It’s reasonable to argue that Partick Thistle’s 2024 campaign hasn’t started off smoothly. The Jags, who had only two league victories this year, welcomed an old rival to Firhill to face a Greenock Morton team that had turned their season around in a matter of months, going from relegation cannon fodder to Premiership promotion prospects.
The previous time the Inverclyde side made the short trip to Glasgow’s west end, Dougie Imrie’s jacket was hanging on by a thread, and the ‘Tonne left Firhill four points behind at the foot of the league. Ever since, Morton has been on a complete fire, rising up the division to within striking distance of the Jaguars. Much-maligned manager Imrie was even rewarded with a contract deal that would last until the summer of 2026.
Lewis Strapp’s comeback has been largely responsible for Morton’s recent success, with the full-back acting as a spark for the improvement in performance. Thistle would leave nothing to chance this time around. Morton’s best weapon, by far, is the Delap-like long-throw, which has caused the Jaguars a great deal of trouble over the years. The Thistle groundskeepers made sure everything was in place by pushing the advertising hoardings close to the touchline, which prevented Strapp’s run-up from gaining momentum and eliminated any enormous throw-ins.
When asked which team he enjoys scoring against the most, Thistle captain Brian Graham had a straightforward response, “Greenock Morton,” during his appearance as a featured guest on Friday night’s A View from the Terrace.
That’s exactly what the league’s top scorer accomplished less than a day later. The Jags No. 9 dispossessed Alan Power in the middle of the park, took two steps to remove the ball from his feet, and then unleashed a fierce drive into Ryan Mullen’s bottom corner from a distance of only 25 yards. He then raised his arms straight up to receive applause from the boisterous group of Jags supporters gathered in the John Lambie stand. A goal for the thirty-six-year-old, who is still getting better with age, making it his 21st of the season.
Undoubtedly, the most memorable moment of Kris Doolan’s managing career thus far was the incredible play-off run that brought the Jaguars this summer to the brink of the Premier League. Finding a means to use their greatest attackers on the pitch and, especially, Doolan’s use of Scott Tiffoney were major factors in Thistle’s success.
Due to Stuart Bannigan’s injury, Aidan Fitzpatrick entered the game, which forced Tiffoney into a more central position where he would rely on Graham’s potent knockdowns. The small forward continued to play some of his greatest football while wearing the red and yellow uniform, contributing to seven goals in the six play-off matches.
This season, the Jaguars have found it difficult to reproduce the Tiffoney role, as both Blair Alston and Kerr McInroy have mostly disappointing tenures in the advanced position. Scott Robinson’s lack of fitness had prevented him from playing for extended periods of time in the team up to this point, but after another hard-working effort against the ‘Tonne, the former Hearts player seemed to have settled into the free-role behind Graham.
Partick Thistle relied heavily on the industrious Robinson, whose unwavering dedication to the cause was duly rewarded with a goal that put the Jags ahead by two goals. Robinson scored his third goal in four matches against the Greenock club this season. He was named man of the match after exerting constant pressure all afternoon long and was later named to the SPFL team of the week.
The Thistle rearguard, who had defended with stoic fortitude for the entire ninety minutes, had their ever-elusive clean sheet taken away from them with the final act of the game thanks to a late consolation goal from former Jag Robbie Muirhead.
A huge success for Doolan’s team, who experience league triumph for the first time in more than two months. As a result, they move six points clear of Morton, who are eliminated from the play-off positions.
Pressure off for the time being, the Jags travel to Angus this weekend to play Arbroath, the basement team in the division. Head coach Doolan knows that winning means winning again, and again, because Thistle wants to ensure that they’re the team returning to form come the business end of the season.
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