ALAN ARCHIBALD admits Partick Thistle lacked a spark in the final third as they fired a blank against St Johnstone.

The Jags were held to a goalless draw by Tommy Wright's side as the visitors ended their barren run with a battling point at Firhill.

Thistle had the best of the chances, but howling wind and driving rain in Glasgow meant it was far from an entertaining affair as neither side shone.

The stalemate leaves the Jags eighth in the Premiership, just one point and one place above their Perth rivals and Archibald was frustrated with a lacklustre performance from his side.

He said: "We had a wee spell in the first half and Kris Doolan had a good chance when the ball was whipped across but, other than that, it was a bit flat from us I thought. But it is a good point and a good clean sheet.

"I don't think the conditions made it great to watch, but I thought we could have done a bit more in the final third.

"We had plenty of possession, but we missed that cutting edge. Credit to St Johnstone, they are a hard team to play against and they are a good defensive unit.

"From our point of view, as the home side, I thought we could have done a wee bit more."

Archibald introduced Nathan Eccleston and Declan McDaid from the bench in the second half as he looked to spark his side into action and claim what would have been a deserved winner.

Thistle were again without talismanic forward Kallum Higginbotham as he recovers from knee surgery while central midfield stars Gary Fraser and Sean Welsh are also still on the sidelines.

The duo could step up their recovery from long-term injuries when the Jags' Development Squad face Falkirk at Firhill tonight as Archibald gears up for the League Cup clash with Celtic on Wednesday.

The Jags gaffer said: "We are missing him [Higginbotham] and Gary has got a killer pass in him as well, as has Sean.

"Guys like that will come back in to give us more options. But the guys worked ever so hard and on another day we could have won.

"Wednesday might be too soon for them but, looking towards Saturday, I am hoping to have at least one of them back."

While Thistle were left frustrated at a below-par attacking display, there were plenty of positives at the other end of the field as keeper Scott Fox pulled off a couple of crucial stops.

Defender Frederic Frans caught the eye on his Jags debut with a solid display at the heart of the Thistle rearguard.

And Archibald was full of praise for the Belgian star after an impressive maiden 90 minutes in red and yellow.

He said: "It was a great debut. They are a handful, Brian Graham and James McFadden.

"He has been with us for a couple of weeks, which has helped and we had him through the international break.

"I am delighted with his debut and he got a clean sheet as well. He is very composed on the ball for a big lad. He didn't hit too many long balls, everything is on the floor."