Partick Thistle 0 - 1 Raith Rovers: Thistle stung by John Baird strike

A hotly-disputed winner ended Raith’s barren run and denied Thistle their third win on the trot.

John Baird’s strike midway through the second half was allowed to stand despite a linesman flagging for an infringement.

The home side saw livewire midfielder Paul Cairney flash wide an early free kick. He then almost broke the deadlock himself, taking Kris Doolan’s pass in his stride before nut-megging Reece Donaldson and sending an angled shot inches wide. The Jags continued to dominate without finding a finish to match some sparkling build-up play and they almost paid the price when Raith threatened with their first genuine attack.

Allan Walker’s neatly-clipped pass into the home box found Baird and only alert goal-keeping by Scott Fox kept the score-line blank.

Thistle picked up the pace on the restart when Conrad Balatoni’s diagonal pass sent Aaron Sinclair racing down the left flank. The full-back’s driven cross found Doolan sprinting to the near post but the striker’s effort was blocked on the line.

But Raith claimed the points in controversial fashion in 66 minutes when Baird converted a Joe Hamill corner. The standside linesman flagged for an infringement but was over-ruled by referee Mike Tumilty, who then sent furious Thistle boss Jackie McNamara to the stand for his complaints