Partick manager John Lambie paid an emotional farewell to the Thistle supporters at the end of his last home match in charge before retirement.
With Thistle's place in the SPL secure, Dundee United needed to take something from this match to pull themselves clear of the relegation zone.
The Terrors started well and in the fifth minute Danny Griffin tested Thistle keeper Kevin Budinauckas with a fierce 20-yard shot but he somehow managed to get his fingers to the ball and turn it away for a corner.
The visitors continued to put the Thistle defence under pressure but Partick fought back and in the 14th minute Alan Archibald, standing clear on the edge of the penalty box, connected with a perfect Danny Lennon cross from the right but his shot was well saved by Alan Combe.
In the 28th minute Gerry Britton and Alex Burns played a neat one-two but Burns was adjudged to be offside as he ran on to net.
Play became fast and furious with neither team taking control of the match and both sides lacked direction when they got in front of goal.
The game came to life in the 42nd minute when the Partick keeper was shown the yellow card by the referee for handling the ball outside the box when he got tangled with Kenny Milne. However, Charlie Miller's well-struck free kick flew narrowly over the bar.
Thistle started the second half on the attack and within a minute of the restart Britton fired in a fierce shot from the right and with the United keeper well beaten could only look on as the ball came off the bar and back into play.
Dundee United took a deserved lead in the 59th minute when Jamie Paterson ran in to fire home a loose ball after the Thistle keeper had failed to hold a shot from Jim McIntyre.
The visiting fans thought their side had increased their lead in the 62nd minute when McIntryre rose unchallenged above the Thistle defence to head home a Miller cross but he was adjudged to be offside by the assistant referee.
In what had been a reasonably dull match the game ended in controversy when the referee turned down Thistle's appeals for a penalty after Britton had been felled in the penalty area.
Thistle fans and management were incensed when the fourth official added only one minute of stoppage time after four minutes had been lost for Combe to receive treatment for a head injury.
Lambie may have been retiring after the game but he had to be restrained by the Thistle management team as he remonstrated with the match officials but in the end Dundee United deserved the victory.