Largs striker Will Sewell gives his view on Arthurlie win

Sewell scored the winner in the 87th minute as Largs came from behind to win 2-1 at Dunterlie Park - a result achieved even though Thistle were forced to play more than half of the match with 10 men.

Darryl Duffy levelled midway through the first half for the visitors - but the former Rangers frontman was then shown a straight red for violent conduct after a melee broke out between both sets of players five minutes before the break.

But Largs showed plenty of battling qualities after the break before Sewell's late strike earned Thistle their first Premier Division victory since the end of October.

The result keeps Largs 11th in the top flight standings and sets them up nicely for this weekend's visit of a Pollok side who were also reduced to 10 men on Saturday - in their case when keeper Jordan Longmuir saw red for handball outside the box as Stewart Maxwell's men lost 2-1 at home to Glenafton.

The gap between Thistle and Pollok will be cut to just one point if Largs win on Saturday.

Reflecting on the win over Arthurlie, Sewell said: "It was a tough game and we didn't start great. We set up as a 3-5-2 and made it a battle.

"The pitch was not the best to play on, and we tried to win it, and going down to ten men into half time was never going to help us.

"But we kept our shape; we came out and we knew what we needed to do and stay in the game as long as possible.

"And then eventually we took one of our chances - Addy (Scott Adam) does what Addy does, and set up David Ramsay, and I managed to finish it off at the far post, and we saw it out.

"That is the good thing about having the three of us on the park. Although we were down to ten men we were trying to stay in the game but we have a bit of quality upfront to win the game.

"Darryl Duffy got the goal at the start, so the four of us have contributed.

"That is our job in the team. We've helped Darryl out after he made the mistake [with the red card]. We dug ourselves out of the hole and got three points yet again."

Sewell also hailed the impact of keeper Joe Wilton, who returned to the Largs starting line-up on Saturday after a long injury lay-off and played a vital role with several crucial saves. 

"One of Joe's saves in the first half I thought it was in the top right corner," Sewell added, "but Joe somehow got a hand to it.

"He came through and grabbed a few crucial ones including Macca's (Ryan McCreath) deflected one, and that helped us as well."

Thistle boss Stuart Davidson (Image: Newsquest)

Thistle boss Stuart Davidson said: "The game was a bit of a battle, and the red card didn't help, but we stayed calm and re-grouped for the second half.

"The boys came out and were absolutely superb. I couldn't fault anyone for their effort.

"We didn't have a lot of the play at times in the second half, and we had to keep chasing and making tackles and wait for a wee opportunity at the end. And we took it, and I thought the boys deserved it."

This Saturday's game will see Largs out to even the score after Pollok won the last game between the sides 4-2 at Newlandsfield at the end of August.

The Glasgow club have struggled for consistency at times this season, with just one win in their last six Premier Division fixtures - but Davidson knows they'll pose a stern test.

"Pollok will be a tough game," he said. "They have quality players and we will have to do a lot of work off the ball, like we did against Arthurlie.

"But we have threats which will cause them problems, and the players should be feeling confident after Saturday's win.

"It is good to have a fuller squad returning, with Joe Wilton and Liam Lapsley back - and hopefully we can all stay healthy till the end of the season.

"I thought Liam did great and has been working hard at training and has put in some shift."

Keeper Wilton received the supporters' vote for man of the match - and Davidson admitted he was delighted to see his first choice keeper back between the sticks.

"It is good to have Joe back," he said.

"He didn't have much chance with the first goal, which took a deflection, but he gave us a lift, and he made some cracking saves throughout the match.

"Given it was his first game back from injury he deserved a lot of credit."

Having been eliminated from the Junior Cup, the West of Scotland Cup and the South Challenge Cup in the space of four games in November and December, Thistle's full focus for the rest of the season is on climbing the Premier Division table - but Davidson says he isn't setting any goals for 2024 as a whole.

"My priority is just to win the next game," he said.

"We've only played two league games before Arthurlie over recent months. and should've have got more points on the board.

"I felt we had done enough to win against Auchinleck and Troon, so now we have to go into the Pollok game looking for back-to-back results."