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McCall praises Thistle squad for grasping their own

- JAMES CAIRNEY AT FIRHILL

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IAN McCALL is pleased that Partick Thistle’s chances of progressin­g to the knockout stages of the Premier Sports Cup will not rest on any other team as the Maryhill club defeated Fraserburg­h 2-0 to leave them in the driving seat in Group B.

A home victory over Montrose – who lost out 2-0 to Stenhousem­uir last night – on Saturday will confirm top spot in the group for the Championsh­ip club and although the margin of the win could have been greater, the Jags manager was largely pleased with his team’s performanc­e.

“We had five or six great chances and we should have scored more goals but apart from that it was job done,” McCall said. “We have to be more clinical, although it was a hard night to play football.

“Montrose will be a hard game – they will be smarting after their result and it will be a tough game for us.

“There will probably be a couple of changes and we know that if we win, we’ll top the group and get into the last 16, which is great.”

The scalding heat had thankfully eased off by the time the match got under way and the visitors started brightly. Thistle were always going to be the

favourites to finish the evening with the points, but an early chance that fell the way of Fraserburg­h’s Aidan Combe served as a reminder of their threat.

The Jags soon settled into the contest, though, as they started exerting some pressure of their own. A flicked header from Kyle Turner was well held by Fraserburg­h goalkeeper Joe Barbour, and a few minutes later Steven Lawless forced a good stop from Barbour with a similar effort. The ball eventually broke to Turner, who did well to fashion an opening, but his shot curled just wide of the far post.

On 33 minutes, Thistle got the lead that their play deserved.

The home side broke quickly up the park as a throng of red-andyellow jerseys surged forward, with the ball being worked to Jack McMillan on the right. The summer arrival from Livingston tried to pick out Lawless in the middle but his driven cross was tantalisin­gly out of the winger’s reach – thankfully for the hosts, though, Bryan Hay made a hash of his clearance and diverted the ball into the back of his own net.

The Highland League outfit almost levelled the scores five minutes from half-time when a delightful cross from deep from Paul Young found Combe at the back post but the striker couldn’t keep his header down.

Cole McKinnon, who was excellent throughout, almost grabbed his first Thistle goal

towards the end of the first half but the midfielder was denied by a good stop from Barbour. He lofted the ball over the Fraserburg­h defence for Brian Graham to latch onto, and the centre-forward showed good awareness to spot McKinnon’s lung-busting run forward. He slipped the 20-year-old through for a one-on-one but the Rangers loanee was unable to convert.

Thistle kept up the pressure after the restart and Turner came close to doubling their advantage when he screwed the ball narrowly over from inside the Fraserburg­h box. With just over an hour played, Graham made it 2-0 and left the visitors with a mountain to climb. A dinked cross from Kevin Holt caught out the defence, and

Graham had the freedom of Firhill to take a touch and pick his spot before rifling the ball into the bottom corner.

Aidan Fitzpatric­k, Tony Weston and Anton Dowds were brought on for the final half hour or so – the latter for his Thistle debut – and Weston was close to opening his account for Thistle but was denied by a strong save from Barbour. Dowds got on the end of the resulting corner but his goal-bound header hit the arm of Weston just a few yards out as the Jags settled for a 2-0 win.

“It was really tough,” said Fraserburg­h assistant James Duthie. “Our quality in possession was poor because we were tired and we can do a lot better. But it has been a good experience to play in this cup.”

 ?? ?? Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall oversees their victory
Partick Thistle manager Ian McCall oversees their victory

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