Partick Thistle miss chance to seal top-six spot due to Kilmarnock stalemate
Partick Thistle missed the chance to seal a top-six place before the winter break as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw against Kilmarnock.
Kris Doolan had two goals disallowed for offside on the day he made his 300th appearance for the home side, while he was also denied by a stunning save from Killie goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.
The visitors could have snatched all three points when Florent Bojaj missed from close range, Souleymane Coulibaly flashed a header wide and Stevie Smith stung the palms of Tomas Cerny.
It leaves Lee Clark's men without win in six games while Thistle at least keep the momentum going with this point after back-to-back wins over Ross County and Dundee.
Blustery weather meant conditions were not ideal but Thistle, without Liam Lindsay, nearly made the perfect start.
Chris Erskine spun away from the Kilmarnock defence at the edge of the box and fired in a vicious shot which MacDonald could only parry into Steven Lawless' path.
The diminutive winger squared for Doolan, who slid home but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag.
There was a vibrance to Thistle's play and they continued to dominate the early proceedings.
An injury-ravaged Killie side had failed to threaten to trouble Cerny for the most part though the stopper had to look lively to deny Dean Hawkshaw after 17 minutes as the visitors started to grow into the game.
Swirling wind and driving rain made it difficult for the players, but Lawless showed some real quality to give Thistle their best chance of the match as the Jags finished the half the stronger.
The attacker turned away from his man and played in Doolan but he was denied superbly by MacDonald before Erskine's follow up was deflected wide.
Both teams searched for that elusive opener and Doolan thought he had it when he headed beyond MacDonald but again the linesman had his flag raised for offside early in the second half.
Killie almost stunned the hosts when a long ball was hoisted to the back post and Coulibaly headed the ball across goal but somehow Bojaj contrived to miss the target from a yard out.
Coulibaly flashed a header wide as Killie finished the stronger before Smith hit a rasping drive from 30 yards which Cerny punched over the bar and in the end both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Source : PA
Source: PA