 Media report |
Partick Thistle’s season will continue for at least another two games after a 2-0 victory at Somerset Park over Ayr United in the Premiership Play Off quarter-finals. A centurion brace from Brian Graham was enough for the Harry Wraggs to hobble their way through to the next round on a 2-1 aggregate, despite depleted numbers. Ayr held a one goal advantage after Tuesday’s 1-0 victory at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill, while Thistle had to contend with a bare bones squad that featured numerous players missing. Dan O’Reilly and Terry Ablade were both ruled out injured, with Ben Stanway coming in to start while youngster Jamie Low made his debut mere days after sitting his Higher History exam. Alex Jakubiak returned to the bench, alongside a youthful group which featured no less than five Thistle Academy graduates, including Liam Dolan, who was named in his first matchday squad after signing a two-year modern apprenticeship with the club only yesterday.
Low made an immediate impact, hitting a corner flush onto the head of Brian Graham to head home and pull Thistle level seven minutes into the second leg. With their lead now gone so early into the game, the nerves started to show for Ayr, who struggled to get a foothold in the game. Thistle looked to take the lead in the tie, catching the Honest Men on the counter attack with some good attacking play, as Ayr’s back line looked brittle. The game settled into a moderate tempo, with neither side able to create clear-cut chances for vast portions of the game. Ayr’s best chance of the opening half fell to Marco Rus midway through the first half, but his shot was blocked well by Lee Ashcroft at the edge of the box. Thistle came close on the 30th minute when Robbie Crawford swung a cross into the Ayr penalty area for Ben Stanway. Stanway, unfortunately, was unable to get his head on it as the ball sailed wide. Despite another injury setback, with Kyle Turner hobbling off on 39 minutes to be replaced by Zander MacKenzie, Thistle remained resolute against a wave of Ayr pressure, getting into the break still 1-0 up.
After a frustrating first half for Scott Brown’s men, Ayr came out the traps in search of an early goal. Watret and McKinnon each came close, with both their headers sailing over the bar as Thistle were kettled into their own half early on. With the home side then struggling to make clear-cut opportunities, Ayr resorted to long shots and hopeful balls into the box, which Thistle were able to deal with confidently. After a litany of cards on Tuesday, it was quite a surprise to see the first bookings handed out after more than an hour. Much to the consternation of Scott Brown, it was two Ayr players, Ben Dempsey and Jay Henderson, who were given the first cautions as the game continued to be a tense, cagey affair. Ben Stanway was a constant issue for Ayr, justifying his inclusion with a superb workrate, pushing the tempo, stretching the Ayr defence and sending in shots in quick succession that just missed the Ayr goal until he was substituted for Alex Jakubiak eight minutes from time. As the clock ticked down, both sides went for the win, desperate to avoid extra time. With a packed schedule for the winner and the depleted nature of both sides, there was simply no room for another 30 minutes for either Thistle or Ayr.
In a tight game with a few clear-cut chances, it was always going to come down to a singular big moment. As has been the case countless times over the last five years, the opportunity fell to Graham. A lovely free kick from Luke McBeth was floated into the box for Graham. He flicked on to substitute Jakubiak for a lovely one-two. The ball fell to Graham who blasted it home to send the 1860 Thistle fans in attendance into delirium. The goal saw Brian Graham finally reach the much touted 100 goals mark for Partick Thistle, a sensational achievement in just over five years, whilst propelling The Jags into the semi finals. It was a hammer blow for Ayr, who had pressured throughout the second leg, after leading the tie going in. There was to be no late response from Scott Brown’s men as Thistle had somehow clawed their way into the semi finals. There’ll be no time to breathe for Graham and Wilson’s walking wounded, as they are back in action in four days, when they face Livingston at The Wyre Stadium at Firhill in the Play Off Semi Final First Leg.
 Reaction |
Partick Thistle interim co-manager Mark Wilson (speaking to the BBC):
I'm pleased for the club, 1,800 fans came down here and it would've been easy for them not to come after losing the first leg. The game plan worked, I knew we'd get another chance and thankfully it fell to Brian. [Brian Graham]: That takes real character. We're down to the bare bones, we've not really got the squad to pick from and we relied on a 17-year-old kid (Jamie Low) to come on and play wing-back. The kid has come in tonight, he's not put a foot wrong. He was absolutely different class and I'm so happy for him. [Jamie Low]: I only found out before the game when he named the team. We spoke briefly yesterday in training and he said it's possible I could get game time. I never knew it was a guarantee. He owes me £100. In the warm-up, we actually spoke about that exact corner.
Mark McKenzie
Jay Henderson
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