Jags triumph but poor show needles gaffer
PARTICK THISTLE 3
Graham (16, 30), Tiffoney (85)
QOS 2
Gibson (10), Paton (74)
Thistle recovered from the loss of an early goal to launch their Championship campaign with victory at Firhill – not that boss Ian Mccall was singing his side’s praises!
Two goals from Brian Graham cancelled out Willie Gibson’s brilliant opener and, while Ruari Paton drew the Doonhamers level, Scott Tiffoney pounced with a late winner.
Jags boss Mccall said: “I thought we were really poor. I thought Queens were the better team.
“I talked up Willie Gibson in the papers but I didn’t expect him to stick one in from 25 yards in the top corner.
“I don’t think we played well at all. We’re still searching for the balance, still short of bodies. But it’s not very often we win our first home game and we did that, so I’m pleased with that.
“Scott Tiffoney and Cammy Smith have only trained two days this week. But they came on and did well and Tiff obviously came up with the goods.
“It must have been a good game to watch.”
Partick didn’t make the immediate start they wanted on their return to the second tier of Scottish Football, conceding after 10 minutes.
Wing-back Gibson picked up the ball from deep and skipped passed Ciaran Mckenna. The 36-year-old then faced up with Partick’s defensive recruit Lewis Mayo, cutting inside and smashing an effort towards goal.
The ball swerved through the hands of Jamie Sneddon and into the far corner to give Queens a brilliant start.
But they did not have the lead for long, as the Jags produced a spirited response to equalise.
It was a case of one striker producing for the other as Zak Rudden found himself in space on the left before sending over a teasing ball to
the back post where Graham jumped highest to score.
And Thistle completed a dramatic turnaround on the half-hour when Rudden again found himself in a wide area on the left, the striker putting in another pinpoint cross.
Full-back Mckenna saw his netbound header tipped on to the post by Joshua Rae in the Queens goal but the predatory Graham was first to react and prodded home from close-range.
After a quiet spell on the restart the game burst into life with 15 minutes to play with the away side this time levelling the scoring.
A corner delivered to the front post found the on-running Paton who glanced his header towards goal, and it sailed tantalisingly over the head of Richard Foster on the far post.
Then, with just five minutes remaining, substitute Tiffoney popped up to score the crucial winning goal.
A looping ball into the box, found its way to Tiffoney who volleyed the ball through the Queens stopper’s legs from 10 yards out.
Visiting boss Allan Johnston said: “I thought it was a good team performance. We played really well and are really unlucky not to take anything from the game – especially with the way we penned them in even towards the end of the second half.
“Frustrated with the goals we lost obviously. It’s something as a young team we are going to learn from.”