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MANAGER Paul Hartley and midfielder Fraser Fyvie spoke to the media after our thrilling 2-2 League One draw with Partick Thistle at Balmoral Stadium.

We looked to be on the road to winning a rollercoaster of a contest thanks to an amazing long range effort from defender Ryan Strachan, but Partick replied to claim a point that kept them four points ahead of us at the top of the table, with two games to play.

Paul said: “I’m extremely proud of the players, they gave everything.

“It was a great game, a great advert for League One.

“It was two teams willing to have a go, end to end, with good goals and lots of chances.

“It was a tremendous game of football.

“I enjoyed the game, really enjoyed it.

“We were disappointed not to win with that great second goal, unfortunately we lost concentration a wee bit after that.

“Sometimes you are vulnerable after scoring, but I would rather focus on all the positives from our players, who once again rose to a huge challenge.

“We are on a really tough schedule and we’ve got to do our best to just pick them up from game to game.

“We’ve not got a big squad and we have players sore in that dressing room but I know they will pick themselves up and be ready to go again on Thursday (away to Montrose).

“They have been doing that all season and they deserve huge credit for getting what could prove to be another crucial point on the board for us.

“No matter what happens from here on, it’s been a positive season for us already.

“We have come from being a Highland League club just three years ago.

“We have tried to build the club and when we started the season we were thinking eighth and above might be quite good.

“But the players just keep going because we have some very good footballers there.

“We have matched the full-time clubs, we have been strong at home, it’s been a great effort from the lads in what we knew would be a different season, one that has also ended up being a bit stop-start.

“The players also play in the right manner, but they know they need to keep it up because we have another tough game ahead of us on Thursday.

“They will need to rest as best they can, we haven’t been able to train at all for two weeks now because we have been playing games constantly.

“The lads have also come in from their work ahead of this game and will be doing the same tomorrow.

“They put their bodies on the line every time for the club and all of us really appreciate that.”

Fraser said: “It was a good game of football.

“We knew what Partick were about, they are dogged with a lot of good experienced pros in their squad.

“They had also hit a bit of form lately, but we believe in our style of play and went toe-to-toe right to the end.

“We took the lead through an amazing goal from Ryan, but then lost a sloppy one, so it wasn’t to be.

“But we had done well to come back from a goal down to lead 2-1 and played well.

“We were the better side in terms of getting on the ball and being creative but always knew winning would be a hard task.

“Ian McCall (the Partick Thistle manager) knows his team and how to grind out results in this league, so fair play to them.

“Partick are in a good position now, but it’s not over.

“We need to look after ourselves, on Thursday and in the final game after that.

“Montrose are a really good side, they have beaten us twice already this season.

“We know it’s going to be tough but we will go there and give it all that we can again in the hope that we can earn the three points.”

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