Monday 15th April, 2019 at 12:48pm
With Stuart Bannigan serving a suspension, it was always going to be tough to replace the Partick Thistle captain in the Jags midfield as the team travelled north to take on Ross County. One of the men tasked with filling that void was ex-Kilmarnock man, Craig Slater.
After some time on the bench, Slater was recalled to the starting XI to act as the main man in the Thistle engine room alongside Shea Gordon and Blair Spittal. The number 17 performed admirably, putting in a good showing as the Jags drew 0-0 with the league-leading Staggies in the Highlands.
Craig spoke to ptfc.co.uk after the match and started by reflecting on what was a pretty action-packed fixture:
“It’s a difficult one because we have mixed emotions about the result and we feel like we probably did enough in the game to win it. We had a good few chances and just lacked that final little bit when we got our opportunities in front of goal.
“Nevertheless, we got into good positions and created well so we can be happy with the performance, especially here in Dingwall and with the suspensions and injuries we are dealing with.”
As disappointed as Craig was not to have won the game, he said the team can take real confidence from the way they matched County over the piece.
“This is one of the toughest fixtures of the season. They’ve been very consistent this year and are rightfully at the top of the league so we knew we’d have to be on our game to get anything from the match and I think we were today.
“We started the game well with the way we moved the ball at times and I think that set the tone for us. We put a lot of effort in too which you have to do to get points in this league. Considering what we put into it, it was a bit frustrating that we didn’t convert one of those chances to make it three points.”
Thistle were sent to the bottom of the league at the weekend due to results elsewhere but with a game in hand on most teams in the league and matches to come against Alloa and Queen of the South, Slater says they can’t let their league position affect their mentality.
“You have to be psychologically strong when you’re in a relegation scrap like we are. Despite what happened with Falkirk, we have to look at this as a good point. Saying that, it will only be a good point if we go and build on it, next week against Alloa.
“Thankfully, it’s still in our hands and as the manager has said to us, we can only affect our own results. We know that if we do the business then we won’t even need to worry about anyone else so that’s our focus between now and the end of the season.
“We showed enough against County to suggest we can take it to the three teams we have left to play. If we can produce that determination and drive in each of these games and be a bit more clinical, then we should be able to get the points we need.”
Further reaction from Gary Caldwell, Sean McGinty and Jamie Sneddon to the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Dunfermline is available to watch for JagZone subscribers – log in to see them now.
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Article Copyright © 2019. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
