 Media report |
Partick Thistle kept up the pace in the Scottish Championship title race, claiming all three points in Kirkcaldy with a 2-0 win over Raith Rovers on Tuesday. The trip to Fife was Thistle’s game in hand, which had been re-arranged due to the team’s Scottish Cup progression, and represented a chance to cut the St. Johnstone lead at the top of the table to five points. Indeed the Jags were to play twice before the Saints’ next game so had the opportunity go within two points of Simo Valakari’s side if wins could be achieved against Raith and then Ross County on Friday night. Dougie Imrie’s Raith Rovers had broken a four-game goalless run with a 3-1 win at home to Airdrieonians on Saturday, keeping them seventh in the table and five points behind local rivals Dunfermline in the final Premiership play-off position. History certainly wasn’t on the visitors’ side with their last league triumph in Kirkcaldy coming fifteen years ago in March 2011 although they did come out on top in a play-off semi-final second leg in 2024, only to lose on penalties.
Thistle were without first choice ‘keeper Josh Clarke, who was away with Northern Ireland on international duty, with Lewis Budinauckas taking his place between the sticks for only his second league appearance of the season. Dan O’Reilly returned to the starting line-up after serving a two-game suspension following a red card against Arbroath, replacing Paddy Reading at the back. Ethan Ingram and Kyle Turner also came into the first XI, taking the places of Robbie Crawford and Ts’oanelo Lets’osa, as Mark Wilson opted for a 4-3-3. It was a matter of seconds before Thistle sprung into action with the first chance of the game. Luke McBeth headed a ball forward for Kyle Turner to latch onto and the midfielder had a pop from range, but his effort sailed over the bar. After being pinned into their own half in the opening few minutes, Raith had their first chance of the game on the seven minute mark. After breaking through on the wings, a cross was pinged into the box for an oncoming Dylan Easton to stoop low and head goalwards. However, Lewis Budinauckas made a good save to keep it goalless.
Raith continued to test the Thistle backline, peppering the box with balls from the right hand side, forcing Budinauckas to stay sharp, fisting away a dangerous corner on 16 minutes. From there, the game shrunk, with both sides battling for control in the middle of the park and little in the way of goalmouth action for the next quarter of an hour. Kyle Turner was getting himself into space, first overhitting a cross from the right on 24 minutes, before trying his luck with a snapshot on the turn two minutes later which cleared the crossbar. On 35 minutes, Raith were forced to make a change after Jordan Doherty went down injured on the second of two corners, with Jai Rowe coming on in his place. Five minutes before half time, Thistle took the lead and it was a magnificently crafted move that broke the deadlock. Loughrey, Ingram and Samuel were all involved in a crisp combination down the Jags’ left which led to Aidan Fitzpatrick bursting into the Raith box. He hit the byline and squared the ball to Ben McPherson who fired home into an empty net to claim the first goal of his senior career and an important one in the context of the match. Raith tried to get themselves back on level terms before half-time, earning a dangerous free kick on the edge of the D three minutes from the break. Dylan Easton’s effort, though, ricocheted off the top of the wall and was cleared as Thistle went down the tunnel with the advantage intact.
The restart saw Raith crank up the heat from the opening whistle, with a whirlwind passage of play on 50 minutes seeing Raith threaten to level more than once. First, Easton had a shot from the left-hand side blocked. The ball pinballed round in the area, falling back to the feet of Easton who curled a shot across goal which bounced back off the bar before eventually being scrambled clear. Up the other end, Aidan Fitzpatrick proceeded to cause more bother for Raith, cutting inside from the left, with Josh Rae using his wits to turn a curling effort round the post for a corner. Budinauckas then pulled out a great save of his own, tipping an Easton volley onto the crossbar before corralling the loose ball. Not long after, Stanway found himself with a free kick in shooting range on the edge of the Rovers box but his attempt went straight into the waiting arms of the goalkeeper. Wilson switched things late as he looked to shore things up, with Lets’osa and Crawford coming on in place of McPherson and Stanway. Raith threw the kitchen sink at it as they tried to find a leveller. Richard Chin threatened on the 90 minute mark, but the substitute was unable to make any good contact on the ball, allowing Budinauckas to catch with ease. It would be Thistle who had the last word, grabbing a second goal late on. After picking up the ball 30 yards out, Fitzpatrick jinked his way past his man, before calmly slotting past Rae into the bottom corner to confirm Thistle’s first win in Kirkcaldy in a decade and a half, sparking delirium in the away end. The result sees Thistle shrink the gap at the top of the table to five points. The Jags return to action on Friday, when they host Ross County at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill.
 Reaction |
Thistle manager Mark Wilson spoke to
'The Thistle' 
:
A huge 3 points. At this time of the season, you would sacrifice performances for points, but in fairness, I thought we got both tonight in a really difficult place to come. We started well on the front foot and looked like we were going to pin them in, and then the game swung a bit, and we had to defend our box. And then as the half wore on, I thought we got control again, and what a terrific goal. So, I was really pleased at half-time. We changed a wee bit in how we were pressing the game in the second half, and I thought it worked. I thought we rode our luck maybe on the one that hit the bar - and you need that - but apart from that, I thought we were excellent. So, a really strong performance, quite controlled in my opinion, and two terrific goals. I was really pleased for Ben McPherson; he’s an absolute beast of a player in terms of his power, his physical output, his pace, and his drive. He showed again tonight what a top, top player he is, and I’m glad he’s made the decision to come here. I think we all know that these players will have aspirations of moving up the ladder, and it takes a lot for a young player to step back to go a couple of steps forward, and I’m glad he’s showcasing what he’s got with a goal tonight. He’s been one of the players of the season for us. Fitzy’s been excellent for us all season, but particularly in the last few weeks, you can see how he carries the ball for us, and gets us up the pitch. Thirteen or 14 assists this season is some output for a winger. He’s had three or four goals now as well, so I’m really pleased for him. He’s a great guy, and he does a lot of work back on the pitch as well.
Rovers manager Dougie Imrie (speaking to Raith TV):
It's simple, you can't keep making glaring opportunities and not taking opportunities. And I think if we'd gone up 1-0 – or I even said that half-time if we got the next goal - we'd go on to win the game. And I still believe that because we certainly had the ascendancy second half. But you can see the frustration when we do make good opportunities and don't take them. It breathes into the players, you can see that. And that's maybe where we lost our composure within the game to stop moving the ball quicker, side-to-side, to hurt them down the sides.
Jordan Doherty
Jai Rowe
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