St Johnstone crashed out of the Betfred Cup after a 3-0 hammering at home from Partick Thistle.
Saints never looked right all night and the result in this last-16 clash wasn’t a shock, albeit the scoreline perhaps flattered the Jags a wee bit.
Thistle took the lead from the spot five minutes into the second half, with Steven Lawless converting the penalty.
The impressive Ryan Edwards made it 2-0 on 62 minutes with a brilliant strike from 25 yards.
Former Dundee United man Chris Erskine then capped a wonderful night for the Firhill side by drilling home the third in the 90th minute.
So the quarter-final draw will go ahead at Dens after the Dundee derby on without Saints’ name in the hat.
Paul Paton was suspended for the hosts, while both Stefan Scougall and Graham Cummins dropped down to the bench.
Taking their starting spots were Rugby Park goal hero Michael O’Halloran, Liam Craig and Steven MacLean.
The Jags had to do without the injured Blair Spittal, who failed a late fitness test, while Jordan Turnbull made his competitive debut for the visitors.
There was a chance for Thistle inside three minutes when home defender Brian Easton lost his footing and helped make space for Lawless, whose shot was deflected just wide for a corner.
The game was stopped for a few minutes to allow Thistle’s Danny Devine to receive treatment before the player finally recovered.
Saints were finally looking positive, though, and a mazy run and low cross from the right by O’Halloran caused concern for Thistle before being booted out for a corner 13 minutes.
The Maryhill men hit back and Edwards wasn’t far away with his strike then, with 22 minutes on the clock, an Erskine pass found Kevin Nisbet in space but St Johnstone keeper Alan Mannus did well to save.
O’Halloran picked up a booking for fouling Edwards before Murray Davidson flicked the ball towards the Jags’ goal only for keeper Tomas Cerny to make a comfortable save.
Predictably, Thistle lost Devine to injury on the half-hour mark, with Niall Keown replacing him.
There was a rare moment of excitement on 34 minutes when MacLean pounced inside the box and sent a shot flying towards the net before Cerny dived to finger-tip the ball away. It was a great stop by the goalie but all in vain as the flag was up for offside against the Saints striker.
Tommy Wright’s team created a decent opening just a minute before the break and a goal looked on as O’Halloran ran into the box. He squared to Liam Craig but the ball got stuck under the midfielder’s feet and the chance was wasted.
Both sides came out unchanged for the second period and there was drama on 50 minutes when referee Euan Anderson awarded the Jags a penalty kick.
Saint skipper Steven Anderson was ruled to have dived in on Nisbet after he was picked out by an Erskine pass and up stepped Lawless to make it 1-0 to the away side.
Anderson almost made amends when he sent a header flying towards the top corner of the Thistle net only for the ball to be cleared for a corner.
Saints brought on Scougall for Craig on 58 minutes before Anderson somehow headed past with the goal gaping after he was found by a David Wotherspoon cross.
The hosts were right up against it, though, on 62 minutes when Partick went two up.
It was a classy finish from Edwards, who nonchalantly took a touch before curling a cracker of a shot beyond the outstretched arm of Mannus from 25 yards.
The hosts had to get back into things quickly but they squandered a great opportunity when Cummins, who had just come on as sub for Blair Alston, blasted the ball past the post after he was one-on-one with Jags keeper Cerny.
Joe Shaughnessy stabbed a shot at Cerny on 72 minutes before the hosts brought on sub Chris Kane for MacLean, while Lawless was replaced by Stuart Bannigan for the Jags.
St Johnstone were desperate now and Wotherspoon had a shot blocked before Cummins headed the loose ball over. Home keeper Mannus then had to look lively to head clear after Richard Foster’s made a hash of a clearance.
Davidson picked up a booking for a foul on Bannigan with eight minutes to go then it was all over for Saints in the final minute.
Erskine was the Partick scorer, racing clear before sliding the ball under Mannus to make it a sorry night for St Johnstone.
Attendance: 2,619.
St Johnstone: Mannus, Alston (Cummins 64), Shaughnessy, Anderson, Davidson, MacLean (Kane 78), Wotherspoon, Foster, Easton, Craig (Scougall 58). Subs not used: Clark, Tanser, McClean, Gilchrist.
Partick Thistle: Cerny, Booth, Turnbull, Osman, Erskine, Lawless (Bannigan 77), Barton, Elliott, Devine (Keown 30), Edwards, Nisbet. Subs not used: Skully, Nitriansky, Penrice, McCarthy, McLaughlin.
Referee: Euan Anderson.