17th Feb 2024 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 Partick Thistle 3 (SPFL Championship - game 23)

matches:2023-24: ← 33game 3435 →

	Duncan Ferguson	Kris Doolan	37y, 2m, 6d

		Wasiri Williams; Luke McBeth
		Jack McMillan; Ben Stanway

Cammy Kerr (0-1, 27 mins); Remi Savage (0-2, 54 mins); Nathan Shaw (2-3, 79‎ mins)		Aidan Fitzpatrick (1-2, 64‎ mins); Brian Graham (2-2, pen 77‎ mins); Brian Graham (3-3, 86‎ mins)
Sean McAllister (0-1, 27 mins); Aaron Doran (0-2, 54 mins); Cameron Harper (2-3, 79‎ mins)		none (1-2, 64‎ mins); none (2-2, pen 77‎ mins); Harry Milne (3-3, 86‎ mins)
Nathan Shaw		Aidan Fitzpatrick; Luke McBeth
Max Anderson (@ 3-3, 90‎+‎2‎ mins)		‎
Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen (Aaron Doran, 51 mins); Sean McAllister (Danny Devine, 51 mins); Billy Mckay (Aribim Pepple, 68 mins); Aaron Doran (Nikola Ujdur, 90+4 mins)		Kerr McInroy (Scott Robinson, 68 mins); Wasiri Williams (Tomi Adeloye, 84 mins); Harry Milne (Daniel O'Reilly, 88 mins)

	former Jag Mark Ridgers	Jamie Sneddon	26y, 5m, 11d
	Cammy Kerr	Wasiri Williams	23y, 10m, 16d
	Cameron Harper	Harry Milne	27y, 3m, 19d
	Remi Savage	Lewis Neilson	20y, 9m, 2d
	James Carragher	Aaron Muirhead	33y, 5m, 18d
	Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen	Stuart Bannigan	31y, 5m, 0d
	Nathan Shaw	Luke McBeth	24y, 5m, 8d
	Charlie Gilmour	Steven Lawless	32y, 10m, 5d
	Sean McAllister	Brian Graham	36y, 2m, 25d
	Billy Mckay	Kerr McInroy	23y, 5m, 17d
	Mark Anderson	Aidan Fitzpatrick	22y, 10m, 28d

			27y, 6m, 23d

	Cammy Mackay	Ross Stewart	28y, 10m, 7d
	n-a	David Mitchell	33y, 10m, 13d
	former Jag Danny Devine	Kieran Ngwenya	21y, 4m, 23d
	Aaron Doran	Scott Robinson	31y, 11m, 6d
	Austin Samuels	Daniel O'Reilly	28y, 10m, 6d
	Roddy MacGregor	Blair Alston	31y, 10m, 25d
	Aribim Pepple	Ben Stanway	19y, 4m, 28d
	Adam Brooks	Zander MacKenzie	18y, 5m, 20d
	Nikola Ujdur	Tomi Adeloye	28y, 0m, 0d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Thistle listed 2 substitute goalkeepers.
Inverness CT filled 8 of their 9 allocated bench slots.
The OPTA stats network fails to award an assist for Thistle's third, a straight-forward case of Harry Milne's header teeing up goalscorer Brian Graham. They award the third assist for Inverness to Max Anderson when, in fact, it was (another straight-forward case) of a cutback from #3 Cameron Harper.

TTA report

A low strike put Caley 1-up (27), the scorer left in acres of space. A header at a corner (54) with Sneddon lost amongst 12 men in the 6-yard box made it 2-0. Fitzpatrick scored from 12 yards (64) then a pen was converted by Graham (foul, 77). Caley went ahead again (79) but Graham fired home after some head tennis (86). Caley straight red (high boot) 90+2.

TTA man of the match

As he does so naturally, it was BRIAN GRAHAM who dragged Thistle back from the dead, his cajoling sparking others into life. Took both of his goals excellently, albeit draws are no good to this winner.

Media report

Alasdair Fraser, 17-Feb-2024, Inverness Courier

Caley Thistle twice threw away the lead as their search for a home victory in the league stretched to six games. Not since defeating Ayr on November 11 last year have the Highlanders savoured that winning feeling at their own ground. For long enough, though, it looked like full points would be theirs in a frenzied, breathless contest with third top Partick Thistle. Cammy Kerr had the hosts 1-0 in front in the first half and when Remi Savage doubled the lead after 54 minutes it looked like the home hoodoo would be broken. The Maryhill Jags stormed back, though, with Aidan Fitzpatrick netting before Brian Graham’s 77th minute penalty. Shaw, who had given away the penalty, restored the lead 90 seconds later, but Graham’s stunning volley sealed a share of the spoils.

Partick brought in Wasiri Williams and Luke McBeth for benched Ben Stanway and injured Jack McMillan. The hosts were unchanged from the previous week’s Scottish Cup defeat to Hibs. What was different about them, as the first half unfolded, was a directness to their play lacking at the Caledonian Stadium recently. Partick put them under early pressure and keeper Mark Ridgers struggled to clear a sloppy Remi Savage passback. But Caley Jags responded with pressure of their own and corners from Sean McAllister and Cammy Harper had to be pushed from under the bar in quick succession by Partick keeper Jamie Sneddon. It took a brilliant Ridgers block to deny Brian Graham’s low, angled strike, but it was the hosts who found the net after 27 minutes. Savage worked the ball across from the left and McAllister played it into the path of Dundee loanee Cammy Kerr just inside the right hand corner of the box. Kerr’s low finish was perfectly struck and flashed beyond Sneddon into the far left corner of the net. From there, the home side’s passing and movement was superb and Billy Mckay and Charlie Gilmour went close, while McAllister had an attempt clutched by the away keeper.

Partick were pumped up from the restart, pinning Caley Thistle back, but the home side doubled the lead after 54 minutes. Substitute Aaron Doran, just on, sent an inswinging corner veering into the six-yard box and defender Savage glanced the ball home close in. The hosts’ grip on the game loosened after 64 minutes. A Steven Lawless cross from the right was knocked away from the six-yard box by Cammy Kerr, but Aidan Fitzpatrick was free 12 yards out to drill the ball low into the net through a crowded box. Suddenly it was the hosts who were feeling the pressure - and with 14 minutes left Partick were level. Shaw clearly tripped sub Scott Robinson to the right of the box and Brian Graham smashed home the spot-kick. Just 90 seconds later, though, Shaw redeemed himself. Aaron Doran’s lofted ball from the right dropped beyond the six-yard box, but was retrieved by Harper. He laid it back to the incoming Shaw who stroked in Caley Jags’ third. Graham wasn’t finished, though, and, after a spot of head tennis in the home penalty box, the big striker wrapped his left leg around the ball to fire high past Ridgers from 10 yards. A red card flashed for Max Anderson for a high foot on Luke McBeth snuffed out home hopes of a fourth and Partick piled at them through to the final whistle.

Reaction

Thistle manager Kris Doolan (speaking to Jagzone):

We weren't at our best and there's loads to improve on but, looking at the positives, the character is there. Anytime we've suffered a defeat we've always came back with something. Sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and dig in and I felt as if it was one of those games; we didn't pass the ball well enough or quick enough to find Stevie Lawless, to find Aidan Fitzpatrick, but when we did we looked more of a threat. To come back from two goals down showed real character and then obviously to lose a goal so quickly after getting back in the game, and then to pull THAT back, it's not easy, and I'm really proud of the players. I think if the game went an extra 5 minutes we'd have probably got the winner but, all in all, a good point.

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