10th May 2024 Partick Thistle 2 Airdrieonians 1 (SPFL Premiership play-off Quarter Final, 2nd leg)

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matches:2023-24: ← 48game 4950 →

37y, 5m, 0d	Kris Doolan	Rhys McCabe

no changes
no changes

Brian Graham (1-0, 18 mins)‎; Brian Graham (2-0, 47‎ mins)‎		Aaron Lyall (2-1, 55‎ mins)
Aidan Fitzpatrick (1-0, 18 mins)‎; Scott Robinson (2-0, 47‎ mins)‎		none (2-1, 55‎ mins)
Brian Graham; Aaron Muirhead		Charlie Telfer

Ben Stanway (Stuart Bannigan, 80 mins); Kerr McInroy (Zander MacKenzie, 80 mins); Jack McMillan (Daniel O'Reilly, 86 mins); Aidan Fitzpatrick (Kieran Ngwenya, 90+5 mins); Scott Robinson (Blair Alston, 90+5 mins)		Gabby McGill (Lewis McGregor, HT); Charlie Telfer (Murray Aiken, 64 mins); Craig Watson (Calum Gallagher, 75 mins); Arron Lyall (Chris Donnell, 75 mins)

34y, 1m, 6d	David Mitchell	Robbie Hemfrey
26y, 4m, 22d	Jack McMillan	Kanayo Megwa
27y, 6m, 11d	Harry Milne	Mason Hancock
24y, 8m, 1d	Luke McBeth	Cammy Ballantyne
33y, 8m, 10d	Aaron Muirhead	Callum Fordyce
20y, 11m, 25d	Lewis Neilson	Craig Watson
19y, 7m, 20d	Ben Stanway	Charlie Telfer
23y, 8m, 9d	Kerr McInroy	Dean McMaster
36y, 5m, 17d	Brian Graham	Nikolay Todorov
32y, 1m, 29d	Scott Robinson	Arron Lyall
23y, 1m, 20d	Aidan Fitzpatrick	Gabby McGill

27y, 5m, 30d

29y, 1m, 0d	Ross Stewart	David Hutton
31y, 7m, 23d	Stuart Bannigan	Aaron Taylor-Sinclair former Jag
21y, 7m, 15d	Kieran Ngwenya	Josh O'Connor
29y, 0m, 29d	Daniel O'Reilly	Lewis McGregor
32y, 1m, 17d	Blair Alston	Calum Gallagher
18y, 8m, 12d	Zander MacKenzie	Murray Aiken
19y, 0m, 3d	Ricco Diack	Elliot Dunlop
17y, 6m, 21d	Ché Campbell	Chris Donnell
16y, 1m, 27d	Ceiran Loney	Gavin Gallagher

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.

TTA report

Firhill was bathed in sunshine and the atmosphere electric as two evenly matched teams battled it out. Fitzpatrick got joy down the right and Graham gambled on breaking early from a tight shoulder line to slam home his cross (18). Thistle's talismanic striker was equally quick-thinking when he found himself back-to-goal for Robinson's cross, deploying a cheeky back-heel (47) for 2-0. A clinical strike from a headed clearance (55) gave hope to the visitors, but Thistle's defending was resolute. Hard-earned progress.

TTA man of the match

Tough to pick just one, especially with Graham being so crucial to the victory on the night. Aaron Muirhead was closest to faultless. He dealt with every threat like a bully in command, and deployed his 'professional foul yellow' with Chiellini-like expertise.

Media report

Andy Campbell, 10-May-2024, bbc.com

Partick Thistle will play Raith Rovers in the Scottish Premiership play-off semi-final after Brian Graham's double secured a 4-3 aggregate win over Airdrieonians. Having scored 24 goals this season, the Thistle captain was always likely to pose a threat and so it proved as he converted Aidan Fitzpatrick's low cross high into the net. Replays showed that, at the very least, the decision to regard Graham as onside was very tight but with no VAR in use, the question will remain unanswered for Airdrie. Both sides had been restricted to long-range efforts up until that point, though the visitors' Nikolay Todorov had netted from an offside position.

The second half was barely 72 seconds old when Thistle took another step towards the semi-final. Scott Robinson burrowed his way deep into the box and centred for Graham to apply a classy back-heeled finish. Airdrieonians needed a reply quickly and they found one. Lewis McGregor's delivery was cleared but only as far as Arron Lyall at the edge of the box and the midfielder struck well into the left corner. As time wore on, extra time seemed to be the visitors' best hope but Rhys McCabe's side could not force a leveller. The closest they came was Callum Fordyce's rebound shot off the top of the crossbar after Todorov's header had been blocked. Fitzpatrick almost made the game safe for the hosts but he lifted his shot over goalkeeper Robbie Hemfrey just wide of the post.

Kris Doolan's Partick Thistle will host Ian Murray's Raith Rovers on Tuesday before the return leg at Stark's Park next Friday, with both games kicking off at 19:45 BST and being broadcast live on BBC Scotland, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Which club Thistle or fellow Championship outfit Raith face in the two-legged final is yet to be determined, but Ross County and St Johnstone are the teams most in danger of finishing second bottom in the Premiership with three games to play.

Reaction

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan:

Really proud. We've got good experienced professionals. They know how to play the big games and not let the occasion get to them. There's not been much between [Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers], a bit like ourselves and Airdrie. In terms of the games we've played, there's only ever been the odd goal in it. I still expect that type of game. We fancy ourselves to get something.

Airdrieonians player-manager Rhys McCabe:

We tried to throw the kitchen sink at them. We were unlucky, we hit the bar quite late on. Full credit to [Partick Thistle], over the course of the season, they've been excellent. You win some, you lose some. We'll take great credit and great belief from the whole season. Ultimately, we fell short but there's loads of positives for us as a group to take forward.

DANGEROUS DUO

● Aidan Fitzpatrick becomes the first Jag (since our assists records began more than 10 years ago) to register double figures in both the goals and the assists column (11 & 10) in a single season.

● Brian Graham's opener means that he has now scored in a 16th (SIXTEENTH) consecutive month for Partick Thistle in competitive action. With a competitve game from last June, it's a freak-streak, but no surprise to us all the same!

● 78-goal Brian Graham enters the All-Time Top 20 of Partick Thistle's competitive goalscorers.

● 8-goal Brian Graham is now Thistle's third most prolific hitman vs. Airdrieonians; only Willie Sharp (18) and Willie Paul (9) have gone beyond that in competitive action.

● Brian Graham & Aidan Fitzpatrick - jointly acknowledged this week with a Thistle Pin - have an astonishing 49 (FORTY NINE) goals or assists between them this season, with Thistle having scored 84 goals in all competitions so far.

● Stuart Bannigan goes shoulder-to-shoulder with Kris Doolan on 403 competitive appearances (both also aligned on 401 'major competitive' appearances). Only 13 men have went further.

● Thistle have won 7-in-a-row when Colin Steven has been the referee!

● Airdrie become the most-consecutively-beaten club on Thistle territory in all of history. 11-in-a-row takes over from the 10-in-a-row vs. Raith Rovers (1912-1924).

● 4 of those who returned for the play-offs - Brian Graham, Luke McBeth, Aaron Muirhead & David Mitchell - continue 9 games unbeaten in all competitions.

ongoing sequences:

● 37 consecutive competitive appearances for Lewis Neilson, 15th Sep 2023 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Steven Lawless - 60 games, 18th Feb 2023 to 6th Apr 2024. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

Stats Watch adheres to our stated definitions of League, League Max, Major Competitive, Competitive or All Games. Where there is no written qualification, you should presume that the Stat in question is compiled from the All Games criteria.

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