Brian Graham struck a second-half double as Partick Thistle took a major step towards the cinch Premiership play-off final with a 3-0 first-leg victory over Ayr at Firhill.
Graham had other chances following Jack McMillan’s 16th-minute opener as a dominant Thistle continued their impressive form under Kris Doolan in front of a 7,012 crowd.
The Jags have now only lost once in 16 matches since their former striker succeeded Ian McCall and have netted 11 goals in the play-offs so far.
The 2,000 fans in the sold-out visiting section got a shock before kick-off when top goalscorer Dipo Akinyemi was missing from the team lists, apparently with a back injury.
The striker has played in every other game for Ayr this season and hit 24 goals.
Manager Lee Bullen brought in Mark McKenzie, whose fifth goal of the campaign sent Ayr into second place in the Championship in the final moments of the regular campaign at Inverness.
Ayr made a bright start and Chris Maguire saw his well-struck first-time effort from 25 yards acrobatically saved by David Mitchell.
Scott Tiffoney forced a decent stop from Charlie Albinson at the other end and Thistle got on top before taking the lead. Steven Lawless threaded a ball through for McMillan who had sneaked behind the home defence before rifling a shot through Charlie Albinson.
Thistle continued to dominate with their creative players producing some excellent touches, and they should have been further ahead by the break with Graham missing two open goals, although both times the ball flashed at him quickly.
The experienced striker volleyed the first chance wide from outside the box with Albinson stranded after coming out of his box to head a long ball up into the air. Graham then missed from close range following Aidan Fitzpatrick’s driven cross.
The striker, who hit his 50th Thistle goal in the quarter-finals, then saw a header drift wide.
Ayr rarely got forward in the first half following their early pressure but Josh Mullin had a couple of half-chances, heading over before having a shot blocked.
The Jags maintained their dominance after the interval. Fitzpatrick hit the bar from long range before Graham converted from close range in the 50th minute after Tiffoney had played the ball across the face of goal. There was a hint of offside but no flag came.
The hosts continued to create chances. Kyle Turner curled wide from 18 yards and Fitzpatrick blazed over from an excellent opportunity.
Ayr defender Frankie Musonda saw a header blocked in the goalmouth before Thistle patiently worked the ball forward on the break and extended their lead in the 72nd minute as Graham finished first time from six yards following Fitzpatrick’s curling delivery.
Ayr threatened to snatch a late lifeline. Mitchell got down well to make an excellent one-handed stop from Ben Dempsey before substitute Paul Smith hit the bar with a 20-yard free-kick. Thistle went straight up the park and Albinson pulled off a diving stop to prevent Danny Mullen making it 4-0 with the final kick.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).
They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games).
Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday.
Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."
Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation
UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.
The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.
Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.
“Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.
“Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.
Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.
The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.
Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”
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