Last updated on .From the section Football

Danny Swanson's penalty earned St Johnstone victory over Partick Thistle and confirmed European football for the Perth side next season.

Swanson netted after he was fouled by Niall Keown, beating Partick keeper Tomas Cerny, who denied Liam Craig and Richard Foster with excellent saves.

The win sealed a third successive fourth-place finish for Saints and confirms a Europa League spot.

The Perth men are nine points clear of fifth-placed Hearts with two to play.

Saints made of the Wright stuff

Swanson was downed by Niall Keown in the box for St Johnstone's crucial penalty

There are plenty of St Johnstone supporters who feel manager Tommy Wright does not receive the plaudits he deserves for his achievements in recent years. Working with one of the lowest budgets in the Scottish Premiership, he has once again led his team into continental competition.

Wright has built a squad that can battle for results when necessary but can play a bit as well.

Swanson was the key man against Partick, superbly winning the penalty and converting it himself to ensure the three points stayed in Perth.

The little midfielder, who has scored 15 goals this season, also drew a fantastic second-half stop from Cerny after a powerful run from the half-way line.

Swanson, however, is heading to Hibernian in the summer and the task for Wright over the next few weeks is to try to find a replacement.

Jags have nothing to fear

Liam Lindsay is one of the players who should give Partick fans plenty of hope for the future

Partick have suffered consecutive Premiership defeats but the Firhill faithful have little to fear ahead of next season if Alan Archibald can keep this squad together.

The Jags may not have been at their best against Saints but in players such as Adam Barton and Liam Lindsay, they have real quality. The movement up front of Kris Doolan can also pose problems for defences but chances were few-and-far between for the striker.

Lindsay, though, would have scored a last-gasp equaliser had it not been for a goalline clearance by Saints' Tam Scobbie.

Thistle have two home matches left this season - against champions Celtic and second-placed Aberdeen. Few will give them much hope of taking anything but with the home crowd behind them, you can never right them off.

Where is everybody?

Saints boss Tommy Wright will have to find a replacement for Danny Swanson

The attendance at McDiarmid Park for the visit of Thistle was 3,630 and it begs the question: what does it take for Saints fans to turn up in greater numbers?

The Perth men have finished in the top six for six consecutive seasons and qualified for Europe in each of the last four. Add in a Scottish Cup win in 2013/14, and there are many fans up and down the country that would give their eye teeth for such a record.

Their success on the park can by-and-large be put down to the shrewdness of boss Wright in the transfer market and the solidity of the Saints board, with Steve Brown carrying on the sterling work of his father Geoff.

They may not have many fans turning up but they are an outstanding model of how a club should be run.