1st Jun 2023 Partick Thistle 2 Ross County 0 (SPFL Premiership play-off Final, 1st leg)

matches:2022-23: ← 53game 5455 →

36y, 5m, 21d	Kris Doolan	Malky Mackay

no changes
no changes

Aidan Fitzpatrick (1-0, 9 mins); Brian Graham (2-0, 45 mins)‎
Steven Lawless (1-0, 9 mins); Kyle Turner (2-0, 45 mins)‎
		Jordan Tillson; George Harmon
		Dylan Smith (@ 1-0, 17 mins)
Steven Lawless (Stuart Bannigan, 75 mins); Brian Graham (Danny Mullen, 84 mins); Aidan Fitzpatrick (Zander MacKenzie, 84 mins)		Alex Samuel (Keith Watson, 18 mins); George Harmon (Ben Purrington, HT); Jordan Tillson (David Cancola, 54 mins); Jordan White (Simon Murray, 74 mins); Victor Loturi (Nohan Kenneh, 74 mins)

33y, 1m, 28d	David Mitchell	Ross Laidlaw
25y, 5m, 14d	Jack McMillan	Connor Randall
30y, 4m, 7d	Kevin Holt	Jack Baldwin
29y, 1m, 22d	Darren Brownlie	Dylan Smith
32y, 9m, 2d	Aaron Muirhead	George Harmon
30y, 4m, 9d	Ross Docherty	Owura Edwards
25y, 6m, 22d	Kyle Turner	Victor Loturi
32y, 1m, 20d	Steven Lawless	Jordan Tillson
35y, 6m, 9d	Brian Graham	Yan Dhanda
24y, 9m, 6d	Scott Tiffoney	Alex Samuel
22y, 2m, 12d	Aidan Fitzpatrick	Jordan White

29y, 2m, 19d

25y, 8m, 26d	Jamie Sneddon	Ross Munro
30y, 8m, 15d	Stuart Bannigan	Ben Purrington
26y, 6m, 13d	Anton Dowds	David Cancola
27y, 9m, 8d	Cammy Smith	Josh Sims
20y, 4m, 3d	Cole McKinnon	Keith Watson
28y, 3m, 0d	Danny Mullen	Simon Murray
19y, 11m, 26d	Billy Owens	Nohan Kenneh
17y, 9m, 4d	Zander MacKenzie
17y, 10m, 3d	Ji Stevenson

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
County filled only 7 of their 9 allocated bench slots.

TTA report

Fitzpatrick left two defenders in his wake and fired home in the far corner (9). County's central defender was "last man" red-carded (17) and a delightful side-foot volley by Graham (45) made it 2-0. Thistle never quite managed a bigger lead due to last-ditch defending by County. A Mullen 20-yarder was touched on to the bar by the keeper (90+3).

Media report

James Cairney, 01-Jun-2023, Glasgow Times

Partick Thistle moved one step closer to the cinch Premiership courtesy of a 2-0 win over Ross County that leaves Malky Mackay’s men perilously circling the top-flight’s drain. In front of a lively crowd of 7291 fans – around 300 of whom had made the long journey down from Dingwall – the second-tier side made the most of an early dismissal for County to take a significant advantage up north ahead of Sunday’s second leg. Kris Doolan named an unchanged line-up from last week’s 5-0 trouncing of Ayr United at Somerset Park, with long-serving midfielder Stuart Bannigan having to settle for a spot on the bench after his recent injury lay-off. Kyle Turner sat a little deeper than usual to accommodate Scott Tiffoney playing off of centre-forward Brian Graham as Doolan opted for the gung-ho attacking strategy that has so far borne so much fruit during the play-offs.

It was a cagey opening few minutes a Firhill – understandable, given the gravity of what was at stake – but it wasn’t long before the opening chance arrived for the Jags. Stevie Lawless, out on the right flank, danced his way past George Harmon as the winger cut in from out wide and drove along the edge of the box, rifling a low shot at goal that Ross Laidlaw palmed behind for a corner. There were barely 10 minutes on the clock when the hosts took the lead. Lawless’ cross-field ball was delicately plucked out of the air by Aidan Fitzpatrick on the left; with a magnificent piece of skill, the attacker slalomed past two men before curling the ball beyond Laidlaw’s despairing reach to give his side a priceless advantage. Barely five minutes later and Firhill had its first taste of VAR. Fitzpatrick looked to have burst beyond the Ayr backline before being cynically brought down by Dylan Smith. Referee David Munro initially awarded a yellow card but after being called over to the pitchside monitor and giving it a second look, the booking was upgraded to a straight red to the delight of the sizeable home contingent in the stands. The Jags could smell blood now as they attempted to press home their numerical advantage, attacking with a renewed sense of gusto. A lovely reverse ball from Lawless sent Jack McMillan barreling through on goal and the full-back drilled a low cross-cum-shot across the face of goal, but County managed to hastily clear it away before it found Graham lurking ominously at the back post. The visitors were trying to craft opportunities of their own but regularly found themselves repelled by Thistle’s central defensive partnership of Aaron Muirhead and Darren Brownlie. County were getting some joy out wide and finding the occasional pocket of space, but their deliveries into the box were greedily hoovered up by the Jags defence. Thistle were piling on the pressure with the half-time fast approaching. That reverse ball from Lawless into McMillan was proving difficult to deal with, and Graham really should have done better after being slipped through on goal by Ross Docherty but the big striker’s effort at goal was blocked. The County defence were holding firm, but the same question crossed everyone’s mind: could they keep it up? Graham would provide the answer in resounding fashion a few minutes before the interval. The home side won a corner and took it short, and Kyle Turner whipped his delivery into a dangerous area where Graham was waiting to volley the ball home with aplomb.

If County were hoping that the Jags would simply hold their two-goal advantage ahead of Sunday’s second leg up in Dingwall upon the restart, they were left sorely disappointed. Within a minute or two, Doolan’s men were threatening a third – and probably should have had it – when Kevin Holt blasted over from close range. The away side came close to reducing the arrears shortly before the hour mark. Some good work down the right from Owura Edwards resulted in a tempting ball being played across the face of goal; Jordan White got there first, but his effort was smothered by David Mitchell in goal for the hosts and put behind for a corner. Thistle were knocking on the door for a third goal that would give them a healthy cushion ahead of Sunday’s reverse fixture in the Highlands. A Graham header was flashed over the bar, a pot-shot from distance from Tiffoney failed to trouble Laidlaw and Graham lashed over as the men from Maryhill laid siege to the County goal to no avail. Malky Mackay’s team were desperate for something to cling to and White almost pulled one back with 20 minutes to go as the centre-forward snaffled up a loose ball in the box, only to be denied from close range by the outstretched leg of Muirhead. The visitors enjoyed a decent spell towards the end of the match, asking some awkward questions of the Thistle defence, but they couldn’t find the goal that would have changed the whole complexion of the tie. County have it all to do in Dingwall – and are more than capable of overturning a two-goal deficit – but it is Thistle who will head to the Highlands confident of seeing the job through and becoming the first fourth-placed Championship team to make it all the way through the play-offs to the promised land of the Premiership.

Reaction

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan says his side will continue to attack as they head to Dingwall for the second leg on Sunday:

If you had offered me 2-0 before the game, I would have taken it. Any kind of lead you take into the final game is a positive for me. We've got boys who have been over the course before. We know what's at stake. There's no panicking from us. Aidan Fitzpatrick has all the attributes to play for big, big clubs. He makes it [his goal] look easier than it is. I said it before the game that you need big players to score you big goals, and Brian [Graham] is certainly one of those for us. They threw their bodies on the line at times. We were probing, it's not like we were sitting back. To me, we'll take 2-0 because it makes for a big finish. We only play one way. We won't change our shape or sit back. I don't like giving players mixed signals, I like consistency. We'll be going out to win, and we know if we win we'll be in the Premiership.

Ross County boss Malky Mackay insists his side are still in the tie after keeping the scoreline down in the second half at Firhill. He told BBC Scotland:

I thought we started really brightly. We lost a poor goal as far as we're concerned. The defending on Aidan Fitzpatrick was awful. Then we lose young Dylan [Smith] to the sending off, which gives us a mountain to climb. He's a great kid and he's been fantastic for me. He maybe just got caught and it probably was a sending off. From that point on, I think we were battle-hardened. I told them at half-time that the challenge now was to get us out of here with two [goals conceded] and give us a chance up in Dingwall. It's half-time and there's 90 minutes to go. We were 2-0 down at half-time against St Johnstone in Dingwall last week and we scored three in 45 minutes. I want them focused on Sunday.

CENTURIONS!

● This game officially re-sets the bar as the longest competitive season in PTFC history (327 days and counting) taking over from 1995-96 (326 days).

● Thistle play on the 1st June for the first-time ever. Only 9 calendar dates remain unplayed.

● Thistle field the same starting eleven in a fourth consecutive game, the longest such run since 5-in-a-row in late 2020.

● For the very first time, VAR is used in a match at Firhill. David Munro has been the referee on both occasions when VAR has been used in a Thistle game having also been the man-in-the-middle for the Scottish cup tie at Ibrox in February 2023.

● Amazingly, Thistle have now scored in NINE consecutive first halves; you need to rewind to March 1938 to find a longer run (14).

● 16-year-old Dylan Smith receives the earliest red-card against Thistle (17 mins) since Stewart McKimmie of Aberdeen who was sent off in the 9th minute of Thistle's 1-0 League win at Firhill in December, 1995.

● Kris Doolan's Jags have now scored two or more goals in eight consecutive competitive matches. You need to rewind to September 1956 to find a longer run (11, by Davie Meiklejohn's boys).

● It's now an amazing 15 competitive goals without reply for this Thistle team, the longest such streak since 16 successive goals were scored in April 2021 (the club's all-time League record).

● On the night that we pay tribute to Hugh Strachan with a minutes applause, the class of 22-23 match the astonishing tally that Hugh's class of 70-71 achieved - 100 competitive goals in single season. Wow - it was written in the stars! The centurions of 2022-23 are now (jointly) the 5th highest scoring Thistle team of all-time.

● Congratulations to the PTFC class of 2022-23 who have now registered 27 competitive wins in the season. It's the 3rd highest tally of all-time, behind 2012-13 (31) and 1975-76 (30).

● For the first time in history, Partick Thistle have won a competitive match in 12 different months within the same season!

● Partick Thistle extend the Scottish record for most goals in a single play-offs campaign, now standing at an incredible 18.

● Partick Thistle become the first Scottish club to win 4 succesive games to nil in a single play-offs campaign.

● Partick Thistle become the first Scottish club to win 5 games in a single play-offs campaign.

● Partick Thistle become the first Scottish club to register 4 clean-sheets in a single play-offs campaign and David Mitchell duly sets the new record for a 'keeper.

● Thistle win to nil for the fourth consecutive competitive game. Kris Doolan's Jags are now one such victory away from equalling the all-time club-record of 5-in-a-row which was set by Alan Archibald's side in March 2013 and equalled by Ian McCalll's Thistle team in April 2021.

● The crowd of 7,291 stands today as the record for any Thistle vs. Ross County match.

ongoing sequences:

● 5 consective competitive wins; 9th May 2023 to date. (Longest run since: 5 games; 10th Apr 2021 to 24th Apr 2021. Club-record: 10 wins, 22nd Oct 1932 to 26th Dec 1932.)

● 8 competitive home games without defeat; 4th Mar 2023 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games; 3rd Mar 2020 to 5th Dec 2020. Club-record: 24 games; 5th May 2001 to 17th Aug 2002.)

● 11 competitive games without defeat, 1st Apr 2023 to date. (Longest run since: 12 games, 19th Jan 2013 to 2nd Apr 2013. Joint club-record: 16 games, 15th Nov 1975 to 21st Feb 1976 & 30th Sep 2000 to 13th Jan 2001.)

● 51 consecutive competitive appearances for Jack McMillan, 9th Jul 2022 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: James Penrice - 51 games, 7th Sep 2019 to 10th Apr 2021. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

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