ALAN ARCHIBALD was frustrated with a flat performance from his Partick Thistle side as they crashed out of the League Cup to Falkirk at Firhill.

A Peter Grant effort after 32 minutes was all that separated the sides but it was enough to send the Bairns into the third round as they took a Premiership scalp.

Boss Archibald fielded a strong side as the Jags went in search of their first win of the campaign but it was to prove another disappointing 90 minutes.

Chances were few and far between for Thistle as they trailed at the break and striker Mathias Pogba spurned a glorious opportunity to pull them level in the second half as his shot was blocked.

And Archibald was left to rue an uncharacteristically sloppy showing from his side as their cup dreams were ended on home soil.

He said: “I am bitterly disappointed. We were the home side and the Premiership team and we didn’t do enough to win the game.

“We didn’t create enough and the biggest disappointment was the tempo of our passing and our pressing game. It just wasn’t there.

“It was very similar to the Hearts game in terms of the passing and the boys demanding to get on the ball.

“I don’t think we done enough of that and the result is that we created very few chances.

“The one chance we did create, we have got to score and we didn’t take it.

“We had a ten minute spell just after half-time when Pogba went on and we changed the shape a bit.

“It worked for ten minutes and we got the chance but we missed it and it took the stuffing out of us a bit. All credit to Falkirk, they deserved to go through.”

After suffering their third defeat in six outings this season, Thistle are now preparing for the visit of Aberdeen on Premiership duty this weekend.

The Jags have three points to their credit after draws with Hamilton Accies, Inverness Caley Thistle and Kilmarnock in the opening weeks of the campaign.

And Archibald hopes their endeavours will soon pay off as he looks to spark his side into action sooner rather than later.

He said: “We have got to keep working with the lads and get confidence into them.

“There are good players in there, they have just got to demand it from themselves as a group and keep wanting the ball. You can’t go hiding.

“It doesn’t matter if you lose three games or four games. We have been here before with the lads and we have got out of it and we need to do it again.

“We have another game on Saturday and we have got to move on. It will be a tough one against Aberdeen.

“Whether you lose a game or win a game, you have to move on and you have to believe in yourself. We will speak as a group, we will look over and we will look forward to Saturday.”