Graham and Forrest trade strikes in Firhill draw

PARTICK THISTLE 1

Graham 33

AYR UNITED 1

Forrest 52 pen

This was a result which did little to satisfy the ambitions of either side. Ayr failed to claim the victory they required to move into second place, remaining in third by dint of an inferior goal difference to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The hosts, by contrast, needed a win to move off the bottom but remain a point behind Alloa, whose game in hand is at the Caledonian Stadium today.

It took 17 minutes on a bitterly cold evening in Maryhill for either side to quicken the pulse of the hardy spectators, with home midfielder Reece Cole inches away from scoring with a full-blooded drive from 25 yards.

Cole came close again midway through the first half, with United goalkeeper Ross Doohan having to parry his free-kick from an unpromising angle after Jordan Houston had fouled Dario Zanatta.

Thistle were dominating possession but they found clear-cut chances difficult to manufacture until the 33rd minute when Brian Graham broke the deadlock on his home debut.

Ayr failed to clear their lines from another Cole free-kick, Joe Cardle clipped the ball to the far post and Graham timed his run perfectly to volley home from point-blank range.

Ayr had not been at the races during the opening 45 minutes but they drew level after the break when Alan Forrest beat Lee O’connor to a hoofed clearance and was adjudged by referee Euan Anderson to have been brought down by the Celtic loanee, who was shown a yellow card.

It was a soft penalty but Forrest sent Scott Fox the wrong way from the penalty spot for his ninth goal of the campaign from his side’s first effort on target.

That goal ought to have galvanised the visitors but their play remained disjointed and Thistle continued to look more likely to score. Unfortunately for them, the goal they needed failed to materialise.