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Partick Thistle consolidated their Scottish Championship play-off position in third and closed the gap on the top two as Tomi Adeloye's late double secured an emphatic win over Arbroath.

Brian Graham made the breakthrough when he seized on defensive hesitation, nipped the ball past onrushing goalkeeper Derek Gaston and slotted home from a tight angle.

The second arrived when Steven Lawless switched play for the impressive Aidan Fitzpatrick to slam into the net and Adeloye added two tap-ins.

And the substitute could have had a hat-trick, having missed a chance even before his goals.

Arbroath, who are bottom and below Queen's Park on goal difference, did offer some first-half threat, with Jay Bird denied by Jamie Sneddon along with a number of opportunities that did not quite hit the mark.

Thistle trail Dundee United by seven points and Raith Rovers by nine.

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan: "We could easily have scored another two or three. We always strive for better and I'm delighted with that performance in tough conditions. We are always looking up. In this league things change a lot."

Arbroath manager Jim McIntyre: "First half, we got into a lot of good areas. Our final bit was pretty poor, whether that was the final pass, cross into the box and even our decision on a really tricky pitch to overplay at times. You can't expect to win games when you give away the type of goals we gave away."