Alan Archibald praises Kris Doolan after two-goal show

After a tame opening 45 minutes, Doolan was introduced at the break and made an immediate impact with two headed goals.

Alan Archibald
Published 18th Feb 2017

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald praised Kris Doolan after the striker netted two second-half goals to give the Jags a crucial 2-0 Premiership win over Hamilton Accies.

After a tame opening 45 minutes, Doolan was introduced at the break and made an immediate impact with two headed goals.

Thistle dominated possession throughout and deserved the victory against an Accies side who rarely threatened the Jags goal.

The win moves Thistle up to sixth place in the table and Archibald believes goalscorer Doolan may have had a point to prove after starting on the bench.

The Partick boss said: “I think it was ideal the way the game opened up to get both Kris Doolan and Chris Erskine on and it suited them. It might not have suited them at the start, and it was great to get a response from them.

“Doolan will not be be happy he's been left out of the last couple of games but we've struggled to score and he always comes up with the goods. He goes on runs like this and hopefully it's the start of another one for him.”

Archibald also admitted his team were not at their best in the win, but felt it was crucial to pick up three points and move up the table.

He added: “I'm just delighted to get the result. It was a terrible game of football. I don't think the pitch helped.

“But we've lost games and played a hell of a lot better than that. We didn't play well today but we're delighted with the victory.”

Meanwhile Hamilton manager Martin Canning felt his team tired in the last half-hour when Doolan struck his two goals.

Accies had to go to penalties to defeat Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup on Tuesday and Canning feels the 120 minute midweek match took its toll on his players.

The Hamilton boss said: “I thought first half we were probably the better team. I thought we were controlling the game.

“We weren't really creating any opportunities but neither were Partick.

“It was a poor game overall and we've been done with two crosses into the box that we don't defend.

“I thought we were playing well enough in the game. I thought it was a pretty even game with us slightly on top.

“Second half, Partick Thistle started on the front foot. From 60 minutes onwards you could see that we tired.

“I thought we looked fatigued and obviously they've put so much into the game in midweek and I thought that had a big part to play in the end result.”