Staggies and Jags take share of ‘fair’ draw

PARTICK Thistle playmaker Kallum Higginbotham felt a draw was probably a fair result after a tension-packed 90 minutes against fellow Scottish Premiership strugglers Ross County at Global Energy Stadium ended with the score at 1-1.

Kallum Higginbotham celebrates his opening goal. Picture: SNS

Ross County 1 - 1 Partick Thistle

SCORERS: County - Brittain 13, Partick Thistle - Higginbotham 8

Referee: C Thomson

Attendance: 3,441

Higginbotham gave Thistle the lead direct from a free kick in the eighth minute but County captain Richard Brittain levelled with an equally impressive set-piece strike five minutes later.

Higginbotham said: “You are never happy with a point because we came up here to get the three points. But I think a draw was probably a fair result. The game was flat today. Neither team could get going. The pitch didn’t really help much but we’ll take a point away from home – it keeps us above Ross County.”

Commenting on his goal, he added: “The wall jumped and the ball went under it. It was a great start but Richard Brittain scored with a great free kick just after. If we had kept the lead a bit longer we might have gone on and won the game.”

The 24-year-old summed up the quality of the match when he said: “It was long-ball tactics from both sides. Nothing was getting played on the floor. It was just one of those days.

“There might have been a bit of nerves. Nobody wanted to lose the game. If one team won, they pull away from the other team. We came up here for the three points and got a point, which we are happy with.”

County defender Scott Boyd received a recall to the starting XI after making his last appearance in the 3-3 draw against Thistle back in January.

He said: “I was delighted to be back in the side – it’s just unfortunate we didn’t take the three points.

“It was a bit frustrating but it was always going to be a tough match with the position both teams are in. We’ll just take the point and go again in two weeks’ time. That’s the only thing we can do now.”

Boyd admitted there was nothing between two of the teams fighting it out to avoid the relegation play-off place, with only one point separating four teams.

He said: “I think it is going to be like that until the end of the season now, because it’s so tight. I think it is going to change every week so we have to make sure we put points on the board.”