Three and easy for Thistle as Kelty’s hearts are broken
Partick Thistle manager Ian Mccall admitted that it didn’t feel like he had just masterminded a Scottish Cup victory at Firhill.
There were only 1,484 fans there to watch the Jags defeat League One Kelty Hearts.
The low attendance and muted atmosphere was partly because of another protest from home supporters expressing their displeasure with the way the club is being run.
Some demonstrated outside the ground and then boycotted the John Lambie Stand, leaving only a handful of fans watching from behind the goal.
Moving on in the cup, Mccall would relish a Glasgow derby against a side he once helped out.
He said: “It was strange not having the atmosphere and it was different from games at Firhill this season.
“But the bottom line is that we won the game and we are into the next round.
“We looked a real threat in the second half and their only attempt was when Nicky Low hit the bar with an unbelievable free-kick.
“We were on a bad run and now we have won two, scored six and conceded none.
“I see Drumchapel United also won – I used to take their training when I was out of the game.
“I would take anyone in the next round and I would love Drumchapel.”
Away from off-the-field matters, the main talking point surrounded referee Craig Napier’s decision to send two players off seven minutes before the break.
Home captain Ross Docherty and Kelty’s Joe Cardle, one of four former Jags’ players in the opposition, were sent packing.
Cardle had lunged into a tackle on Lawless and the two men then indulged in a bit of push-and-shove.
Docherty had also entered the fracas and the whistler indicated he stamped on a player.
“I think it’s very, very soft,” said Ian Mccall of his man’s red card.
“It didn’t look like an out and out stamp.
“It was started by Joe Cardle. I hate to say it, but he was a little bit high with a tackle and went over the ball.
“But they could both have been booked and we could have got on with it.
“Joe and Doc won the title here together and they were a bit bemused by it.
“But I am more concerned about losing Docherty for two games because it was a straight red. We haven’t decided whether or not to appeal.”
Brian Graham opened the scoring before Kelty had a real chance to get into their stride.
A Turner corner kick sneaked across the six-yard box and the Jags’ striker flicked the ball home with ease.
The lead was then doubled in 58 minutes when substitute Anton Dowds went racing behind the visitors’ defence and smacked a shot past 18-year-old debutant goalie Liam Campbell.
Goal three, which came not long after Low sent a 30-yard free-kick off the Thistle bar, was finished in the same emphatic style by on-loan Rangers forward Tony Weston.
He had come on as a concussion replacement for Dowds, who lasted only 22 minutes as a half-time sub.