regaining the lead for Thistle when his shot from the right edge of the box took a deflection off Easton, but Zander Clark's quick reaction touched it round for a corner.

Saints had a couple of early ventures forward in the second half when Paul Paton had a shot that went wide and Wotherspoon's cross clipped the top of the bar.

Confident Clark eventually beaten

Clark has consolidated his position as Saints' first choice goalkeeper in recent months and his contribution once more, in his eighth successive appearance since taking over from Alan Mannus, showed his talent as Thistle sought a second goal.

Azeez was first to be denied as his 20-yard strike looked destined for the bottom corner until Clark stretched to parry.

Edwards then was thwarted as he got in behind the home defence in the box to create the opening.

However, one minute into stoppage time, Thistle found a way past the big goalkeeper and there was nothing he could do to prevent the Glasgow side claiming the three points.

Substitute David Amoo turned Craig inside out before providing the pass for Thistle skipper Osman to blast the ball into the top corner of the net from 10 yards for his first goal of the season.

What the managers said

St Johnstone's Tommy Wright: "If you defend how we did for both goals then you concede goals.

"When you get into injury-time you should see the game out, but we didn't because we make a bad mistake and get punished for it.

"Rightly so. We were the architects of our own downfall. Liam (Craig) shouldn't be there, I don't know why he's there. Joe Shaughnessy can clear the ball and Liam's come into an area where he doesn't have to help."

Partick Thistle's Alan Archibald: "I thought we were strong in the second half. I was worried because we went with the same boys again, except the goalkeeper, for the third game in a row. But the energy levels were fantastic.

"It's been a good week. After dropping points against Ross County at home it looked tough but we've taken seven points from three hard fixtures.

"We now go into a run of games which is tough again but we've given ourselves a great platform to go and perform."