Amoo’s rare strike sets up a Thistle high five
DAVID AMOO’S second-half effort guaranteed Partick Thistle victory and gave them their fifth win on the trot, a contrast to last season when they did not record their first success until October.
Amoo’s goal, as he admitted, was not a classic. Indeed, he pointed out that a compilation DVD of his career strikes would be unlikely to capture the public imagination.
However, he realises that scrappy goals are worth exactly the same as efforts from 30 yards and he is just happy that he has the knack of forcing the ball over the line.
‘All my goals seem to come from inside the six-yard box but I guess that’s not such a bad habit to have,’ he grinned. ‘When it’s still 1-0 it’s a little bit tentative but when you go two up it helps you to relax a little more and keep possession.
‘Last season, we didn’t win any of our first 10 games and that’s tough, so it’s great to have got off to such a good start this time.
‘We have some tough games coming up but we’re looking forward to them now.’
It was the hosts who finally ended the stalemate in the 36th minute with a goal of some distinction, out of keeping with much of the fare which had preceded it.
Left-back Callum Booth initiated the move, cutting inside and surging towards the Inverness back four. He slipped the ball to Steven Lawless and he supplied Chris Erskine, who curled a shot from just inside the 18-yard box beyond the reach of Owain Fon Williams’ outstretched right hand.
Scott Boden might have equalised shortly afterwards but, with only Tomas Cerny to beat, he snatched at the opportunity and sent his angled drive wide.
That miss proved to be costly when the home side scored again. Sean Welsh’s free-kick found Abdul Osman at the far post.
He headed it back across for Liam Lindsay and Amoo was on hand to hook home the rebound from close range.
Inverness manager Richie Foran did not see this performance coming. His players had found the net 12 times in their previous two Betfred Cup ties against Dunfermline and Arbroath but they came up short here.
‘It was probably a fair result,’ he confessed. ‘I don’t know if they were two goals better than us but maybe one.
‘(Thistle boss) Alan Archibald did his homework on us and our wide men — he was doubling up on them and it was causing them not to get crosses in but we’ve got to have better imagination.’