Graham reaches 100 Thistle goals as Jags beat Ayr to reach play-off semi-final

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Somerset Park

Brian Graham's 99th and 100th goals for Partick Thistle set up a Scottish Premiership play-off semi-final against Livingston as the Jags came from behind in stunning style in their quarter-final tie with Ayr United.

Having suffered a 1-0 defeat at Firhill on Tuesday, Thistle knew they had to win at Somerset Park to at least force extra time.

An extra 30 minutes of football seemed destined as neither side looked likely to score what would be a tie winner until the veteran striker, captain and interim co-manager sparked wild scenes in the away end after 88 minutes.

He had done so too, early doors, when he levelled the aggregate score after six minutes in Ayrshire.

Despite a strong start from Scott Brown's hosts, 17-year-old debutant Jamie Low curled a cracking corner on to the head of Graham to silence Somerset.

As it was three days previously, the quarter-final play-off was a cagey affair with the effects of a gruelling season playing a part. Until the final quarter.

With Livingston in sight - and a desire from both to not force extra-time - both had a go in the latter stages.

Ayr mustered up a bounty of half chances, due in no small part to the introduction of winger Jay Henderson, while Ben Stanway came agonisingly close to firing the Jags into next week's semi-final ties.

While that was a sore one, the next strike was a sheer euphoric one.

The 37-year-old Graham found space to the left of Josh Clarke’s goal to slice a shot beyond the on-loan Celtic goalkeeper and spark the Partick celebrations, which spilled over on to the pitch.

Thistle host David Martindale’s Livingston on Tuesday before travelling to West Lothian next Friday.

What they said

Partick Thistle co-manager Mark Wilson: "I'm pleased for the club, 1,800 fans came down here and it would've been easy for them not to come after losing the first leg.

"The game plan worked, I knew we'd get another chance and thankfully it fell to Brian."

Partick Thistle interim co-manager/player: "That takes real character. We're down to the bare bones, we've not really got the squad to pick from and we relied on a 17-year-old kid (Jamie Low) to come on and play wing-back.

"The kid has come in tonight, he's not put a foot wrong. He was absolutely different class and I'm so happy for him."

Partick Thistle player Jamie Low: "I only found out before the game when he named the team. We spoke briefly yesterday in training and he said it's possible I could get game time. I never knew it was a guarantee.

"He owes me £100. In the warm-up, we actually spoke about that exact corner."

Ayr United manager Scott Brown: "You're not going to win a game of football if you've got 11 shots and you don't hit the target. It's disappointing mentality-wise.

"Throughout the game, we were fine. It comes down to mentality, it just comes down to the willingness, desire to win the game and we weren't good enough in the final third.

"That's on me. I've got to have a long hard think about things now and see where I go from here. I've got to take a little bit of time to think about the game and the situation because watching that, it's not really my team and that was the disappointing factor. We'll just see where we go together."

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