How is this for a punt?
A £1 treble on Kilmarnock scoring a goal from open play, Willie Collum not sending someone off for a heinous offence, say for wearing a striped shirt in a built-up area and Partick Thistle winning a consecutive SPLF Premiership match.
The accumulated odds for this wager, if successful, would have given the lucky punter a place in the sun for a year. Or a suspension, if he was a footballer.
Luckily for the bookies only two of the elements came up. Kilmarnock scored a goal from open play after 733 minutes of trying, which is just over 12 hours. It just seems longer in Ayrshire.
Collum, back in the Premiership from the naughty step of Scottish football after sending off a succession of players for chewing gum, or something. managed to keep the full complement on the field and indeed did not even book a player. Bookmakers were last night refusing to take bets on the proposition that Mr Collum had left his cards in his glove compartment.
The referee, too, ignored - [probably correctly - loud penalty claims from both side when Robbie Slater fell in the box and Stephen O'Donnell was dunted by Tope Abadeyi.
The treble fell down - as weary punters will insist all trebles do - on the last leg.
Partick Thistle simply could not post a win to back up that dramatic 5-0 slaughtering of Hamilton Academical. It was, of course, almost expected they would come up short after they scored in the first minute and subsequently created enough chances to win at least five in a row.
It was no surprise to those who have followed the fortunes of the Jags over decades that Kris Doolan, who scored four against Accies, spent much of the match carrying a banjo in the fruitless search for a cow's posterior to swing at and miss.
After Ryan Stevenson scored slickly with a shot from inside the area, Doolan headed wide from a corner and then completely mishit a cutback from Stephen O'Donnell. Everything else in the match was played just behind him, just ahead of him or in area where he could barely find room to manoeuvre far less score.
With Thistle bright and confident, it was inevitable Kilmarnock should equalise. Stevenson, who was behind most of Thistle's early enterprise, was robbed deep in the Kilmarnock half by Craig Slater who fed Josh Magennis. The striker shot home surely from outside the penalty box as if to taunt Killie supporters with the ease with which goals can be scored from open play.
It could, of course, have been worse for Thistle. Manuel Pascali put Kilmarnock ahead with 15 minutes left when shooting home for close-in after Thistle defended a corner poorly.
In the spirit of reciprocation, Kilmarnock waited all of five minutes to be slack at a free-kick and substitute Declan McDaid's drilled shot was deflected into the net by Frederic Frans.
A point each was a division of the spoils that would not have caused grief to either camp, though they would not admit as much after
Thistle may be resigned to winning runs ending after one match and may consider four points from Accies at home and Kilmarnock away a decent return at this point in the season.
Alan Archibald, the Thistle manager, rued the missed chances earlier in the match but added bluntly: ''It was a good point.''
Kilmarnock, too, eased the pressure ever so slightly on manager Allan Johnston who has been the subject of the type of vitriolic abuse that is normally reserved for favourites who fall at the last fence,
Johnston praised his side's energy and commitment but could reflect with disappointment on how three points turned to one with Thistle's equaliser. A treble in putting or in points is elusive whether one is a punter on a manager.
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