ALAN ARCHIBALD hailed super subs Nathan Eccleston and Christie Elliot after Partick Thistle booked their place in the League Cup quarter-finals with victory over St Mirren last night.

Eccleston opened his Jags account as he netted the only goal of a poor tie at Firhill to give Thistle revenge for their Premiership defeat to Tommy Craig's side on Friday night.

Archibald said: "Nathan was in the right place at the right time and Christie gave us a lift when he came on.

"He had a shot on goal and was positive and Nathan was there to tap it in.

"We are delighted for both of them.

"We need different options, we have only got Dools [Kris Doolan] and Ryan [Stevenson] who can play in that position.

"Nathan has come in and he is not match fit by any manner of means.

"We thought we would give him a bit more game time.

"He got more than we thought he would but we are delighted for Nathan and he will take great confidence from the game."

It was far from a classic as neither side found their rhythm, with scoring chances few and far between in front of a sub-2000 crowd at Firhill.

Buddies boss Craig said: "I thought it was very poor quality.

"It is safe to say that neither team deserved to win it and it looked like it would go to penalties.

"I am disappointed in my lads, they never showed anything like their capabilities.

"It was a flat performance and there was a lack of opportunities in the box from both teams."