Both these sides have been in the midst of the kind of dry spell that could have got them honorary membership of the Temperance Movement. Partick Thistle hadn’t won since the first day of the league season. Ross County, meanwhile, hadn’t scored in their previous four games.
For the vast majority of this encounter it looked like good things would finally come to those patient Firhill folk who wait. In control and 1-0 ahead as the match drifted into the nine minutes of stoppage time that had been added for a nasty injury to Liam Lindsay, the hosts were stunned when County ended a drought that was in danger of prompting a hose pipe ban in Dingwall.
Chris Burke, a second-half-substitute, battered in a tidy finish in the 95th minute to salvage a draw. It could have been even better had it not been for the reflexes of Ryan Scully, the Thistle keeper, who conjured a fine, instinctive save to deny Ryan Dow as the visitors produced a frenzied late assault.
Thistle had been a goal to the good through Sean Welsh’s first half penalty but it was County, largely timorous for great swathes of the contest, who felt they should have had a spot kick too just moments before they equalised when Burke was toppled in the box by Ade Azeez. “It was as stonewall a penalty as their one,” suggested Jim McIntyre, the Ross County manager. “The referee had to give it. We’ve been punished lately with red cards and rightly so because they were the right decisions but we need to get them in our favour as well. I’m not here to criticise referees, but he’s made a mistake and that could have cost us three points.”
This was a hard one to stomach for those of a Thistle persuasion. “We have to defend better,” said Alan Archibald, the Partick Thistle manager. “Nothing against Ziggy Gordon who went on but I think if Liam is still on the pitch and we are organised in that manner we don't lose the goal."
Given the fairly hum-drum form of both sides, it was probably not surprising that the early probings and pokings were far from barnstorming. Lindsay plonked a header over from close range for the hosts while the visitors had the locals fidgeting uneasily in their seats on 17 minutes. Adam Barton should have mopped up the danger of a raking punt forward but the lively Craig Curran nipped in to gain possession and surge into the box. His menacing cut-back to the lurking Alex Schank was snuffed out by Daniel Devine’s challenge, though.
If that was a timely intervention, then it was an untimely one at the other end which led to a Thistle breakthrough. As the ball bobbled and bounced about in the area, Marcus Fraser knocked Kris Doolan to the deck and Welsh converted the resulting penalty with nonchalant aplomb.
That certainly put a spring in the Thistle step and they explored a variety of routes in their attempts to double that advantage.
The hosts were well and truly in command while County were struggling to dig themselves out of the rut. The desperately needed something as they scrambled to gain a firm toe hold in proceedings and they almost got it early in the second period. A dangerous thrust down the left opened up a chance for Curran but his side-footed effort clattered the post.
There was plenty of time to reflect on what might have been as, not long after that, play was halted for a prolonged period as Lindsay suffered a sore one in a collision and was treated on the pitch before being stretchered away and then taken to hospital.
When play resumed it was as you were. Thistle had most of the forward momentum while County remained largely toothless. That all changed in the last knockings, though. Burke pounced deep in injury time and thumped home an equaliser which prompted a rampant late flurry from the galvanised visitors. In a match they had controlled, Thistle had to cling on grimly for a point.
Scorers: Welsh 24 pen, Burke 90 +5
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here