9th Jan 2026 Ross County 2 Partick Thistle 0 (SPFL Championship - game 22)

matches:2025-26: ← 32game 3334 →

	Stuart Kettlewell	Mark Wilson	41y, 7m, 4d

		Oisin Smyth
		Aidan Fitzpatrick

Jay Henderson (1-0, 19 secs); Jay Henderson (2-0, 10‎ mins)
none (1-0, 19 secs); none (2-0, 10‎ mins)
Kieran Phillips

Ross Docherty (Scott Fraser, 59 mins); Ryan Duncan (Dean Cornelius, 59 mins); Kieran Phillips (James Scott, 68 mins); Jay Henderson (Miller Thomson, 82 mins)		Tsoanelo Letsosa (Kyle Turner, 58 mins); Tony Watt (Aidan Fitzpatrick, 58 mins); Ben Stanway (Scott Martin, 81 mins)

	Trevor Carson	Josh Clarke	21y, 5m, 12d
	Connor Randall	Ben McPherson	21y, 9m, 21d
	Len O'Sullivan	Paddy Reading	26y, 7m, 11d
	Dylan Smith	Daniel O'Reilly	30y, 8m, 29d
	Alex Iacovitti	Lee Ashcroft	32y, 4m, 11d
	former Jag Ross Docherty	Oisin Smyth	25y, 8m, 4d
	Jamie Lindsay	Ben Stanway	21y, 3m, 20d
	Jay Henderson	Tsoanelo Letsosa	21y, 7m, 3d
	Jordan White	Alex Samuel	30y, 3m, 20d
	Kieran Phillips	Logan Chalmers	25y, 9m, 16d
	Ryan Duncan	Tony Watt	32y, 0m, 11d

			26y, 4m, 2d

	Brad Foster	Lewis Budinauckas	23y, 6m, 21d
	Dean Cornelius	Cammy Logan	23y, 11m, 12d
	Scott Fraser	Scott Martin	28y, 9m, 8d
	Nicky Clark	Kyle Turner	28y, 1m, 30d
	Gary Mackay-Steven	Steven Lawless	34y, 8m, 28d
	Jack Wells-Morrison	Luke McBeth	26y, 4m, 0d
	Jamie Williamson	Aidan Fitzpatrick	24y, 9m, 20d
	Miller Thomson	Matthew Falconer	18y, 10m, 17d
	James Scott	Liam Dolan	16y, 8m, 13d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Originally scheduled for 3.00pm on Saturday 10th January, brought forward for BBC Scotland.

TTA report

Schoolboy head-tennis defending led to a shot from 20 yards (19 seconds) then when Clarke blocked a 1-on-1 with his feet the loose ball was fired home just outside the box (10). County (2 wins in 19) sat in after that. Samuel hit the bar from close in but despite two-thirds of possession, Thistle lacked any guile or invention to worry the keeper.

TTA man of the match

no award

Media report

Paul Chalk, 09-Jan-2026, Press & Journal

Returning Ross County boss Stuart Kettlewell was thrilled after a 20-second goal helped the Championship’s basement side beat second-top Partick Thistle 2-0. This was just their third league win of a season and offered an immediate dose of hope around the Global Energy Stadium. This was Kettlewell’s first match since replacing Tony Docherty in the Dingwall hotseat, coming just three nights after their Challenge Cup tie at St Johnstone was postponed. County had already lost three times to Thistle this season, with Don Cowie’s team losing in the League Cup group stages and in the league by 3-1 scorelines then Docherty’s side being edged out 1-0 at Firhill in their second league meeting. Staggies striker Ronan Hale, despite being subject to a rejected “five-figure” bid from Gillingham, was missing through illness, so Kieran Phillips replaced him. The other change saw defender Alex Iacovitti come in for captain Declan Gallagher, who has been struggling with a hamstring injury.

With the ground staff Davie Fraser and Brian McKenzie getting the pitch perfect at a bitterly cold Global Energy Stadium, County got off to an explosive start with a goal after just 20 seconds. Going on the attack from the start, Thistle captain Lee Ashcroft headed clear only as far as Henderson who lashed a low shot past Josh Clarke into the net. A flare let off in the home end delayed the restart, which is something Scottish football needs to see less of. And the dream start improved further when Henderson doubled the advantage on 11 minutes. A surging Phillips run ended with a shot saved by Clarke, but the ball broke to Henderson, who coolly hooked the ball into the net from 20 yards. Partick were stunned but soon found their feet in the match, knowing they hit back from 2-0 down to beat Morton 3-2 last weekend.

Former Ross County forward Alex Samuel almost pulled one back for the Jags when he slid in and struck the crossbar with a shot after goalkeeper Trevor Carson denied Tsoanelo Letsosa from close range. Partick pressed hard at the end of the first half, but the hosts went in at the break unscathed. County began the second half on the front foot and Clarke superbly pushed away a 25-yarder from Phillips as he attacked from the left flank under the falling sleet then snow. Partick were whipping balls into the box under the testing conditions, but Carson was mopping it up, covered well by the men in front of him. On 63 minutes, the on-loan Dundee keeper was then equal to a drive from Samuel as the attacker shot on target after getting the better of Iacovitti. Carson kept out efforts from on-loan St Mirren player Oisin Smyth then Patrick Reading to maintain the two-goal cushion as the clock ticked down. The early goal burst remained the talking point, with Henderson’s lethal brace getting the job done as Thistle huffed and puffed but couldn’t muster a reply.

Reaction

(Speaking to the BBC) Thistle manager Mark Wilson is hoping to add to his squad as he feels "we are punching above our weight" in terms of resources:

If you lose a goal within 19 seconds then you're facing an uphill battle, compounded by a second before 10 minutes," he tells BBC Scotland. It is a hard night and, when we did create chances, we didn't convert them and that was the story of the game unfortunately. After that, we got control of the game but didn't create anything clear cut.

County manager Stuart Kettlewell (speaking to the BBC) says he is not getting carried away with the victory as his side remain bottom of the Championship:

It's been a bizarre eight or nine days since we came in - two games cancelled and a bit of a doubt initially about this one because of the weather and conditions," he tells BBC Scotland. But the team here at the club have done amazingly well to get the pitch ready and the cark park and everything else to get you guys in, but most importantly we wanted to get off to a good start. It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but it gives us a foundation just to win a game of football. It has been a long time since the group of players have done that, but I thought to a man they put their body on the line.

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