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Partick Thistle and St Mirren rued missed chances in a hard-fought draw that leaves their fight for Premiership survival in the balance.

Thistle took the lead thanks to a superbly guided header from front-man Kris Doolan.

But, against the run of play, the visitors drew level after Kenny McLean converted a controversial penalty.

The stalemate means St Mirren leapfrog Hibernian into seventh place and both teams remain in the relegation mix.

Going into the match, a solitary point and two places in the table separated the sides - with St Mirren occupying eighth spot and Thistle sitting in 10th - so, as the end of the season nears ever closer, this showdown could not have been more crucial to the outcome of the battle to secure Premiership status.

The atmosphere was electric from the off and it was the visitors, looking for their third win on the bounce, who started brightest and looked hungrier to stamp their authority on proceedings.

John McGinn was first on the attack, getting a sight of Paul Gallacher's goal thanks to a defensive error, but he failed to properly connect with the effort.

That scare seemed to shock Thistle into action, and they were soon making offensive strides of their own through the likes of Conrad Balatoni and top-scorer Kris Doolan, but they were unable to make three consecutive corners count and trouble Buddies stopper Christopher Dilo.

The significance of the occasion could not have been more evident, with both teams eager to get their noses in front and settle their nerves, and it was Alan Archibald's men who did just that.

Kallum Higginbotham, brimming with intent, delivered a perfect cross to the back post, which was met by Doolan, who calmly headed back across a helpless Dilo to net his 10th goal of the season.

After grabbing the advantage, it was full steam ahead from the home team. With Aaron Taylor-Sinclair proving to be the chief tormentor and St Mirren unable to control their rivals, if there was a second goal to come it looked certain that it would be from the Jags.

As St Mirren started to make their presence felt but struggled to make efforts count, the hosts would have been confident of seeing out the first 45 with the lead intact.

But, with the clock ticking towards half-time, a Higginbotham push on Jason Naismith resulted in referee Calum Murray awarding a dubious spot-kick. which McLean duly sent home.

It was clear that losing that goal on the stroke of half-time had taken the wind out of the sails of Thistle, with the tie lacking rhythm, and it looked like one goal could prove enough.

Lee Mair had his moment to be Thistle's hero, thanks to a fizzing free-kick from the ever-impressive Higginbotham, but he could only send his diving header wide, much to the disappointment of the Firhill faithful.

The Buddies - who had started the match with so much promise - found an opening themselves as Josh Magennis, on from the bench, fed McLean, who rattled Gallacher's post after a stinging strike from the edge of the area.

As the rain lashed down on the pitch, it was frantic end-to-end stuff in the final exchanges, as the teams threw caution to the wind in the hope of netting the winner.

And Lyle Taylor must have thought he had done the job for the Glasgow outfit when his looping header from a pin-point Gary Fraser cross beat Dilo, only to be foiled by the crossbar.