THE suspicion exists that if Partick Thistle are to cement their stay in the top half of the First Division and achieve boss Ian McCall's target of a top-four finish then they must find a way to win on the road.

The bottom line after a 1-0 defeat by Dunfermline at East End Park is that Partick have now played four league games away from home, losing three and drawing one.

Yet, while the previous defeats in Dundee and Perth were down to a paucity of performance, a bristling second-half display against last term's Scottish Cup Finalists and pre-season title favourites undoubtedly points to progress on the road.

Yet the contrast between last campaign's fortunes when Thistle were nigh unbeatable away from home but couldn't buy a win at Firhill under Dick Campbell is too glaring to ignore.

And today Firhill gaffer McCall described the Dunfermline defeat as a travesty.

He said: "This was our 13th game and we just gave everything. Dunfermline were hanging on at the end and, fair play, it was a big result for them. We had to leave Stevie Murray out because he was knackered and it was the same last week with Marc Twaddle.

"David Rowson had a sickness bug and we had to bring him off but I thought we were magnificent after the break. If we can play like that away from home every time then we will start winning.

"I thought we were rubbish at St Johnstone but were due a point, but getting beaten by Dunfermline was a travesty."

McCall added: "We totally dominated after the break and I've seldom been as proud of a team."

Yet there are other equally obvious factors now emerging which will be crucial to the Jags' hopes of a season of consolidation. The first of these is that the contribution of Murray is absolutely vital to Thistle's hopes.

The ex-Killie trickster found himself benched at the start of this game, as a schedule of 13 games in 56 days had left him "knackered" according to McCall. But Murray's contribution when he emerged as a substitute after the break was so seismic it swung the contest Thistle's way and yielded everything but the point the Jags more than deserved.

Another pointer is that former Motherwell man Paul Keegan is now emerging as a viable alternative up front to the Mark Roberts-Liam Buchanan combination. Roberts has struggled badly to recover the form he enjoyed prior to the virus that struck him down at Christmas. Plagued by a hamstring injury in the early weeks of this season he continues to look a shadow of his former lethal self.

While Keegan should certainly have had one, if not two goals at East End Park, his arrival provided Murray with a substantive target up front and roughed up a Pars backline that had been slumbering prior to his arrival.

But it was a mistake at the other end that caused the early deadlock to be broken for the Pars' winner.

After eight minutes Scott Chaplain's woeful attempted pass to Jimmy Gibson was intercepted by Mark Burchill. Leaving the Thistle skipper in his wake the former Celt surged into the Jags' half before eluding a John Robertson challenge and firing home from just inside the Thistle box.

With the Firhill side struggling to find any creative spark but still very much in the contest, boss McCall brought on Murray for Kevin McKinlay at the break.

Murray's first major contribution was a superb cross which found Keegan and, after taking a touch, he was only denied by a goal-line Sol Bamba clearance. The duo again combined with 10 minutes left from a corner but the Northern Irishman directed his header wide from six yards.

Now with the Jags heading on their travels again next week to Morton, McCall has plenty to mull over.

PARTICK THISTLE: Hinchcliffe, Storey, Twaddle, Gibson, Robertson, Archibald, Chaplain (Keegan 54), Rowson (Harkins 66), Buchanan, Roberts, McKinlay (Murray 45) Subs not used: Tuffey, McStay.

Referee: C Allan. Att: 4351. Need to know

Was it a good game? A slow burner that improved immensely after the break.

And the Jags' best man? Stevie Murray's second-half appearance at last made Thistle a danger and showed just how important he is to their cause.

Pars' top performer? Mark Burchill was a menace until he succumbed to the effects of the flu at the interval.

And the referee? Crawford Allan did not have much to do but was a bit too fussy. Who's up next? Another away day tester at Morton on Saturday.