Partick Thistle leapfrog Inverness CT into third spot in Championship table after Kevin Holt’s late strike settles tightly-contested Firhill clash

Partick Thistle leapfrogged Inverness CT into third place in the Championship table after Kevin Holt’s swept home a late winner at Firhill to keep their promotion push on track.

In a game of two halves on a difficult playing surface, the Highlanders threatened on several occasions to derail the Jags unbeaten start to the new year in the second half but were punished for their failure to capitalise on those chances.

It appeared as though the game was destined to end in a goalless draw until full-back Holt smashed home Cammy Smith’s corner in the 85th minute.

Despite the lack of quality on show, Thistle boss Ian McCall was delighted his side managed to grind out the victory.

He said: “It’s a big result, three points is all that matters. I thought we were dominant in the first-half but Caley were better than us in the second half.

“I think our goal came against the run of play because they looked dangerous on the counter-attack, even though (Jamie) Sneddon has only had one big save to make.

“Alex (Jakubiak) did really well when he came on and we’re going to have to use three, four or five subs over the coming weeks. I thought Cammy (Smith) was excellent as well when he came on.

“Juan (Alegria) is a beast of a boy too, he’s as strong as an ox. He should’ve finished his chance in the first half which came back off the post, but his first touch was fantastic. He’s still quite raw but he’s got a lot of attributes.

“It’s just about winning games at the moment. These 1-0 scorelines seem to happen a lot at Firhill, that’s just the way it is.”

Thistle had scored just once in their last four outings prior to this match, which would have been a slight cause for concern for McCall and his backroom team.

However, they looked hungry from the outset with the first opportunity falling to Lewis Mayo after eight minutes, but the centre-back’s snapshot flew narrowly wide of the target.

The home side continued to probe and Rangers loanee Juan Alegria came close to breaking the deadlock on 18 minutes when he controlled Richard Foster’s long ball in behind the visitors defence before seeing his lobbed effort nestle on the roof of the net.

Inverness offered little in the way of an attacking threat in the first-half but Austin Samuels carved out an opening after 24 minutes following tenacious place from Billy McKay. The on loan Wolves attacker pounced on a mix up in the hosts rearguard but could only find the side-netting from just inside the box.

The best chance of the half fell to Alegria ten minutes before the interval when the unmarked Colombian striker raced on to Ciaran McKenna’s header before lifting the ball over Inverness keeper Cammy Mackay only to see his effort strike the woodwork,

Inverness manager Billy Dodds made a double substitution at half-time to try and inject some energy into his team’s performance and it seemed to spark the visitors into life.

Joe Hardy forced Jags No.1 Jamie Sneddon into a smart save after 52 minutes before Foster recovered well to block Aaron Doran’s goal bound effort minutes later.

It had been a very flat display from Thistle in the second half but the introduction of Alex Jakubiak added more creativity to their play as the powerful frontman looked to stamp his authority on a dull contest.

Jakubiak immediately won back possession deep inside the visitors half and his low delivery found Brian Graham who laid the ball off to Ross Docherty but the skipper skied his effort over the bar.

The opening goal arrived with five minutes remaining when Cammy Smith’s low corner from the right was met first time by Holt 12-yards out and the defender’s strike sailed through a sea of legs past the stranded Mackay into the net, sparking jubilant scenes among the home fans.

Inverness boss Billy Dodds felt aggrieved his side left Firhill empty handed after their winless streak extended to TEN games.

He admitted: “I felt for the boys tonight, they gave me so much but we don’t put the ball in the net. That bit of luck is eluding us at the moment.

“We didn’t start well but dug in to stay in the game. We got to half-time and then made a couple of changes and I thought we were the better team but we have to score.

“The boys then switch off at a corner and it’s cost us, so its another sore one but it’s the way things have been going of late.”

Partick Thistle: Sneddon, Foster, Holt, Mayo, Bannigan (Bell; 89), Graham, McKenna, Murray (Smith; 62), Crawford (Turner; 62), Docherty, Alegria (Jakubiak; 69)

Unused: Firth (GK), Akinola, Stanway, Hendrie, McAllister

Inverness CT: Mackay, Welsh, Deas, Devine, Pearson (Sutherland; 45), Carson, McKay, Doran (Chalmers; 75), Broadfoot, McAlear, Samuels (Hardy; 45)

Unused: Ridgers (GK), Duffy, Harper, Walsh, Hyde

Referee: Colin Steven

Attendance: 2,099 (193 away)

GlasgowWorld Man of the Match: Lewis Mayo (Partick Thistle)