‘WE WERE BETTER SIDE’, SAYS McCALL

Beaten boss Ian McCall wished Caley Thistle well against Arbroath – but felt his Partick Thistle side blew chances to win Friday’s Premiership play-off.

After losing 2-1 at Firhill last Tuesday, the Glasgow Jags needed a two-goal swing or at least to take the second leg to extratime and/or penalties at the Caledonian Stadium.

Austin Samuels, who scored the winner in the first leg, netted a first-half goal to seal a 1-0 home tie victory for Caley Thistle.

Billy Dodds’ hosts had to withstand pressure from Thistle, with experienced striker Brian Graham, in particular, a threat in the first half.

After leading 1-0 at Firhill, losing 3-1 on aggregate was a sore one for manager McCall as Inverness now face Arbroath in tomorrow and Friday’s two-legged semi-final.

He said: “I thought we were the better team for the vast majority of the game and missed some decent chances.

“Kevin Holt has been one of the best centre halves in the league, but the goal we gave away came from his mistake.

“I was really proud of them. They gave everything with a lot of great play. It would have been interesting had we got one goal back.

“They gave everything and produced a lot of good play on a pitch that is fabulous. But good luck to Inverness – they’re a really good side with a good, I’ll say young manager, just because he hasn’t been doing it that long.

“I wish them luck against Arbroath.”

This was the first season back in the Championship for Partick Thistle, who returned as League 1 winners last summer.

And McCall is in no doubt Thistle will be ready for a fresh promotion push in 2022-23.

He added: “One thing I’ll say is, I have a very clear picture of what’s needed now, for next season.

“For the size of our club, we’ve got to finish first, second or third, having finished fourth this year.

“I’ve been back almost three years now and it has been very tiring, with everything we’ve been through at our club. So all credit to the players.

“We’ve got a nucleus of players good enough to really take us forward.”