One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

Morton put Thistle to the sword at Cappielow this afternoon with a very poor Jags display resulting in the home side recording a very comfortable 4-2 win. A quick-fire double early in each half had the home side cruising, and although the shell-shocked Jags netted twice to reduce the deficit, there was never any danger of this being anything other than a home win.

McCall shuffled his selection slightly from the side that lost at Dunfermline last weekend, out went Chaplain and McKinlay, with Murray returning on the left, and Harkins slotting back into the centre of defence. This meant a couple of positional changes - Robertson returned to right-back, and with Strachan persona non grata & Connor injured, Storey took over on the right of midfield.

Morton made a handful of changes to their line-up too, McGurn took over from Robinson in goal, McAnespie and Harding returned in defence, while Iain Russell started up front alongside Weatherson. Gardyne and Keenan were deemed fit enough to return to the side on the subs bench.

The home side seemed fired up for this game right from the kick off, quickly closing down any Thistle player in possession, although few could have foreseen just how easy a Morton side that had only scored three goals in their last six league games were about to find it against Thistle.

In the first real attack of the game Morton won a free kick on the Thistle right and when the ball was swung into the danger area, up popped Peter Weatherson between to defenders to head them in front after just eight minutes.

Thistle briefly threatened at the other end through Mark Roberts, he beat the full-back and cut into the area, but his driven ball across the face of goal was headed clear and Morton promptly raced up the park, Shields beating Twaddle on the left before pulling the ball back for Weatherson, and he fired low past Hinchcliffe to double the lead.

Two attacks, two goals – and a disastrous start to the game for Thistle.

Hinchcliffe made his first save of the game a few minutes later when he had to get down quickly to save Finlayson’s dipping effort from outside the box before Thistle finally shot in anger at the Morton goal in the 22nd minute when space opened up for Storey on the edge of the area, but he failed to hit the target.

Rowson then headed wastefully over from Storey’s cross, but it was the home side who were in command and Hinchcliffe was called into action again when Greacen met a corner with a firm header and the Jags keeper reacted well to touch it over the bar.

The Jags defence were all at sea and they almost handed Morton a third midway through the half when Harkins played the ball straight to Weatherson and when the ball was played into the area, only poor control from Russell spared their blushes.

Thistle finally tested the Morton keeper just after the half hour mark when he had to turn Twaddle’s header round the post from a corner, and he denied Thistle again five minutes later when Murray collected Roberts’ cross and fired the ball back into the danger area, but Buchanan’s effort was blocked by the keeper before being cleared to safety by a defender.

The final chance of the half fell to the home side when they launched a quick break with Weatherson and Russell combining to knock the ball back into the path of Finlayson, and his angled drive wasn’t far wide of Hinchcliffe’s far post.

Not surprisingly McCall made some changes at half-time, Buchanan and Murray are probably two of the hardest workers in the Jags side, but they were too easily knocked off the ball in the first half, and made little impact, so off they went to be replaced by Keegan and McStay. There was also a change in formation to a 3-5-2, with Robertson moving into the centre of a three-man defence, Storey and Twaddle on either side with McStay slotting into the centre of midfield.

However, before the Jags could settle into their new set-up, the game was all but over with Morton scoring two goals in as many minutes. With the second half just two minutes old, Kieran McAnespie stepped up to fire a free-kick over the Thistle wall and past the keeper to make it 3-0.

Before we’d even finished grumbling about conceding so early in the second half, it got even worse. The home side won possession again and when the ball was crossed from the right, although the first Morton player missed the ball, Weatherson was on hand at the back post and he slammed it home. A shot has also been thundered off the post as the home side threatened to run riot, and it was only at 4-0 down, with Morton taking the foot off the gas a little, that Thistle finally started to compete.

Not that it really counted for very much, and by now some of the travelling fans had already headed off the pub to try and enjoy themselves, but for it’s worth, the Jags players didn’t just let their heads go down, and they started to make inroads on the Morton goal.

Harkins and Keegan both had efforts off target before McGurn made a fine block to deny Twaddle from close range after Keegan and Roberts had combined to set him up. Morton threatened briefly when Weatherson and McAlister combined but the latter shot straight at Hinchcliffe. The Jags keeper was more strongly tested by the same player seconds later, but again made the save to deny him.

Storey fired an effort over the bar at the other end, but finally got his reward in the 74th minute with a fine goal. He collected the ball just outside the Morton box and stepped inside away from a defender before curling a terrific shot into the top corner.

The Jags almost pulled a second goal back a few minutes later when Robertson met McStay’s free kick but his header was superbly pushed away by McGurn. If that had gone in the game might have become a little more interesting, but as it was, although Thistle continued to push forward, their only reward was a second consolation strike in the closing stages.

With a minute left, Rowson drove forward with the ball and played a one-two with Keegan to force his way into the penalty area before slipping it into the path of Twaddle, and he lashed the ball past McGurn at his near post to make the final score 4-2.

The defeats to Dundee and Hamilton were easily put down to being beaten by better teams, but that can’t be said for today’s game. Morton played well, harried Thistle as much as possible, and took their chances well, fully deserving to win the game comfortably. But Thistle were awful.

Defensively they were a nightmare, and we are desperately in need of a commanding, aggressive central defender, because none of the current players are the type able to do that job. The midfield were overrun in the first half, the forwards unable to hold onto the ball and we were second to every ball all over the park. This result completed the first quarter of the season, and there is little to be said other than that the honeymoon is definitely over for McCall.

Man of the match: Simon Storey