Ian McCall thrilled with “irresistible” second half performance as ruthless Partick Thistle thrash Hamilton Accies 6-1 in Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall described his side’s 6-1 demolition of lacklustre Hamilton Accies as “irresistible” as they moved back into the play-off positions.

The Jags put on an impressive showing in front of the BBC cameras during Friday night’s televised Scottish Championship clash at the Fountain of Youth Stadium.

On this evidence, it is easy to see why Thistle are the league’s top scorers with 23 so far this season.

Sizzling strike duo Zak Rudden and Brian Graham continued their rich vein of form in front of goal, netting doubles with Scott Tiffoney and substitute Connor Murray adding a touch of gloss to the score line.

David Moyo grabbed late consolation for recently relegated Accies, back in the second tier for the first time in eight years, as Thistle moved up to fourth spot in the table.

McCall admitted: “I said at the start of the season we might not win anything this campaign, but we will score an awful lot of goals.

“We were dominant for the first 30 minutes but let Hamilton back into it. However, second half we were irresistible.

“The front four have got a lot of pace and good movement then we’ve got players like Connor Murray and Jake Hastie to bring on, so we’ve got a lot of options for a small squad.

“Football is a simple game, if you have seven or eight players playing well you’re going to win matches.

“It was a great night for us. I was just so thrilled to see all the Thistle fans very, very happy at the end. To score ten goals in two league games is pretty special.

“(Jamie) Sneddon was gutted he didn’t keep a clean sheet, but I can’t have any complaints about the result.

“We’ve just got to make this the worst quarter we have this season, even though it’s been very good. We need to keep playing a certain way that the fans enjoy.”

It proved to be a chastening night for Accies in front of their home support but in a fairly even first-half in South Lanarkshire, few people would have expected their dramatic second half collapse.

The visitors flew out of the traps with Zak Rudden hooking a Cammy Smith corner from the left over his shoulder past Ryan Fulton for opener after just seven minutes.

Thistle then lost full-back Kevin Holt to a nasty facial injury moments later, with Ciaran McKenna coming on as his replacement.

Shaun Want and Josh Mullin went closest to levelling the match, but Jags goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon saved both efforts well.

Thistle were threatening to double their lead and in the 54^th minute it arrived when Scott Tiffoney hit the by-line and cut the ball back for Brian Graham to power a shot high into the net.

Graham then turned provider for Rudden to slot home a quick-fire third as any fighting spirit left in the home side began to fade rapidly with each passing minute.

Thistle were in cruise control and Tiffoney rifled home a fourth goal just before the hour mark before Connor Murray stepped off the bench and guided a lot shot past the helpless Fulton after 72 minutes.

There was to be no respite for Accies as they shipped a calamitous SIXTH goal when Tiffoney saw his effort cannon back off the left-hand post, the ball hitting Fulton in the process to allow Graham a simple finish from close range.

David Moyo headed in an 88^th minute consolation, but the damage was already done.

Hamilton boss Stuart Taylor has watched his side concede 21 goals in just nine league matches this season and admitted: “We know ourselves it’s not good enough, it’s not acceptable.

“That was a little bit of a reality check for us and it’s about how we react and move on from this result now.”

Partick Thistle: Sneddon, Foster, Holt (McKenna; 10), Mayo, Tiffoney, Bannigan, Graham (Hastie; 75), Rudden, Smith (Murray; 67), Akinola, Docherty

Unused: McCready (GK), Turner, Gordon, MacIver

Hamilton Accies: Fulton, Virtanen, Popescu, MacDonald, Ryan, Smith, Want, Hughes, Mullin, Matheson (Hamilton; 75), Redfern (Moyo; 62)

Unused: Hilton (GK), Stirling, Easton, Munro, McGowan

Referee: Euan Anderson

Attendance: 1,775 (602 away)