Saturday 6th December, 2025 at 7:44pm
The spoils were shared at Somerset Park on Saturday as Partick Thistle drew 0-0 with Ayr United in the William Hill Scottish Championship.
It was a clash between second and third in the table, with Thistle aiming to extend the gap between them and the Honest Men to 14 points, whilst also keeping apace with league leaders St Johnstone in the battle for the title.
There were four changes to the side that advanced in the Scottish Cup away to Forfar last weekend with Oisin Smyth and Ts’oanelo Lets’osa returning to the heart of the midfield in lieu of Scott Martin and Kyle Turner, while Logan Chalmers and Paddy Reading both returned to face their former club, stepping in for Stevie Lawless and Cammy Logan.
Having been put on the back foot from kick off in their last three encounters with the Jags, Scott Brown had his men racing out the traps from the start in an effort to try and beat us to our own game.
Thistle were penned into their own half in the opening minutes, as Ayr launched an assault on the Thistle goalmouth, with keeper Josh Clarke forced into an excellent save on seven minutes from Ethan Walker’s powerful effort from inside the box.
Mark Wilson’s men remained firm under the pressure, withstanding the early onslaught to keep things level.
Thistle’s first chance came in the eleventh minute. Smyth unleashed a curling effort from outside the box, with Ayr defender Kevin Holt getting himself in front of the shot to ensure his former club didn’t take the lead.
After that, the Jags started to feel their way into the game more, tempering Ayr’s bombardment as the game became more even.
Ben Stanway was at the crux of Thistle’s positive moments, through the midway period, with two close chances in close succession. First, he collected a cross from McPherson, but his close-range effort is saved by Ayr keeper Liam Russell, thanks to a well-executed stop low to his right.
Seconds later, Stanway had another chance, but the ball looked to deflect off Chalmers as it limply rolled towards Russell for him to easily scoop up.
Ayr continued to threaten, but were wasteful from set pieces, first working a short corner routine that saw them pass back to the taker in an offside position, before blasting a second corner over the heads of everyone in the box and straight out for a goal kick.
Having stopped Smyth’s effort early on, Holt came to Ayr’s rescue again ten minutes before half time. Paddy Reading found Alex Samuel at the back post ready for the tap in, only for Holt to get himself onto the ball, clearing the danger.
Luke McBeth then saved Thistle’s bacon at the other end moments later as Ayr burst forward on the counter. McBeth, deputising for the suspended Dan O’Reilly, extinguished the threat with a lovely clearing header
Fitzpatrick then gave Ayr a real fright, picking the ball up from an Ayr corner and blazing a trail along the length of the pitch and into the penalty area, beating his marker while doing so. However, his shot with the outside of his boot was snap trouble for Russell.
Moments before the break, Reading teed up Logan Chalmers with a lovely 50-yard pass across the park. Chalmers was unable to keep his shot down, chipping it over the bar, as the two sides went down the tunnel goalless at half time.
Thistle had the edge for the majority of the half, but lacked that touch of a clinical finish that could put them in front.
Half Time – Ayr United 0 Partick Thistle 0
Ayr left back Liam Dick was replaced at half time by Nick McAllister, after Dick had received treatment for a head knock earlier in the half.
The second half was a far more cagier affair, with a lot of the energy and intensity of the first half absent, as both sides failed to keep a hold of the ball and chances became thin on the ground.
Walker was gifted a chance to open the scoring, when a pass from Jamie Murphy cut open the Jags back line and left him with the goal at his mercy, one-on-one with Clarke. However, Walker spurned this gilt-edged chance, blasting his shot wide as the Jags support in the Railway End breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Thistle then flung themselves up the other end immediately, with Fitzpatrick finding himself with the ball at the corner of the box and fire goalwards, only for Russell to palm the ball away from goal, onto the post to deny Fitzpatrick the opener.
Ayr looked to pile on the pressure though, with a ghost of Thistle past, Anton Dowds coming off the bench to slip past the Thistle defence for another Ayr one-on-one. Dowds would get his shot on target this time, but Clarke was on hand to stop it with a superb save that kept Thistle in the game.
Ayr started to peter out, as Thistle went on the search of a killer blow late on. The home side were forced to shut up shop in the face of multiple corners, throwing themselves in front of chances from Kyle Turner and Smyth, with Turner’s header being scythed off the line to deny an almost certain goal.
Thistle turned the dial up to 11 in their attempt to break the deadlock, but Ayr’s defence remained steadfast in their determination, as the game finished goalless.
Full Time – Ayr United 0 Partick Thistle 0
The draw saw Thistle pass up the chance to go top of the league, as St Johnstone also drew 0-0 with Raith Rovers, ensuring the Jags remained level on points with the Saints.
Partick Thistle return to action on Tuesday for the third of four consecutive away trips, travelling to Cove Rangers for a Round of 32 tie in the KDM Evolution Trophy.
Teams
Ayr United: Liam Russell; Leon King, Kevin Holt, Liam Dick (Nick McAllister 45’); Dylan Watret (Anton Dowds 63’), Jude Bonnar, Ben Dempsey (Stuart Bannigan 88’), Jamie Murphy (Aaron Brown 88’), Scott McMann, Ethan Walker, Mark McKenzie.
Unused Substitutes: David Mitchell; Shaun Want, Dom Thomas, Lucas McRoberts.
Partick Thistle: Josh Clarke; Paddy Reading, Lee Ashcroft, Luke McBeth, Ben McPherson; Oisin Smyth, Ts’oanelo Lets’osa, Ben Stanway (Kyle Turner 73’); Aidan Fitzpatrick (Stevie Lawless 82’), Logan Chalmers, Alex Samuel.
Unused Substitutes: Lewis Budinauckas; Cammy Logan, Scott Martin, Sean McArdle, Nick Lockhart, Gabriel Nosa.
By David Forrest
