One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

Our descent into freefall was surely confirmed today with an abysmal performance in losing 4-3 at Palmerston. Thistle’s three goals all arrived in the last six minutes and whilst already 4-0 down, and succeeded only in adding scarcely deserved credibility to the final score.

Manager Dick Campbell, who after last weeks defeat at Hamilton had warned that a similar performance would not be accepted, made only one personnel change with Brown Ferguson replacing Darren Brady in the centre of midfield. Top scorer Mark Roberts was moved to the left of midfield, swapping positions with Derek Young. Queens’ gave debuts to three players, on-loan Hearts youngster MacDonald replaced Corr in goal, and the two loan signings from Kilmarnock, Adams and Murray, went straight into the starting line-up.

At this stage of the report, it seems only fair to warn those of a nervous disposition that they may wish to avoid reading the next few paragraphs. Masochists and lurking Deveronvale scouts carry on….

Queens started by far the superior team, and it only took them nine minutes to open the scoring. It could have arrived earlier, with both O’Connor and Scally coming close in the opening stages. When the first goal did come, it was a goal that anyone who has seen much of Thistle recently will already be familiar with. A free-kick from the Queens right was headed home by O’Connor, with Tuffey nowhere near the ball and no real pressure on the Queens forward.

Thistle responded with a couple of long-range efforts on goal, but both Roberts’ and Jimmy Gibson’s shots both comfortably cleared the crossbar. The shambolic defending continued at the other end, with every ball into the Jags area creating a new and rising level of chaos. It was therefore not remotely surprising to see Jim Lauchlan double Queens’ advantage with a straightforward near-post header from a corner after 25 minutes.

At this stage Thistle looked like conceding every time the home side advanced into our half, and after half an hour nearly did so, with the impressive Steven Dobbie floating over a dangerous cross-shot that Tuffey did well to tip over the bar. Tuffey was helpless after 35 minutes though, as the first half went to from bad to worse. Gibson feebly conceded possession in midfield, and from the resulting counter attack Dobbie fired low into the corner.

The embarrassment almost increased further just before the interval, with Tuffey saving well after Dobbie broke clear down the right-hand side of the Thistle defence, and Lauchlan almost replicating his earlier goal.

After a half in which we were at least third to every ball and conceding goals at an alarming rate, it was inevitable changes would be made. Scott Boyd and Brown Ferguson both remained inside at half-time, although Campbell could have picked any two players and there wouldn’t have been any complaints. Pat Keogh replaced Boyd in defence and Billy Gibson joined his namesake in midfield.

Whatever happened in the Jags dressing room at half-time, if failed to alter the flow of play. Queens were right onto the attack again, and only three minutes had elapsed before referee Boyle awarded them a penalty. Presumably it was for some kind of climbing as Thistle defended another cross, although it was difficult to see from the other end exactly what the offence was. Dobbie wasn’t concerned, and he drove the penalty down the middle.

With the result seemingly no longer in doubt, Ian McCall’s side began to relax a little, and the prospect of a complete humiliation began to subside slightly. Thistle showed no real prospect of reducing the deficit, with a series of turgid punts and wayward free-kicks posing no threat to MacDonald in the home goal. It was his counterpart in the Thistle goal who remained the busier, producing a wonder save at point blank range from Eric Paton with twenty minutes remaining, and then saving again from Dobbie.

The game appeared to be drifting towards an inevitable conclusion, with Thistle picking up bookings instead of goals along the way, when a consolation arrived after 84 minutes, with Mark McChrystal scrambling the ball over the goal line after Keogh had caused problems from a corner. Almost immediately after the restart, Thistle were then awarded a penalty of their own, with Boyle judging Alan Russell to have been impeded in the area. Roberts converted the penalty low to MacDonald’s right.

Two goals down with five minutes remaining soon became one goal down with two minutes remaining. Like McChrystal’s goal, it was a scrappy affair following substitute Steven McConalogue’s corner from the Thistle right. Keogh this time was able to bundle the ball over the line from close range. Could the most unlikely of comebacks be completed?

Alas it was not to be, and although welcome as the point would have been, surely the best consequence of this would have been seeing McCall’s reaction to his team throwing away a four goal lead with six minutes left. It very nearly happened, with Young inches away from connecting with a superb Roberts cross from the right, and MacDonald saving well from a goalbound Keogh header.

The sad reality is that such a result, as remarkable as it would have been, would have been a false one and completely undeserved. For the first 85 minutes this was a lamentable display, and one that drew unflattering comparisons with a similar match near the end of our last Division One campaign. With Airdrie also winning today and Thistle having lost five and drawn one of our last six games, mid-table anonymity is becoming elusive as we edge closer to the teams below.

Man of the match:
Erm… no one!

Thistle: Tuffey 5, Smith 5, Robertson 6, Ferguson 4 (B Gibson, 6 46), Boyd 5 (Keogh 6, 46), McChrystal 5, J Gibson 4, Donnelly 4 (McConalogue 74), Young 5, Roberts 6, Russell 5.
Unused subs; Arthur, Brady.

QOS: MacDonald, Paton, McQuilken, Lauchlan, Scally (O’Neill 78), Thomson, Adams (Burns 46), Dobbie, O’Connor (Weir 67), Murray, Gibson.
Unused subs; Corr, Henderson.