Saturday 13th November, 2021 at 10:30pm
Just seven days removed from a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, Partick Thistle were back in Ayrshire looking to extend their current unbeaten run with a result against Jim Duffy’s Ayr United.
The Jags came into the game off the back of six league games without defeat; a run which started with a 4-0 win over the Honest Men at Firhill.
There were two changes made to the side which beat Killie a week prior with Brian Graham replacing Connor Murray in attack while Ciaran McKenna came in for Lewis Mayo who was away on international duty.
It was a game which began in a fairly scrappy fashion with only half-chances forthcoming for either side. For the hosts, Patrick Reading got on the end of a Mark McKenzie cross at the back post, however, his headed effort flew well over the bar.
Thistle then had a couple of opportunities through Brian Graham as the number nine sought to mark his return to the starting line-up with a goal. Firstly, a Kyle Turner free-kick fell to Graham at the edge of the box but he could only fire over the bar as he shot on the swivel.
He then had another sight of goal in the 21st minute. Scott Tiffoney collected the ball from a headed clearance and floated it into the danger area. Graham attacked it, looking to get a glancing touch on the delivery, but his flick only took it into the waiting arms of Ayr ‘keeper Aidan McAdams.
The Jags did find a way through though as former Ayr captain Ross Docherty found the back of the net on 29 minutes. Zak Rudden had won a free-kick 20 yards from goal and Thistle skipper Docherty stepped up to take it. He tried to sneak a shot through the Ayr wall with the ball taking a hefty deflection as it made its way towards goal. As such, McAdams was massively wrong-footed and couldn’t get back across his goal quickly enough to stop Docherty’s effort from nestling into the bottom corner.
The away side didn’t waste any time in going for a second and were able to double their advantage just two minutes later. It was another set piece as Kyle Turner’s corner kick caused mayhem this time round. The midfielder’s delivery fell perfectly for Brian Graham who had found a yard of space in the centre of the goal and on the volley he struck it home to get his 12th of the season in all competitions.
Coming out for the second half, Ayr had to try to force a way back into the game and they almost did three minutes after the restart. Again it was Patrick Reading with the chance at the back post as he got on the end of Tomi Adeloye’s ball across the face of goal, however, as he slid in to meet the ball he sent it flying over the bar.
That was about as good as it got for Ayr as Thistle slowed the pace of the game right down. Johnathan Afolabi saw a low shot from the edge of the box saved by Jamie Sneddon in the 49th minute but after that, there wasn’t much in the way of goalmouth action until Thistle added a third with 10 minutes to play.
It was a goal produced by patience as the Maryhill men moved the ball from side to side calmly in the Ayr half. Eventually it was passed out to Ciaran McKenna on the Jags’ right and the defender played the ball infield to Ross Docherty before darting down the line. Docherty returned the ball to Thistle’s number 16 who in turn chipped a high cross towards the back post where Brian Graham was waiting. The striker backpedalled to meet the cross and simply nodded it back across goal into the far corner to make it 3-0.
There was to be a fourth as well as substitute Shea Gordon got in on the act back at the scene of one of his best moments in red and yellow. This goal was another of the well-worked sort, coming down the left flank on this occasion. Ross Docherty won a loose ball in the Ayr half and fed it out to Stuart Bannigan on the left side of the midfield. Bannigan then played it over to Connor Murray who was at the corner of the Ayr box having come on for Scott Tiffoney. Thistle’s number eight didn’t settle having made the pass as he burst past Connor Murray on the overlap, getting the ball back from the former Queen of the South man. Bannigan then played a low cross into the six-yard box which evaded a collection of dangling legs before finding Shea Gordon at the back post. He took one touch to steady himself before side-footing the ball into the net for his first of the campaign.
With that, Thistle stretched their run of league games without defeat to seven and their run of consecutive clean sheets to five, moving up into the top four at the expense of Arbroath.
Next up for Ian McCall’s side is a home fixture against Hamilton Accies on November 20th.
