Partick Thistle have been steadily progressing over the last few years, but this has by far been their best season since returning to the top-flight. Alan Archibald has been trying to seriously build a team capable of playing easy-on-the-eye football, and he finally got his rewards for it this season as the Jags played some exceptional football and gate-crashed the top six. Kris Doolan was the standout, as he reached over 100 goals in his Partick career in what had been without doubt his best season to date, banging home 14 league goals for the season.
In the Betfred Cup, Partick convincingly won all four group stage games against Airdrieonians, Queen of the South, Stenhousmuir, and Queen's Park. However, they were poor in the second-round, and were soundly beaten 3-1 by Dundee United at Tannadice. The Scottish Cup campaign was a slight improvement, as they were knocked out in a 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie at the quarter final stage.
However, it was the league where Thistle really turned heads, and it's all the more surprising given their shocking first-half of the season that saw them win just three of their opening 18 league games, leaving it likely that they would be in relegation trouble. Then, a 3-1 win in Dingwall saw them go on a five-game unbeaten run to drag them up the table, and they sharpened up defensively midway into February, embarking on a brilliant four-game winning run and an extended nine-game unbeaten run that ultimately pushed them into the top six at the expense of Dundee and Ross County, who faltered around this time.
Archibald was able to find spells of consistency throughout the season after fine-tuning his squad over the summer. His biggest task now is building on the terrific work he's done and keeping this squad together.
