Partick 1 Hearts 1

By Lisa Gray, PA Sport

Hearts captain Steven Pressley salvaged a point for the Tynecastle side with a goal 11 minutes from time against Partick Thistle.

The Jags soaked up plenty of pressure before midfielder Jamie Mitchell struck the opener in the 73rd minute.

But Scotland international Pressley was determined to preserve his side's good run of results when he drove home a Phil Stamp corner in the 79th minute.

But the need for points was imperative for both sides - for very different reasons.

The Jambos are still chasing a UEFA Cup place ahead of Kilmarnock while the Firhill side were aiming for survival.

Indeed, Jags chairman Tom Hughes admitted in the matchday programme that he thought his club would already be adrift at the bottom of the table by this stage in the campaign.

Hearts started the strongest and showed their intentions early on when Scott Severin tried his luck with a 40-yard drive after just 45 seconds.

The effort fell over the crossbar but was merely an indication of what was to come.

The Edinburgh side should have taken the lead after four minutes when Steven Boyack's corner found Mark de Vries inside the area.

But Jamie Buchan was on hand to clear the Dutchman's header off the line.

Gerry Britton should have done better for the home side in the 13th minute but nodded Stephen Craigan's cross over from just six yards.

But Partick were struggling to create a great deal although Alex Burns should have done better when he connected with a Britton cross and fired wide.

Hearts again started the second half as the better side and could have been ahead just a few minutes after the re-start.

Jean-Louis Valois released de Vries into the congested Thistle box but he struggled to find space under pressure from the Partick defence.

Instead he played the ball into the path of Stamp but his shot was blocked by Alan Archibald.

Thistle had a chance of their own when they were handed a free-kick 25 yards out but the opportunity was wasted when Burns fired well over.

Hearts continued to push forward and Robbie Neilson and de Vries both saw efforts blocked before Andy Webster eventually fired wide to ease the pressure on Partick.

The Jags had the ball in the back of the net after 64 minutes when Archibald picked out Britton at the far post and he fired home.

But a foul had already been given against the home side for a challenge on goalkeeper Tepi Moilanen.

Substitute Neil Macfarlane tried to make an immediate impact on the game when he crossed for de Vries but the Dutchman failed to connect and Ian Ross managed to hook the ball away.

But it was Thistle who eventually broke the deadlock after 73 minutes.

Substitute Martin Hardie supplied the cross which was met by Mitchell and he rose high to nod towards goal.

Moilanen managed to get a hand to the effort but he could not stop the ball crossing the line at the far post.

But their joy was short-lived when Stamp curled a corner into the penalty area and the ball broke to Pressley to ram home the equaliser for Hearts after 77 minutes.

Teams

Partick: Arthur, Lilley, Archibald, Craigan, Whyte, Buchan, Mitchell, Rowson, Ross, Britton (Hardie 70), Burns.

Subs Not Used: Budinauckas, Gibson, Fleming, Waddell.

Booked: Lilley.

Goals: Mitchell 73.

Hearts: Moilanen, Neilson, McCann, Pressley, Webster, Severin, Boyack (McKenna 75), Stamp, de Vries, Kirk (Wales 86), Valois (MacFarlane 67).

Subs Not Used: McKenzie, Janczyk.

Goals: Pressley 79.

Att: 5,288

Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com