McCall scathing in his assessment of quality
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AN McCALL offered a blunt assessment of Partick Thistle’s goalless draw with Raith Rovers on an afternoon where the visitors never really got going in Kirkcaldy.
A couple of pot-shots from distance were all that the Jags could muster in a disappointing first half before they improved in the second but, in truth, home goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald was rarely troubled as the two promotion rivals settled for a point.
“They played a different way than we expected and that took us by surprise,” McCall said. “They were going direct and they certainly edged the first half. We had a few decent opportunities in the second but so did they, so I think a draw is fair.
“It was a crappy game of football and a crappy day for football. It’s pleasing we kept a clean sheet but it’s not a great day to play football. I didn’t enjoy watching it. We take the point and move on.”
Both teams were a little slow out of the traps as the contest got under way in stopstart fashion. Raith enjoyed most of the ball and looked the more comfortable side but for all their possession, they were struggling to break their opponents down.
The first chance of note fell the way of the visitors when Kyle McAllister, making his first start for Thistle after arriving on loan from St Mirren last month, looped a high ball towards the back post. Stephen Hendrie was waiting to meet it but his tame header was easily held by MacDonald.
Raith went close a few minutes later when Ethan Varion drilled ball across the face of goal but no one was there to provide the killer touch. A pot-shot from Ross Matthews kept goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon on his toes as John McGlynn’s men ramped up the pressure but the Jags stood firm.
Thistle captain Ross Docherty forced a smart stop from MacDonald with a wellstruck effort from 30 yards but it was the Rovers who were in the ascendancy at this point. The home support howled for a penalty when Dario Zanatta tumbled in the box under a challenge from Richard Foster, but referee Willie Collum was having none of it.
The game was a bit more end to end now. Raith peppered the Thistle box with a series of dangerous-looking crosses and Sneddon had to react well to deny Zanatta, while Graham was making a nuisance of himself at the other end.
A cross-cum-shot from Cammy Smith was begging to be turned in by the big centreforward but he couldn’t quite reach the ball as he lunged for it, and a few minutes later he fired narrowly over from a shot on the turn inside the area.
Zanatta was looking like the home side’s most likely route to goal but Raith never made the most of it as the match ended goalless.
“I felt we had the better of it,” admitted Raith manager John McGlynn as his side chalked up a tenth consecutive Championship match without a win. “We dominated big chunks of the game.
“We played a little differently today. We didn’t build from the back and that got us further up the pitch, gave us more opportunities to score.
“I’m a bit gutted for the players that we didn’t get the win because I thought we deserved it.”