14th Sep 2024 Ayr United 1 Partick Thistle 1 (SPFL Championship - game 5)

matches:2024-25: ← 10game 1112 →

	Scott Brown	Kris Doolan	37y, 9m, 3d

		Aaron Muirhead; Daniel O'Reilly; Robbie Crawford; Ben Stanway; Terry Ablade
		Charlie Sayers; Stuart Bannigan; Logan Chalmers; James Lyon; Aidan Fitzpatrick

Anton Dowds (0-1, pen 25 mins)		Harry Milne (1-1, 74 mins)
none (0-1, pen 25 mins)		Kyle Turner (1-1, 74 mins)
George Oakley; Ryan Howley; George Stanger		Daniel O'Reilly; Robbie Crawford; Luke McBeth

Ryan Howley (Alfie Bavidge, 55 mins); Anton Dowds (Jamie Murphy, 66 mins); Jamie Murphy (Ethan Walker, 72 mins); Jay Henderson (Jake Hastie, 72 mins)		Casper Nilsson (Aidan Fitzpatrick, 61 mins); Terry Ablade (Logan Chalmers, 66 mins); Robbie Crawford (Ricco Diack, 73 mins); Ben Stanway (Zander MacKenzie, 73 mins)

	Jack McIntyre	Myles Roberts	22y, 9m, 5d
	Dylan Watret	Casper Nilsson	20y, 9m, 19d
	future Jag Paddy Reading	Harry Milne	27y, 10m, 16d
	George Stanger	Luke McBeth	25y, 0m, 5d
	Nick McAllister	Aaron Muirhead	34y, 0m, 15d
	Ben Dempsey	Daniel O'Reilly	29y, 5m, 3d
	Ryan Howley	Robbie Crawford	30y, 2m, 23d
	Jay Henderson	Ben Stanway	19y, 11m, 25d
	former Jag Anton Dowds	Brian Graham	36y, 9m, 22d
	George Oakley	Terry Ablade	22y, 11m, 2d
	Mark McKenzie	Kyle Turner	26y, 10m, 4d

			26y, 11m, 21d

	Liam Russell	Mason McCready	21y, 6m, 9d
	Jamie Murphy	Logan Chalmers	24y, 5m, 21d
	former Jag Jake Hastie	Liam Smith	20y, 10m, 17d
	Jamie Hislop	Aidan Fitzpatrick	23y, 5m, 25d
	Roy Syla	Charlie Sayers	20y, 5m, 16d
	Ethan Walker	Lee Ashcroft	31y, 0m, 16d
	Scott Tomlinson	James Lyon	21y, 10m, 18d
	former Jag Connor McAvoy	Zander MacKenzie	19y, 0m, 17d
	Alfie Bavidge	Ricco Diack	19y, 4m, 7d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.

TTA report

Thistle adopted a 3-5-2 formation. A soft retaken pen for handball against Muirhead (25) - Roberts saved but was off his line - put top of the league United in front. Thistle were the better team for long spells after h-t and a cross by Turner was headed in by Milne (74). There were chances at both ends but a point was well deserved in the light of recent form.

TTA man of the match

Should we just give HARRY MILNE his player of the year gong now? His commitment, will to win and energy is automatically given, and once again his bravery in the box paid off with another fine headed goal.

Media report

Stuart Wilson, 14-Sep-2024, Daily Record

Ayr United were held to a point by Partick Thistle on an afternoon soured by concerns over injury to top scorer Anton Dowds. The talismanic striker had earlier taken his tally to nine goals in 11 games when firing The Honest Men into a first half lead from the penalty spot. But August's Championship Player of the Month hobbled out of Somerset after a knee injury sustained in the second half. Boss Scott Brown admits it's now a waiting game to hope the injury wasn't as bad as first looked - but insists his men fell short of the standard required on an afternoon where they failed to hit the heights of their fast start to the season. Jack McIntyre made his debut between the sticks with Harry Stone missing the game entirely due to a thigh strain. Midfielder Marco Rus also missed out with an injury picked up last week, although Brown stressed he was hopeful that the absence was "just a precaution".

Thistle flew from the traps and Ben Stanway drew a brilliant stop from McIntyre in the opening moments. But Ayr hit the front when former United defender Aaron Muirhead was penalised for handball - only for keeper Myles Roberts to save the penalty from Dowds. But ref Ross Hardie hauled the play back to give Ayr another crack after Roberts was adjudged to have strayed off his line. And Dowds made no mistake when burying the second attempt. Thistle had loud appeals for a penalty of their own turned down when Paddy Reading charged down a shot.

Dowds went close to doubling the lead shortly after half time with a low effort which Roberts saved well. United then suffered a double injury blow as Dowds hobbled off with a knee injury following an awkward landing. And moments later, his replacement Jamie Murphy was also limping off as Ayr were left to patch up for the final 20 minutes. But they were rocked soon after as Thistle got the leveller when Harry Milne rose to head home from six yards out. Sub Jake Hastie almost won it for Ayr late on with a long range strike which Roberts tipped over the top.

Reaction

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan:

I can’t understand why it’s a penalty kick. I’ve seen it back and it’s a shocking decision. We’ve all just been to a meeting with the referees about what is a penalty and what is considered. His arm is nowhere near it and it hits across his chest first. Then they got a second one! And I've seen that too and it's been said he's miles off his line. He's not. It’s these kind of decisions that games hinge on. We could’ve lost a game on that.

Ayr United manager Scott Brown:

Did we look like we were going to win the game? Probably not. So we'll take the point but we should still be better than we were. We need to control games and we didn't do that today. We had injuries but they are part and parcel of the game and we have a squad to deal with that. It was important not to lose the game when we weren't at our best today. You come away with a point and at the end of the day the lads have dug in deep and got something.

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