MILES BETTER
By Ewing Grahame Storey’s late goal secures a vital first win for Jags
PARTICK THISTLE may remain at the foot of the Premiership table on goal difference but this victory — their first in the league for over six months — was a shot in the arm for their survival bid and eased the pressure on boss Alan Archibald.
In truth, they did not deserve the win but the three points were gratefully received, courtesy of Miles Storey’s stoppage-time strike.
His winning goal almost certainly helped Archibald hold onto his job — for the time being at least — but the Jags boss did not seem to be in the mood to face the press after the match, instead sending assistant Scott Paterson in his place.
‘We’re all in it together,’ said the Thistle No 2. ‘One thing I’ll say about the manager is that he’s a strong character. I’ve been lucky enough to work with him and play with him and we’re good friends as well.
‘The players are delighted because they have so much respect for him and they’re just as disappointed when we don’t win games because they all want to do well for him.
‘It’s the first time for a while we’ve had a really strong bench. We’ve had a few injuries but the subs played their part today and I was pleased that Miles came on and scored because he’s a player we’d been trying to sign for a few years.’
Understandably, given the run they had been on, Thistle looked nervy from the off and they could have fallen behind inside three minutes.
Jesse Curran was allowed to run from inside his own half, skipping past three half-hearted challenges before teeing up A-J Leitch-Smith, whose shot was too close to goalkeeper Tomas Cerny.
When Sofien Moussa headed just over from a Leitch-Smith cross immediately afterwards, the natives began to grow restless.
The goal Dundee had been threatening to score finally arrived in the eighth minute. Glen Kamara’s run created an opening for Paul McGowan, whose scuffed shot was scrambled off the line by Danny Devine.
Unfortunately for Archibald, the respite was brief; Kevin Holt seized on the loose ball and his driven cross was headed home by Leitch-Smith.
Thistle at least kept pressing and, surprisingly in the circumstances, Ryan Edwards had the confidence to try to chip Scott Bain from 40 yards, but his effort skimmed the bar.
Dundee were content to counter and should have gone two up when Lewis Spence played in Moussa, who fired wide of a gaping goal.
The visitors were even more wasteful in the 21st minute. Devine smashed a clearance against teammate Niall Keown and the ball fell kindly for Leitch-Smith, who hared in on goal.
When he took the ball round Tomas Cerny, the goalkeeper brought him down, conceding the penalty and collecting a yellow card.
At the spot-kick, Cerny dived to his right and, although Leitch-Smith drove his effort down the middle, the Czech’s outstretched leg diverted the ball to safety.
Moussa then passed up two more chances to double Dundee’s lead before the interval, failing to test Cerny on either occasion.
As long as the gap remained at one goal, however, Thistle could find a way back into this contest.
Josh Meekings came close to an own goal when he overhit a passback just wide of the far post.
However, the hosts kept pressing and got lucky 15 minutes from time when Bain spilled a shot from substitute Kris Doolan and Edwards lashed home the rebound.
Even then, Dundee should have claimed all three points when, just minutes later, Roarie Deacon’s pass found Moussa unmarked six yards from goal. However, he shot weakly at Cerny and the danger was cleared.
Then, at the death, Doolan won the ball on the goal-line and squared for fellow sub Storey to score from inside the six-yard box.
Dundee manager Neil McCann was the epitome of controlled fury after the game as he blamed his misfiring strikers and a ‘disgraceful’ decision from referee Euan Anderson for costing his side.
‘I don’t think there is a score below ten for anger and frustration for how I feel right now,’ he said. ‘I don’t know how we have lost that. Well, I do — we weren’t clinical enough.
‘We had a chance to bury them at the penalty. We have a designated penalty-taker in Moussa and, for some reason, we decided to change it and we missed.
‘At half-time, it’s not such a big story — but it’s big now because it would have buried Thistle.’
McCann also highlighted the baffling decision to caution Cerny for fouling Leitch-Smith after he had played the ball past him.
‘That’s a defining moment,’ he claimed. ‘I saw the Partick players going towards Cerny at the end for that reason. Regarding the new rule — with the triple punishment — I don’t think that Cerny makes any attempt whatsoever to get to the ball. Now the rule is that, if you make a genuine attempt to get the ball and don’t, then it’s a booking. There was no attempt there to win it.
‘He’s cleaned out the player, without a doubt. I’m fizzing inside. It takes me all my control not to lose my rag at the side of the pitch and get sent to the stand.
‘That was a disgraceful decision today. I don’t care what anybody says, Cerny made no attempt to play the ball and he should have walked.
‘But he doesn’t and then he saves the penalty — and then he has another wonder save at the end which bites us in the backside.’