ROSS COUNTY pulled off an astonishing comeback to preserve their Premiership status after a penalty shootout on a day of incredible drama in Dingwall. Partick Thistle looked all-but promoted after Aidan Fitzpatrick fired them ahead on the day towards the end of the first half and 3-0 up on aggregate, but somehow, County came back from the dead. A Yan Dhanda penalty 20 minutes from time threw them a lifeline, before Simon Murray set up a frantic finale just 80 seconds later by tapping home from close range. Remarkably, George Harmon popped up in stoppage time to volley home a dramatic leveller and send the game into extra-time, and eventually, to penalties, where they prevailed.
THE PLAYOFFS, BLOODY HELL. Where do you start with this one? You would have got long odds on the hitherto toothless Ross County belatedly biting back after Thistle had gone a goal up through Fitzpatrick, but somehow, they dug in and prolonged their stay in the Premiership. Malky Mackay’s men were the joint-lowest scorers in the top-flight over the course of the season along with Kilmarnock, hitting the net just 37 times. By way of contrast, Thistle had bagged almost half that amount in the play-off matches alone prior to this one, scoring 18 over the five games. They didn’t register a shot on target in the first leg of the play-off final, and while Ben Purrington had a header cleared off the line by Kyle Turner, White missed a sitter when he failed to connect with a dangerous Samuel cross, and Samuel himself allowed Mitchell to save when clean through after a Darren Brownlie slip, it took a penalty to get them on the board. Remarkably, a minute later, they had another, as Samuel capitalised on a slip to set up substitute Murray to tap home, before Harmon incredibly popped up at the death to level the tie. Then, in extra-time, another Thistle legend in Stuart Bannigan seemed destined to hit a fairytale winner, blasting over from close range in front of the despairing travelling support. Even the penalty shootout was full of twists and turns, as County captain Keith Watson failed to take the chance to keep them up by blazing over after Bannigan had hit the post, before Ross Laidlaw made a brilliant stop from Ross Docherty to allow Josh Sims to score the winner. At long, long last.
COUNTY PLAYERS FIGHT FOR MACKAY. It could certainly be argued that these County players have let themselves down over the course of the season, but when it came to the crunch, their commitment to their club and their manager cannot be questioned. Quite why it took them so long to show up in this tie, or indeed in this campaign, only they would be able to tell you, but they showed incredible resilience to scrap their way back from the dead, making the most of the reprieve they had literally been handed in unfortunate circumstance by Thistle striker Graham. Not only did they claw their way into the tie, but they fought their way back into the top-flight, and the manager has to take credit for instilling that fighting spirit into his side.
CHEER UP JAGS FANS, AT LEAST YOU WON’T HAVE TO FACE VAR NEXT SEASON. For only the second time this season, a referee refused the offer to change a decision when invited to have a look at the VAR screen, as Nick Walsh decided not to award a penalty to Thistle after Ross Docherty went down in the area under Nohan Kenneh’s challenge despite Greg Aitken’s recommendation. The official was clearly unconvinced that he had made a clear and obvious error, or that Docherty had been fouled at all, adjudging the Thistle midfielder to have been the one to initiate contact as he clipped the back of Kenneh’s heel. That was debatable to say the least, with Docherty surely having a path into the area had Kenneh not planted his foot in his way, but Walsh looked long and hard before sticking by his decision. He was called over once more in the second half, and again, the call went against Thistle as Brian Graham was penalised for a handball, allowing Dhanda to score from the spot. But the VAR drama didn’t end there. County captain Watson was shown a red card as he tried to hack down Tiffoney as he broke, but that was then overturned after yet another review. All of that resulted in nine minutes of time being added to the end of the game, and County made the most of it.
THISTLE CAN REGROUP UNDER LEGEND KRIS DOOLAN AND COME UP NEXT YEAR. Doolan will forever be a Firhill icon for his feats as a player, but in just 19 games, he came so close to attaining legendary status at his beloved club as a manager. What the former Thistle striker has achieved in his short time in charge is nothing short of remarkable, despite this loss. It is just one of two defeats he has suffered to date. He has made his team a massive threat at the business end of the pitch, harnessing the thrilling attacking talents at his disposal. Shrewdly, he has also not only tapped into the burning sense of injustice still present within the club at their relegation to League One during the Covid pandemic, but actively stoked that feeling of resentment among his players. He will be devastated that his team couldn’t see it through, but once the pain has subsided a little, there are plenty of positives to take from their recent run to point to a bright future under his stewardship.
Speaking to Sky Sports,County manager Malky Mackay hailed his side's determination to claw back from 3-0 down:
We scored three against St Johnstone last week, we know we have goals in our team. Eleven v eleven today, we dominated the game. I just felt that as long as we got a goal, we would have a chance. Everyone wanted Partick Thistle in the Premiership, a trip to Glasgow rather than the Highlands. We're in a part of the country that is hard to recruit to, it's a rebuild every year, but we're still in the Premiership.
Gutted Thistle manager Kris Doolan also spoke to Sky Sports:
Im devastated. Everybody is. Football is cruel. But we've got so many good things to take out of the games. Nobody goes out to aim to miss a penalty. it's just what happens. I'm gutted for everybody. No fourth-placed team in the Championship has ever gained promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs, and I can see why. I thought we had enough in the locker to be the first team… but the longer the game goes, it gets tougher and tougher. My players gave everything, it's a tough one to take. We want to be up as quick as we can. We'll need to dust ourselves down but ultimately, I want success for this football club in whatever way, shape or form. I want people to be happy following the football club, because it is the club I love and I'm just gutted for everyone because it was all there for us and we just couldn't get it over the line.
Ben Purrington
Josh Sims
