Ross County vs Partick Thistle LIVE score as Kris Doolan picks attacking side for Premiership promotion bid

It’s unsurprisingly an unchanged XI for Thistle after their swashbuckling display on Thursday night, but they know they’ll be in for a tough afternoon in the Highlands as they look to complete a remarkable playoff run that’s seen them find the net EIGHTEEN times in just five matches, whilst only conceding three in that run.

Ross County have made four changes to the team that started at Firhill on Thursday, with Keith Watson coming in for Dylan Smith, who’s suspended after his red card through the week, while Nohan Kenneh replaces another suspended absentee in Owura Edwards.

The other changes see Ben Purrington make his first start since October as he replaces George Harmon and David Cancola come in from the start replacing Jordan Tillson.

Malky Mackay has also opted not to start Simon Murray, with the attacker signed from Queen’s Park again starting on the bench.

Starting XI: Mitchell, McMillan, Holt, Brownlie, Turner, Tiffoney, Graham, Lawless, Fitzpatrick, Muirhead, Docherty (c)

Subs: Sneddon, Bannigan, Dowds, Smith, McKinnon, Hodson, Mullen, Owens, MacKenzie

Starting XI: Laidlaw, Randall, Baldwin, Watson, Purrington, Cancola, Loturi, Kenneh, Dhanda, A. Samuel, White.

Subs: Munro, Sims, Harmon, Murray, Tillson, Williamson

Partick Thistle boss Kris Doolan appeared in confident mood ahead of the game and reckons his charges have got the experience and know-how to complete the job they’d started so well in Maryhill on Thursday night.

To me it is a Premiership squad and we have managed to find a shape and a style of play that suits us.

We play to our strengths but ultimately there are guys in there who have played hundreds of games at Premiership level.

It’s not as if we are a young side who are wet behind the ears, we don’t understand what the games are all about. They know how to get through games.

Malky Mackay is under no illusions about how tough his side’s task in overcoming Partick Thistle will be this afternoon, having seen his side steamrolled at Firhill on Thursday night after going down to 10 men following Dylan Smith’s early dismissal.

The County boss admitted that his half-time team talk was centred around keeping the scoreline at 2-0 for the second leg as Thistle peppered their goal, missing chance after chance, but he’s hoping a raucous Highland atmosphere can help his side to turn this one around and maintain their Premiership status. Speaking to the Press and Journal in the build up to this one, he said:

The message is to keep sticking with us. They were great on Thursday night. It’s a long way from the Highlands and it was great that so many of them came down.

Going back to Dingwall there will be a good crowd I imagine.

Most of Scotland is basking in glorious sunshine today and Dingwall is no different, with highs of 18 degrees celsius making it a positively excellent afternoon for a good old fashioned football slugfest.

Nick Walsh will be the man in the middle in Dingwall for this afternoon’s Premiership Playoff shootout between Ross County and Partick Thistle. He’ll be assisted by David McGeachie and David Roome, while Don Robertson will act as the fourth official.

Any VAR decisions will be handled by Greg Aitken, assisted by Alan Mulvanny.

If we do put them down it will be a sore one for me, I’m not going to lie. There are some very special people at that club. Wee Susan the kit woman, I still text her now. When I was up there she was like my wee mum. She texted me on Thursday night after the game to say she still loves me even though I scored! She’s a very special lady and I can’t wait to give her a cuddle today.

I had a great relationship with the fans at County. The only reason I left to come to Partick Thistle was because my family was here. I had a year left and took a massive pay cut to come here. It was a decision I made because of my kids.