25th Jan 2025 Ayr United 2 Partick Thistle 1 (SPFL Championship - game 22)

matches:2024-25: ← 28game 2930 →

	Scott Brown	Kris Doolan	38y, 1m, 14d

		Harry Milne
		Kanayo Megwa

George Oakley (0-1, 19 mins); George Oakley (0-2, 36 mins)‎		Harry Milne (1-2, 87 mins)
Connor McLennan (0-1, 19 mins); Jay Henderson (0-2, 36 mins)‎		none (1-2, 87 mins)
George Oakley		Robbie Crawford; Stuart Bannigan
Nick McAllister (@ 0-2, 76 mins)
Jamie Murphy (Cole McKinnon, 66 mins); George Oakley (Curtis Main, 74 mins); Jay Henderson (Mark McKenzie, 81 mins)		Kyle Turner (Kanayo Megwa, HT); Robbie Crawford (Aidan Fitzpatrick, HT); Logan Chalmers (Steven Lawless, 66 mins); Scott Robinson (Ben Stanway, 70 mins); Lee Ashcroft (Terry Ablade, 79 mins)

	former Jag Harry Stone	David Mitchell	34y, 9m, 21d
	Nick McAllister	Kyle Turner	27y, 2m, 15d
	future Jag Paddy Reading	Harry Milne	28y, 2m, 27d
	Scott McMann	Daniel O'Reilly	29y, 9m, 14d
	Mikey Devlin	Lee Ashcroft	31y, 4m, 27d
	George Stanger	Luke McBeth	25y, 4m, 16d
	Ben Dempsey	Stuart Bannigan	32y, 4m, 8d
	Connor McLennan	Robbie Crawford	30y, 7m, 3d
	George Oakley	Brian Graham	37y, 2m, 2d
	Jay Henderson	Logan Chalmers	24y, 10m, 1d
	Jamie Murphy	Scott Robinson	32y, 10m, 14d

			30y, 5m, 4d

	Robbie Mutch	Luis Cameron	17y, 9m, 15d
	former Jag Jake Hastie	Aaron Muirhead	34y, 4m, 26d
	Mark McKenzie	Steven Lawless	33y, 9m, 13d
	Marco Rus	Terry Ablade	23y, 3m, 13d
	Kenzie Mitchell	Aidan Fitzpatrick	23y, 10m, 5d
	Lenny Agbaire	Ben Stanway	20y, 4m, 5d
	Curtis Main	Kanayo Megwa	20y, 10m, 20d
	Dylan Watret	Matthew Falconer	17y, 11m, 2d
	former Jag Cole McKinnon

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Thistle filled 8 of their 9 allocated bench slots.

TTA report

The 3-4-3 formation produced a dreadful 1st half and was ditched at h-t (Thistle trailing to two fine back post headers (19 and 36). Reverting to 4-2-3-1 produced a marginal improvement and, spurred on by a red card (76), Stanway's blocked shot was fired home by Milne (87) but it was all too late. Clinging on to 4th place.

TTA man of the match

On yet another outing with so few deserving candidates it's telling that we give the nod to a last 20 minute sub. For the second game in a row, the enthusiastic presence of BEN STANWAY seemed to lift the whole team and an unlikely come back didn't seem altogether impossible.

Media report

25-Jan-2025, ptfc.co.uk

Partick Thistle could not quite pull off a late fightback at Ayr United with the Jags going down 2-1 at Somerset Park. The welcome sight of Harry Milne’s name was back on the team-sheet with Aaron Muirhead also returning with the defender listed as a substitute. Kanayo Megwa was on the bench with further changes since the 2-1 win at Hamilton Academical being Liam Smith’s departure from the club and Ricco Diack move on loan to Airdrieonians.

The kick-off was delayed five minutes and when the game got going it was Thistle that got the game going in a 3-4-3 formation with Milne popping up in the home box early with his cut-back smothered by goalkeeper Harry Stone. Dan O’Reilly stood strong to repel an Ayr raid on five minutes after Jay Henderson and Connor McLennan had advanced down the left and then across the 18-yard box. Henderson threated danger again three minutes later as he dribbled clear with Robbie Crawford stepping in to tidy things up with a pass-back that David Mitchell kicked clear. Scott Robinson looked to be darting through on goal shortly afterwards to get on the end of a through ball only for the home defence to regroup and end the danger.

The hosts opened the scoring on 18 minutes when George Oakley rose to meet a McLennan cross from the right and sent a 12-yard header past Mitchell. Milne did well to win a 50/ 50 midway through the opening half and that allowed Robinson to tee up am attack that was only ended when Stone darted from his line and grabbed a wayward Mickey Devlin diving header. Ayr replied with half an hour gone with a Jamie Murphy drive that rose and cleared Mitchell’s bar. Three minutes later O’Reilly popped up 30 yards from the Ayr goal and took a couple of steps forward before firing in a low shot that fizzed past the left-hand side of Stone’s goal. The Honest Men grabbed a second goal ten minutes from the break when Henderson chipped a cross to the back post where Oakley sent a header back across goal and into the net.

Jags manager Kris Doolan shuffled his pack at half-time with Megwa and Aidan Fitzpatrick brought on in place of Turner and Crawford. McBeth now in a midfield role found Brian Graham at the edge of the Ayr box on 50 minutes and the skipper slipped a pass to Logan Chalmers who reached the touchline with his cross blocked for a corner. Four minutes later Robinson looped over a cross that was just taken off the head of Graham and as Thistle continued to press Milne sent a long-range effort just off target. Lee Ashcroft put in a fine block tackle to stop Murphy advancing shortly afterwards with the big defender doing well again on the hour mark as he slid in to halt Henderson. With 63 minutes played Fitzpatrick’s trickery created problems for the home defence before Devlin headed the substitute’s cross clear. Ayr went back on the attack and Mitchell was forced to push a stinging Oakley drive out for a corner. Steven Lawless came on for Chalmers 20 minutes into the restart and second later Milne came the closest yet with another thumping drive.

A fourth substitute Ben Stanway almost made an instant impact with a precise through ball to Graham who was only denied by Stone who had darted from his line to collect. A thumping McBeth challenge won the ball close to the half-way line and Fitzpatrick took things forward before cutting in and firing for goal with a home boot kicking his shot clear. Ayr’s Nick McAllister was shown a straight red card with quarter of an hour to go for a overly robust sliding challenge on Milne 10 yards into the Thistle off. As the Firhill men looked to capitalise quickly on their numerical advantage quickly Graham met a Lawless corner with his header going wide. Thistle came really close on 82 minutes when Megwa showed strength to get down the right and picked out Fitzpatrick with a cut-back with the wide-man firing in a curler that had beaten Stone but not Paddy Reading who slid in and saved the day. A goal was pulled back four minutes from time when Stanway powered in a low drive that was too strong for Stone and MILNE found the net when he lashed in the loose ball. Pressure almost produced a second goal as Megwa found Milne with a high ball and his knockdown created panic before Ayr cleared. Fitzpatrick had another charge down the left in injury time with his low curling shot scooped up by a grateful Stone.

Reaction

Partick Thistle manager Kris Doolan (speaking to Jagzone):

First half we were way too passive and poor on the ball. The shape wasn’t working and we just couldn’t create anything.

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