Partick Thistle are in the box seat for a return to the cinch Premiership following their 2-0 play-off final first leg win over 10-man Ross County at Firhill.
Jags winger Aidan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a terrific strike before 16-year-old Staggies defender Dylan Smith was sent off by referee David Munro eight minutes later for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, after the official upgraded a yellow card to red following the intervention of the VAR Andrew Dallas.
In front of 7,291 fans, Thistle’s 35-year-old striker Brian Graham volleyed in a second for the Championship outfit just before the break to take his season tally to 21 and the home side could and should have scored more against a team a man down for most of the game.
However, Kris Doolan’s inventive side – now unbeaten in 11 games – will travel to Dingwall for the second leg on Sunday, buoyed with confidence while Malky Mackay’s men must dig deep if they are to retain their top-flight status.
Thistle, the first club to reach a Premiership play-off final after finishing fourth in the second tier, exploded into the game.
Winger Steve Lawless’s drive after skipping past Smith was saved by Staggies keeper Ross Laidlaw for a corner which he held.
However, the home side were soon ahead.
Fitzpatrick took a crossfield pass from Lawless, nipped in between Victor Loturi and Owura Edwards and from 16 yards curled the ball past Laidlaw into the far corner of the net before taking the acclaim of the fans.
More drama followed.
Smith was initially booked by Munro for fouling Fitzpatrick on the edge of the box as he attempted to race through on goal.
However, after going off to check the pitch side monitor – VAR was in operation for the first time at Firhill – the referee returned to flash a red and the visitors were down to 10 men, with defender Keith Watson immediately coming on for striker Alex Samuel before skipper Ross Docherty lifted the free-kick well over the bar.
In the 34th minute Graham connected with a Kyle Turner corner but Laidlaw was down smartly to save.
County edged forward as often as they could but they appeared susceptible to losing a second, with Graham thundering a drive over from the edge of the box.
The former Ross County and Dundee United forward was much more accurate from another Turner corner, volleying in from 12 yards to send the Glasgow side into the break on a high.
Ben Purrington replaced George Harmon, who had been booked, for the start of the second half as the Dingwall side looked to keep themselves in the tie but within minutes Thistle’s Kevin Holt had volleyed over the Staggies crossbar from eight yards.
Thistle then swarmed all over the visitors and should have added to their lead.
Graham had a goal-bound drive blocked for a corner by centre-back Jack Randall before Scott Tiffoney also saw his effort from inside the box hit County defender Connor Randall and then Laidlaw somehow kept out a close-range header from Graham.
County hinted at a threat occasionally and in the 64th minute Jags defender Aaron Muirhead brilliantly blocked a shot from Staggies forward Jordan White.
The Dingwall side pushed for a lifeline which never arrived, the home side finishing in control with substitute Danny Mullen cracking the bar with a powerful drive and they will surely travel to Dingwall on Sunday more in belief than hope.
'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.”
Girona handed huge injury boosts ahead of Espanyol clash
Michel says Girona are in better physical shape ahead of their home clash against Espanyol after being handed numerous injury boosts.
Last season's surprise package, Girona, have had a mixed start to the campaign and sit 10th in the table but registered back-to-back league wins before the international break.
They have struggled with injuries to key players this season, but Viktor Tsygankov, Jhon Solis, Arnaut Danjuma, Yaser Asprilla, Ladislav Krejci, Ivan Martin, and Alejandro Frances are all available for the game.
Michel hopes that having a wider group of players available will help them to extend their winning run.
"We are better physically. Only Yangel Herrera, [Gabriel] Misehouy, Portu and Abel Ruiz are out, and the rest are in the squad" Michel told reporters.
"Each case will be different in terms of giving us minutes, but they are ready to help us.
"Now we have replacements in each position, and it gives me peace of mind. We need everyone ready and in the next two to three weeks, we will be ready to play at 100%."
Michel said Herrera, who has scored twice and registered one assist in LaLiga this term, was not expected to return until the new year.
"He is a player who makes the difference in terms of duels, arrivals into the opponent's area and possession. He is vital, but we will not have him until 2025," he added.
Girona have 18 points after 13 games and will face an Espanyol side sitting in the relegation zone. The visitors are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road, but Michel has won just one of his four LaLiga matches against Espanyol (D2 L1).
The Girona head coach said Manolo Gonzalez's team cannot be taken lightly despite their underwhelming performances in away games.
Espanyol are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road.
"We faced each other in pre-season and we drew. It will be difficult since they are a very good team in transition with players like [Javi] Puado or Jofre [Carreras] with speed and depth," Michel said.
"It's always a different game. It's a derby, and it's good to play them. There is a rivalry that must be sporting and, for our people and the players, it is a different game."
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