Saturday 22nd December, 2018 at 7:44pm
Partick Thistle were unable to make it three games unbeaten in the final game before Christmas 2018 as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Ross County. Despite plenty of possession, the travelling Jags struggled to create and were punished by their hosts on two vital occasions. Firstly, Dan Jefferies brought Don Cowie down in the box and conceded a penalty which Billy Mckay tucked away from 12 yards, then in the second half, Ross Stewart doubled the lead with a nice finish from just inside the box after a quick break. The defeat sees Thistle fall to ninth place with one game left of 2018. Jags boss, Gary Caldwell spoke to ptfc.co.uk after the match:
“We had total control for much of the game but it meant nothing because we didn’t create enough and when a chance did come, we didn’t take it.
“We lacked that killer instinct and couldn’t turn decent passages into clear-cut opportunities and, at the end of the day, if you don’t score you’re going to struggle to get anything from a game away to one of the league’s best sides.”
Gary felt that the match’s key moment was the penalty award on 25 minutes and he felt the referee got the decision completely wrong.
“It’s a ridiculous penalty. I didn’t think there was contact there and it felt like the referee was guessing to be honest.”
The gaffer thought that his team’s reaction to the goal was good but was disappointed with the lack of bite in the final third.
“After the opener, we bounced back well and really seized control of the game. We were holding them into their half and I was pleased with some of the football.
“However, when we got into the box, we didn’t really trouble them and that means the second goal, on the counter, sort of takes the game away from us.”
Overall Gary was happy to see his side going toe-to-toe with County and is looking forward to making some changes to his squad in January.
“I think it shows a bit of progress that we can come away to the second best team in the league and give them a decent game.
“There’s obviously plenty of work to do but we know what we need and will be addressing it during the transfer window.”
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