IT may not have been the best goal of Ryan Edwards’s career, but his winner for Partick Thistle against Hamilton on Saturday may well have been his most important.

The Australian midfielder climbed off the bench to complete a rousing Thistle comeback against Hamilton after Kris Doolan had cancelled out David Templeton’s opener for Accies.

The Jags hadn’t won in 10 games prior to the match on Saturday, and hadn’t scored in 595 minutes, but the goals from Doolan and Edwards gave them a massive three points in their battle for survival.

The Firhill side are now off the bottom of the table and just two points behind tenth-placed Accies, and Edwards believes that the win over Hamilton can be the springboard that propels his team to safety.

“This goal wasn’t a contender for the best this season but in terms of importance I’m sure it’s right up there,” Edwards said.

“Last season Kris Doolan’s 100th for the club was nominated because it meant so much to him and the club and this is hopefully up there as the one that gives us the momentum to push on.

“We’re all working towards one goal and that’s to stay in this league.

“Kris Doolan did brilliantly to get his 100th league goal when he scored the header but the way our season has gone it could have gone past the post.

“For my goal you could sky it or it could hit the first defender and get cleared but thankfully it went through a few legs and went in.

“It came out pretty quickly and I just hit it low and hard and hoped for the best and it went in. It meant a lot, especially on an emotional day with the tributes to John Lambie.

“We’ve come together as a team since the split to focus on our goal of staying in the league and it was a special day for fans and the club with it being John Lambie Day.”

Thistle manager Alan Archibald stated after the match that he felt his side fed off the energy of the home crowd after the pre-match tributes dedicated to former boss Lambie.

And Edwards agreed that the Jags players were given a huge boost by the positive backing they received from the stands.

“That was the loudest the fans have been all season for us and it shows how much it meant,” he said.

“A few of the boys went to [John’s] funeral and it meant a lot to get three points for his memory and us.

“We’ve been on a tough run but we look forward now. We’ve got four games to get out of the position we’re in.

“Every time we’ve had a good performance or result the following week has been below the high standard we set for ourselves, so we need to use that for motivation to keep up the momentum.”

A win at McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone on Saturday would certainly help them to do just that, and it is a venue that holds happy memories of late for both Edwards and his team.

He said: “I’ve scored a couple of goals there this season and the team has done well there in recent seasons, so it’s positive for us going there as we look to cut the gap on Hamilton and Dundee.”