One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

In recent times things have been rarely dull around Firhill when Alex Rae has darkened the doors. This afternoon however the bete noir had to take second place to referee Richmond, whose decision to award Dundee a penalty kick in the 55th minute was the difference between three points and one point.

Dundee had arrived in Glasgow with a sturdy reputation which had seen them climb to second place in the table. Compared with this Thistle have struggled over the last weeks to build a fortress in their home ground. With that in mind manager Ian McCall made four changes, Harkins, Keegan, Chaplain and new signing Greg Cameron started as out went Strachan, McKinlay, Murray and the injured Gibson. Storey was installed as sweeper in a three-man defence, with Cameron joining Rowson in the heart of midfield while Keegan started alongside the busy Buchanan in attack.

Dundee made just two changes to the side that defeated Livingston last Saturday, Griffin and Lyle replacing MacKenzie and Zemlik in the starting line up. While player/boss Alex Rae made a rare appearance on the subs bench.

The home team were first to show their mettle in the third minute when an attack swept down the right wing. Robertson played the ball into Rowson who threaded it through to Bucahanan. His cross from the right wing found the head of Keegan and his attempt went narrowly past the right hand post. The visitors first real chance arrived in the ninth minute through a cross which Hinchcliffe with dealt easily. Buchanan was prominent in the Jags attack and his strength in holding onto the ball in the opposition box saw Thistle win a corner in the 13th minute. Harkins today taking a leading role in dead ball kicks for the home team saw his cross into the box headed wide by Twaddle on this occasion.

Play was ebbing to and fro in this middle part of the first half with no team able to gain the upper hand. Dundee threatened when a cross from Gavin Swankie on the left was missed by everyone and the home defence managed to scramble the ball clear. Thistle broke down the left side of the park and this saw Griffin booked for a tug on Buchanan as he sought to break free. Although neither team was establishing themselves as a dominant force in the game the Thistle forward partnership of Buchanan and Keegan were making the better chances.

In the 27th minute Keegan played in a cross from the left side of the box which ended up on top of the Dundee net. At this point if either of the teams looked like scoring it was the home side. And it was Keegan again in the 32nd minute who shot narrowly over in a difficult chance for the red and yellow. Shortly after this debutant Cameron had to be replaced when he came off second best in a three-way challenge that floored the teenager for several minutes. Having been carried away he was replaced by McStay, who soon after played a role in opening the scoring.

Buchanan ran on to a threaded pass from strike partner Keegan. His cross from the right side of the penalty box was picked up by McStay whose pass found Keegan and the Thistle number ten slotted the ball low into the Dundee net to put the Jags ahead.

Dundee pressed for an equaliser before half time and a set of head tennis in the home box ended with Hinchcliffe making and easy job of collecting the ball. The Jags keeper finished the half confidently taking a cross from a Dundee free kick. At this point the red and yellow looked the better team, much better than they had the week before when competing with a less challenging team.

The second half began with Dundee looking to get back into the match as quickly as possible. This was reinforced with a halftime substitution which saw Griffin replaced with Zemlik as they altered things to match up with Thistle’s system. And after the second ball had disappeared over the top of the Jackie Husband Stand the visitors broke forward and a good pass from McDonald threaded through Robertson but his shot was weak and Hinchcliffe dealt easily with it.

Almost immediately came the most controversial point in the game. A lob ball deep into the Jags six yard box appeared to be won by Harkins but for the second time in eight days the official chose to award a generous penalty kick to the visiting team, since in the view of Mr Richmond the Thistle number five appeared to jump over the Dark Blue forward to head the ball. This kick was dispatched with some force by Lyle who blasted the shot down the centre of the goal with the Jags keeper electing to dive to his right.

Thistle refused to lie down and forced their way through the middle of the park. This saw the home side win a free kick twenty five yards from the Dundee goal. On this occasion the ball struck by Harkins rose narrowly over the Dundee bar. Soon after good work by David Rowson allowed him link to with McStay and the latter’s cross saw Chaplin head over the top of the Dundee goal.

Hesitation at the other end in the sixty first minute saw Lyle steal into the Jags box and bring a good save out of the Thistle keeper. Nevertheless, Thistle were beginning to grip the middle of the park with good pressing work from Rowson. McStay contributed with some intelligent, thoughtful passing but his lack of mobility and defensive thinking makes him a less than perfect foil for the veteran number eight.

In reply to this Dundee responded with a quick double substitution, replacing Davidson with Sturm and, much to the delight of the Thistle support, McDonald with the manager Rae.

Only a minute later the home side had a chance to wrap up all three points when progress down the right wing saw Buchanan and Keegan exchange smart passes which in the end looked as if Buchanan must score but he shot weakly into the arms of Samson from inside the six yard box.

Dundee continued to ride their luck in the last fifteen minutes. Thistle replaced Buchanan for Roberts with twelve minutes remaining, and while the visitors did press on the break the majority of the attacking fell to the team in Red and Yellow. Keegan was ruled offside in a narrow decision (from an officiating team who missed a blatant foul throw from Daquin) and then there followed an attempted punched clearance from Samson, which saw him climbing all over and flattening a Thistle player to get to the ball and should have resulted in the second penalty of the game. In between times Roberts had been tripped off the ball by Dundee’s number sixteen, but for the first time in a clutch of games at Firhill Rae managed to walk off the park at the final whistle with twenty one other players.

At five to three many Jags fans might have settled for a point from this game, especially those who had witnessed last weeks limp performance against Stirling. This draw was perhaps more dissatisfying given that the result may have been the same but the performance was much better yet it did not serve to raise the Maryhill men much further away from a gaping relegation zone.

In conclusion, the defence looked more stable with the introduction of Storey as a central controller, although at times it was difficult to figure whether he was acting as a traditional sweeper or in the more modern role just in front of the back four. Rowson was again mighty around the middle of the park but he still needs a better back up than McStay, and it seems as if Cameron’s stay might be truncated if the injury is as serious as first appears. The Buchanan and Keegan partnership looks as if it might blossom at some point but the question is, in this ever constricting First Division is there that amount of time available?

Entertaining game, pleasant to watch, reasonable result, but not the sort that ultimately lifts the gloom from the top end of Maryhill Road.

Man of the match: David Rowson