Partick Thistle 0-1 Ross County: Stamp Collecting

By Iain Hepburn on Aug 30, 08 09:24 PM in Results

So let's get it out of the way first. Yes, it was a stamp. Yes, John Robertson's a blinking idiot for thinking he could get away with something quite so blatant. But yes, the linesman (a certain Richard Gough, ironically) deserved the abuse he got for the rest of the game - as did the referee - for their consistently inconsistent performance which proved, once again, that there's no corruption among senior officials, only incompetence.

The feelgood factor after last weekend's stunning rout of St Johnstone couldn't last, of course. In fact, it couldn't even last a week. If nothing else, the midweek cup victory over Dundee and the thrashing of Saints last weekend just served as a warning not to take too much for granted.

That's what happens when I build my hopes up, faithful readers.

We were crap today. No point in trying to softsoap it, we were absolutely garbage. Paton, the shining star of last weekend, was a dull red and yellow dwarf this time round, struggling to show the same swagger that marked his return against St Johnstone. He wasn't helped, mind you, by the fact that Tuffey and the rest of the team completely ignored him on the right side.

Time after time the ball got played down the left, or straight down the middle. It was predictable enough for us in the stands, so it should have been an easy read for the County players. Lipreading him during the game became an exercise in learning new and creative swearing combinations. In fact, so often was Paton blanked in favour of the opposite flank, you'd think he'd said something offensive to his teammates in the dressing room and this was his punishment.

Not quite as punishing as sitting through this, though.

County's goal came after some truly woeful defending, letting them carve through our back line with a creeping inevitability. And Thistle did nothing to appease the fans, with a lacklustre effort that exemplifed the weaknesses in our team. At times, watching the Jags play is like watching a re-run of an old tv show. You know what's coming next. So does everyone else.

It doesn't help when we continue to give the ball away cheaply, which is why we return to the old problem: Gary Harkins - what's the point? Seriously. He was the sponsor's man of the match today, showing that they've not only lost their name, but also lost their senses. Harkins remains a mercurial figure in it's literal sense - fickle and flightly, a player capable of moments of utter sublime genius and yet who cocks up basic five yard passes and gives the ball away so cheaply it may as well be giftwrapped.

It didn't help today that the referee and standside linesman were horrifically bad. Not because of the sending off - as I said, Robertson deserved it and deserves his punishment. But the inconsistency, throughout all of County's thuggish two-footed tackles, playacting and timewasting, showcased how easy it is to get away with gamesmanship in this league.

But never let it be said we're not a charitable club. After all, we just gave away three points to the needy for free.