Partick on a high but Aberdeen miss out and suffer Ryan Jack setback

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald was a happy man after his side battled out a 0-0 draw at Aberdeen which denied the home side the chance to leapfrog leaders Celtic.

The Jags, who had won their previous four matches, set out to frustrate Aberdeen and restricted the Dons largely to half-chances, which pleased their boss.

He said: I'm delighted with the point. In the first half we could have shown a bit more belief in our performance. We didn't really have a go at Aberdeen, but I don't think they cut us open. We restricted them to a couple of shots from distance, although they hit the bar.

We could even have nicked it at the end with a couple of half-chances, but that would have been harsh on Aberdeen.

In the last international break we challenged the players to build a run of results knowing we had tough games at Aberdeen and Celtic coming up.

If we go to Celtic Park and show the same qualities we have tonight, then we have a chance of taking something from the game. You've got to ride your luck and use the crowd to your advantage, which I think we did tonight.''

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes admitted to a sense of disappointment after his side missed the opportunity to climb to the top of the table for the second time in less than a week.

Aberdeen are also set to be without captain Ryan Jack until February and possibly for longer after he limped off with a hamstring injury.

McInnes said: He's torn his hamstring, and it doesn't look great. At the bare minimum I would think he'll be out for six weeks and possibly more.''

Reflecting on the result, McInnes added: We've a dressing room full of disappointed players. It wasn't the result we were looking for.

We knew it'd be tough today, coming up against a side on a good run, and it was similar to the game against Inverness at the weekend in a lot of ways.

We started really well, but towards the end of the first half some of our play was too pedestrian at times.

The pitch affected both sides. Good players were taking an extra touch because they didn't trust the pitch. It was difficult to play on, and we've not found enough quality to win the game.''

The Dons will look to get back to winning ways on Sunday when they travel to Perth, and McInnes added: St Johnstone are a consistent team, they're solid but have a lot of good players.

The surface will likely be similar. Whoever we come up against, we've got to find a way to overcome them, and tonight we didn't do that.''