THE HOLY MOLY GOALIE
McCall joy as Jags keeper bags injury-time goal to steal point
COVE RANGERS..1 PARTICK THISTLE..1
IAN McCALL has claimed he can take absolutely no credit for Patrick Thistle’s hero keeper Jamie Sneddon’s stoppage-time leveller.
The Jags boss was delighted to see his No.1 come up trumps to rescue a point at Cove.
Sneddon came up and scored a header from a corner and McCall admitted his player took it upon himself to try and salvage something.
McCall stated: “I haven’t seen that in my time in football and this is over four decades.
“No, I can take no credit for that whatsoever. He did it, he went up and scored so good on him. He has never done anything like it before.
“He’s the most introverted boy and that’s what holds him back sometimes. I’m thrilled for him.
“It’s a really important goal because that is three unbeaten and then we have Ayr at home and if we manage to win that we will be on a really good run.”
The 95th-minute goal sparked a wild pitch invasion and McCall joked some of the same supporters had been giving him pelters minutes before.
He said: “The same fans that were on the pitch were giving me dog’s abuse minutes earlier. That is football though and I’m delighted we got a point. We did enough to get a point.”
Cove had been the better team and had taken a deserved early lead when Max Johnston’s cross eventually dropped to Mitch Megginson, who stabbed the ball into the net.
The home side lost Shay Logan with a thigh injury, but it’s not likely to be a long-term problem.
The Jags were poor in the first half and it was only after McCall went more direct after the break that changed, although Cove were dangerous on the counter with Gerry McDonagh and Leighton McIntosh missing good chances.
Thistle sub Tony Weston had a shot blocked by Mark Reynolds and Fraser Fyvie also cleared with Brian Graham waiting to pounce before Sneddon finally made the breakthrough when he got on the end of Stuart Bannigan’s corner.
Cove boss Jim McIntyre admitted Sneddon had been marked but his Cove player had been blocked off.
Fyvie said: “We should have a man on him because there is somebody else taking it. We spoke about it inside and it is not about individual mistakes because we are a team. We weren’t good enough on the ball, every single person. “When you’re not good enough on the ball you’re going to invite pressure, get pinned in and they’re going to get a chance. That’s what happened. It’s really important we get going in the next game.”