Match Report
With clearance not coming through in time to include Steve Lovell against Raith Rovers Ian McCall fielded an unchanged side for the fourth game in a row.
It was the visitors that had the first real chance of this game. Jonny Tuffey came a long way from his goal to head clear and when Thistle still struggled to clear Russell was able to evade a couple of challenges inside the box before forcing Tuffey into an excellent save.
The pace of Tade was causing Thistle problems in the opening exchanges and in the 10th minute his cross presented Ryan Wallace with a chance but he wasn't able to control the ball. Nor was Johnny Russell a few minutes later after he had worked himself into an excellent scoring position inside the Thistle box which allowed Paul Paton to clear the danger.
In the 24th minute Raith, who had been the better side in the game's opening quarter, were a whisker away from an opening goal. Craig Wilson crossed for Grant Murray who saw his volley superbly turned over the bar by Jonny Tuffey.
A minute later Thistle made an early substitution. A few minutes earlier Ian Maxwell had received prolonged treatment from physio Crichton and he was replaced by Martyn Corrigan in a move that saw Alan Archibald slot into the centre of defence alongside John Robertson.
In the 33rd minute Thistle took the lead against, it has to be said, the run of play. It came at the end of one of Thistle's few fluent moves of the first half. Mark Corcoran caused the initial problems to the Raith defence but it was Paul Cairney that set up Simon Donnelly to shoot low into the corner of the net.
In the 41st minute Thistle were close to scoring a second goal. The ball dropped invitingly to Bryan Hodge at the edge of the Rovers box and David McGurn did well to push his shot round the post for Thistle's first corner of the game.
A minute later Raith were level and it was hard to argue that it wasn't a deserved equaliser. The ball fell nicely into the path of Ryan Wallace and from 12 yards out he left Jonny Tuffey with a powerful shot.
Typically Thistle's best spell in the game came in the closing stages of the first half. A snap shot from David Rowson was just a little too straight to unduly trouble McGurn. The Raith keeper was a little more pressed to save from Mark Corcoran and his right hand post as the first half moved into injury time.
As was perhaps expected Thistle started the second half the better side but clear cut chances were few and far between. In the 53rd minute David Rowson found room for a shot at the edge of the box but his shot was always on the rise.
Thistle were closer though in the 57th minute. Liam Buchanan squared the ball for Simon Donnelly and it took it took a great defensive clearance to snuff out the danger.
It was Raith though that would score the game's next goal in the 62nd minute and it was a crazy goal for Thistle to lose. Tade burst clear of the Thistle defence. When Tuffey produced an excellent save the danger looked to have been averted but when the loose ball wasn't cleared Robert Sloan ticked the ball home.
Three minutes later it was nearly a third for Raith but McGurn was able to block a point blank header from Mark Campbell.
It has been a fairly subdued afternoon for Liam Buchanan and it wasn't until the 71st minute that he had a clear glimpse of goal and on that occasion he could only find the side netting.
In the 77th minute Thistle were close to an equalising goal. Chris Erskine crossed from the right and he found fellow sub Jim Hamilton but Hamilton couldn't direct his header on target.
Thistle pressed hard for an equalising goal in the closing stages but the Raith defence held firm.
