Huge drama in Championship: ICT face idle month before Celtic clash, Accies escape drop, Ayr raid, heartache for Cove and Morton

While most eyes were on the gripping match between Queen’s Park and Dundee to settle the title, there were four other matches taking place that would decide the play-off places and relegation matters.

The easiest place to start is at Stark’s Park, where Partick Thistle just required a point to secure their place against Raith Rovers, who were the only team in the division with nothing to play for. The evening started well for the Jags when Darren Brownlie opened the scoring on 21 minutes but Rovers – who had only one outfield player on the bench due to an injury crisis – equalised via a 35th-minute Lewis Vaughan penalty and then took the lead thanks to Scott McGill’s strike just before the hour mark. A defeat would have resulted in the Jags crashing out of the play-off spots but Scott Tiffoney’s equaliser on 68 minutes means Partick finish fourth and will face Queen’s Park at home on Tuesday in the Premiership play-off quarter-final first leg.

The Jags and the Spiders have been joined in the play-offs by Ayr United, who leapt into second place with a 2-1 victory over Scottish Cup finalists Inverness. The Honest Men lead at the break thanks to Josh Mullin’s opener on 35 minutes but Caley – who had to win to finish in the top four – levelled eight minutes from time via Nathan Shaw. As both teams pushed for a winner, it was Ayr who prevailed thanks to Mark McKenzie’s 88th-minute winner and they will face the winner of Partick and Queen’s Park in the semis. Inverness will now be inactive for almost a month before their Hampden clash with Celtic on June 3.

There was heartbreak for both Cove Rangers and Morton at the Balmoral Stadium. Dougie Imrie’s visitors won 2-1 despite playing most of the second half with ten men after Cameron Blues’ red card. Jack Baird and Robbie Muirhead netted for the Greenock outfit either side of Declan Glass strike but due to Ayr’s late winner, they finished fifth. Cove ended the night bottom on goal difference and are relegated after Hamilton drew 0-0 at Arbroath, meaning Accies are in the relegation play-offs.

Full match piece on Queen’s Park 3-5 Dundee by Alan Pattullo as Dees win title can be found here.