Thistle have to make do with just a single point but when all three were really needed to keep title hopes alive. 

Dowds finds Fitzpatrick to his left but Fitzpatrick slips before being able to send over a cross. 

Agony for Thistle as Fitzpatrick drills a cross low across the 6 yard box but with nobody able to get on the end of it. 

Into injury time now. 

Dowds tries to flick the ball back towards goal but Albinson is there to collect. 

Turner's corner is cleared. He gets the ball back and this time Brownlie gets his head to it but Albinson saves. 

Thistle have there first corner as McGinty clears a Fitzpatrick cross. 

A Maguire shot takes a deflection but that deflection takes any pace off the ball and Mitchell makes an easy save. 

Dowds shoots but Albinson makes an easy save. The shot looked to be going wide in any case. 

Mitchell-Lawson cuts inside but doesn't test Mitchell with his low shot. 

Ashford lifts a shot over the Thistle crossbar from just outside the box. Thistle are going to have to really dig deep if they are to get the three points they need. Right now it is Ayr that look the more likely winners. 

McMillan's pass finds Fitzpatrick in an offside position inside the box. 

It's not an unexpected, or undeserved, equaliser but it is a gift. Brownlie gives the ball away and in next to no time Mitchell-Lawson is crossing for Akinyemi to slide the ball home. 

McGinty shoots from nearly 30 yards out. It's well struck but Mitchell sees it all the way and his well positioned to save. 

Holt climbs highest to head clear McAlear's corner. 

Crowd: 4,102. 

The free kick is touched to Reading but his low shot doesn't present Mitchell with too much difficulty and he saves near his left hand post. 

Fitzpatrick gives the ball away cheaply and Holt's intervention gives Ayr a free kick in a dangerous position and Holt a yellow card. 

Graham goes to ground inside the box as he tussles with Musonda trying to get on the end of a Turner pass. 

Thistle are getting set to make a change. 

Albinson is at the very edge of his box to collect a through ball ahead of Turner. Thistle still not seeing enough of the ball in the Ayr half though. 

Dempsey and Akinyemi work a short corner with Dempsey making a mess of his cross and play will restart with a Thistle goal kick. 

Akinyemi's shot deflects wide of the Thistle goal. 

Thistle under some early second half pressure but Mitchell is off his line to claim a cross from the left. 

Brownlie makes a good block as Ashford threatens the Thistle goal at the start of the second half. 

Back underway. No changes from either side. 

Thistle lead at the break through Scott Tiffoney's 14th minute goal but it has been anything but plain sailing since then. Ayr have dominated in terms of possession and pressure since falling behind, albeit without creating a clear look at goal. 

Docherty with an important clearance inside his own box. 

The home crowds have gone a little quiet as things get a little edgy on the pitch. 

It's a poor free kick from McAlear and McAllister can't direct his header anywhere towards the Thistle goal. 

O'Connor is fouled and Ayr have a free kick. It's too far out for a direct effort on goal but a chance to test the Thistle defence all the same. 

Dempsey goes down inside the Thistle box. The boos ring out for what is perceived a dive. There is no penalty but also no yellow card as perhaps was expected. 

Mitchell comes off his line to claim a McAlear cross and is fouled in the process. Thistle are simply not seeing enough of the ball at the moment. 

Lawless gets away from Murdoch but not McGinty who reads the situation well. 

There's been no real chances for Ayr but the pressure has been with them since Tiffoney's opener. Thistle could do with some possession in the Ayr half. 

Docherty heads clear at the front post and Ayr are forced back. 

Docherty clears for the first of McAlear's corners. From the second the ball slides off the head of Akinyemi and away from goal and out for a goal kick. 

It's a great clearance from McMillan at the back post to get the ball to safety. Albeut at the expense of a corner. 

It's another special goal for Thistle. It's Lawless to Graham who flicks on for Tiffoney who fires past Albinson. A deserved opener for Thistle. 

A sweeping Thistle move across the width of the pitch finishes with Tiffoney shooting into the side netting. 

Lawless does well to rob Reading of the ball but his cross looking for Graham at the back post drifts away from the Thistle number 9 and out for a goal kick. 

Another chance for Thistle. It starts with a great ball from Turner to Graham. Graham holds the ball up waiting for support before finding Lawless wide on the right. Lawless in turn finds Turner who sees his shot blocked by a defender. 

Chance for Thistle. It comes through the tenacity of McMillan and Lawless. The latter crossing from the bye line for Tiffoney who scoops the ball over the bar from 8 yards out. 

Akinyemi again involved. This time trying to slide through a pass for O'Connor but his pass is a shade overhit allowing Mitchell to gather. 

Nearly an opener for Ayr. Akinyemi does the spadework setting up Ashford and it needs a good block from Mitchell to prevent Ayr from taking the lead with just over a minute played. 

Ayr get the game underway with the sun shining brightly on Firhill. Thistle shooting towards a noisy John Lambie Stand in the first half. 

A quick glance at the league table shows the significance of this fixture. 

Thistle sit in third place, six points behind Dundee and Queen's Park and just a solitary point ahead of our opponents this afternoon Ayr United. 

Thistle certainly enter this fixture in good form having scored nine goals with none conceded in the last two games and there is little surprise that Kris Dollan has simply said 'same again' when selecting his side today with an unchanged starting eleven from last weekend's emphatic Glasgow derby win over Queen's Park. The only change comes on the bench where Zander MacKenzie replaces Ji Stevenson.