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Partick Thistle made the long journey up the A9, back to the scene of that dreaded day last June, in hope of avenging play-off heartache. Ross County - once again under the stewardship of Derek Adams - welcomed the Jags to Dingwall with a place in the round of 16 of the Scottish Cup at stake.

The red and yellow army travelled to the Highlands in their droves as some 500 supporters made the trip to the Highlands despite the wounds of summertime sadness still very much raw. Kris Doolan made one change to the line-up that secured a point at Cappielow, with Blair Alston being replaced by Scott Robinson, who’s lively cameo against Morton was enough to force himself into the starting XI. County, in contrast, decided to shuffle the deck and made five changes to their teamsheet with Adams opting to hand debuts to a couple of players brought in from South of the border following his recent criticism of the Scottish game.

The Jags started the tie on the front foot and had the Staggies penned in from minute one, but the home side stood strong to ensure that an early lead for the visitors was not forthcoming. County’s resilience was finally broken ten minutes before the interval when Aidan Fitzpatrick cut back onto his right foot to swing an inviting cross into a dangerous area with Robinson executing a clever dummy to leave former County favourite Brian Graham with a tap-in at the back stick to put Doolan’s men in front.

Thistle were not content on going in at the break with a one goal lead and that man Robinson was on hand to follow in Kerr McInroy’s rebounded effort to ensure the Jags lead was doubled on the stroke of half time. A totally dominant first 45 for the free-flowing visitors as they donned their ‘Maryhill Map’ third kit with pride.

READ MORE: Brian Graham insists Thistle cup final must avoid fixture clash

That one-way traffic would carry on into the second half and the Championship side would put the tie out of sight of their Premiership opponents on 54 minutes. Steven Lawless’ in swinging corner was headed away to the edge of the area, only to be met by Stuart Bannigan who flicked the ball onto his unfavourable right foot. The noisy away support behind the goal urged Bannigan to take on the shot and the Jags stalwart duly obliged, volleying home a cracker from all of 25-yards which left debutant goalkeeper George Wickens rooted to the spot. A goal of the round contender for the Thistle hall-of-famer to help exorcise some personal demons having missed a golden opportunity to win the play-off tie back in June.

A comfortable victory for the Jags which perhaps on another day could have seen them add a couple more goals to the already emphatic scoreline. The draw for the last-16 of the cup produced a home tie for Thistle as they were paired with Premiership opposition once more, this time in the shape of David Martindale’s Livingston. The Jags will yet again be looking to eradicate past play-off heartache, as the two sides haven’t faced off since Livingston snatched Thistle’s Premiership spot back in 2018.

A hugely important weekend of Cup action for the club, but the men’s result was only half the story as Partick Thistle Women welcomed Hibernian Women to Petershill Park with a spot in the Sky Sports Cup Final up for grabs.

Brian Graham’s side sat two places below their full-time opponents in the league standings but the Jags were by no means approaching the game as underdogs having already shown they have what it takes to come out on top against Hibs having beaten them 2-0 at Meadowbank back in October.

The Jags led out by captain Demi Falconer were backed by a remarkable 604 in attendance - a club record crowd at Petershill. The bumper support couldn’t believe their eyes when the referee waved away a stonewall penalty claim for the hosts on 25 minutes, but they wouldn’t have to wait too much longer to see their side break the deadlock through a piece of sheer brilliance from Linzi Taylor. A series of heavy tackles from Hibernian saw Thistle awarded a free kick some 20-yards from goal, Taylor stepped up to curl a precise strike low into the bottom corner - the effort just too much for the Hibernian keeper to hold in the blustery conditions.

The Jags secured their spot in the cup final just shy of the hour mark with a trademark screamer from defender Rosie Slater. Some neat footwork in the middle of the park saw Slater create a yard of space for herself to fire home a left-footed piledriver from fully 30-yards. The goal sending a damp Petershill into party modeas Partick Thistle booked their place in the final.

A historic day for the club, as the women’s team reached their first ever major cup final, where they will come up against Glasgow rivals Rangers with silverware on the line. A monumental first for Graham’s side, but he’ll be hoping it’s just the first of many.