GRINNING UGLY
Ian joy as Jags grind out huge win
Ian McCall was grateful for another ugly win as Partick all but banked a play-off berth.
Ross Docherty’s seventh goal of the season settled a nervy, physical affair.
And with Partick fortifying fourth place with one game left, the Jags gaffer was thrilled.
Partick can only be denied by defeat at Ayr, a Raith victory over Kilmarnock and a massive eight-goal swing.
But it has been far from pretty football lately on an awful Firhill pitch.
McCall said: “That’s all but confirmed us in the play-offs.
“It wasn’t one for the purists but anyone who’s been at Firhill recently will say you don’t get games of football here. It’s still a great a c h i e vement considering where we’ve been.
“It leaves a horrible game for me, personally, next week. I don’t know if I’ll rest people.”
Full-strength or not, McCall could plunge former club Ayr into play-off peril at the bottom.
Despite defeat, Dunfermline remain in with a survival shout, just only a point behind Ayr and with next week’s hosts Queen of the South already relegated.
Gaffer John Hughes issued a rallying cry to his men after nearly 1000 fans made the trip to Glasgow’s west end.
Yogi said: “The fans came out and were outstanding, so we have to repay them.
“We must keep this club in the Championship no matter how we’re going to do it.”
Dunfermline’s defence had already shown a hesitant side with Brian Graham seeing a 13th-minute shot brilliantly blocked by Jakub Stolarczyk. But the keeper had no answers for Thistle’s next smart move.
Kyle Turner fired in a corner and no one adequately tracked Docherty’s run. The Jags skipper flicked out his right boot to fire low past the Polish keeper.
Dunfermline didn’t deserve an equaliser but almost nabbed one before the break.
Lewis McCann faced an empty net 12 yards out but Stephen Hendrie sprang to the rescue with a stunning block.
Chances were hard to come by at either end but Alex Jakubiak and Docherty could have made the points safe while Jamie Sneddon had an easy grab from Nikolay Todorov’s header.
Hughes added: “There wasn’t much in the game. We went for a physical team but our crosses into the box were shocking.”