Jag 10

Agree Paton and Balotoni were top performers today. I think Hutton will be difficult to replace but didnt think he had his best game today. Slack passing through out, highlighted by their goal, and I didnt think his work rate was up to usual standards. Overall has made an excellent contribution to thistle for the past few months - Thanks for your efforts Kyle! I would just like to see us utilise the speed of the fullbacks more when attacking. We take too long to shift it across the park. But agreed in the 2nd half especially they concentrated on defending more....that said sinclair set up the goal with his ball across. Great to get the away win and thought we deserved it, despite 1 or 2 performances being below par.

Lets cut Balatoni some slack...He had a poor 30 minutes or so at the weekend....But did Robertson do much better when he came on? I didn't see him win one header and he looked extremely stiff. Archi will never take more than one touch and will only launch the ball the way he is facing. The reason CB takes so much stick is attributable to the fact that he doesn't hide on the pitch, he tries to bring the ball down and make a pass or 2.....which can lead to him giving a few fans a heart attack but its more entertaining than the mindless "hit it as hard as you can" stuff we see from some of the other centre backs. Do I think he is a great Centre Half? No, he does not dominate in the air as a centre half should but does he deserve the flack that was thrown his way on Saturday and on this forum - No! He is a young lad that is learning the game and trying to play the way it should be played. If you want to single out players for criticism from the weekend - what about Rowser? Where was he? He is an experienced centre midfielder that has played at the highest level. He should have single handedly been able to rally the team into action. Even if he is not a "shouter" he could have led by example and driven the team with some surging runs, a few long range efforts. Instead I forgot he was even playing......reduced to giving away petty free kicks and getting the ball stuck under his feet frequently. This is a common theme with his performances of late and I struggle to see what he brings to the team. With both him and Hutton in the centre of midfield on a normal basis we are far too immobile and one paced!