Jags booked their place in the Ramsdens Cup final with a 1-0 win over Cowdenbeath on Sunday, continuing their impressive start to the campaign which has seen them stake their claim as potential Irn-Bru First Division champions.
With just two defeats so far this term, Jackie McNamara's side are one of the form teams in Scotland, and Balatoni is keen to make it a season to remember at Firhill.
He said: "All the other teams had a few days off because of the international break, but we were in training to prepare for Cowdenbeath.
"It would have been gutting to have lost after the hard work we put in. It has all paid off and we want to go and win it now.
"It will be a hard game against Queen of the South, but I am sure it will be a good game. We are looking forward to it.
"All the boys would dedicate it to the manager. He brought most of us in to the club and he believes in us all.
"We believe in him and Simon Donnelly, so it is nice to be able to repay their faith in us.
"We have great fans and they deserve this. Since I have been here they have not had much to cheer about, but hopefully this season we can change that.
"Hopefully the final is the first of many trophies we can win."
While it was a day to savour for everyone connected with Thistle, Balatoni had personal reasons to be cheerful after making an impressive return to the starting line-up.
He has found first-team opportunities hard to come by this term, but hopes he has done enough to retain his jersey as he deputised for skipper Alan Archibald in Fife.
He said: "It was a massive game for us, so I was delighted to be able to play my part.
"I wanted to come in and give the manager a problem for the Airdrie United match this week.
"Archie is a big player for us, but hopefully I have done enough to keep myself in the team.
"It is going to be a tough game for us against Airdrie. They will be looking to fight for everything to get points to stay in the league.
"But we want to keep winning to stay near the top of the table and keep the momentum going."
