IAN McCALL was left bemoaning his side’s misfortune after a freak opening goal and a late equaliser saw Partick Thistle drop two points at home to Falkirk.

The Jags trailed for a significant portion of the game at Firhill but a three-minute salvo from first Joe Cardle and then Brian Graham swung the game in the hosts’ favour before a late Charlie Telfer strike ensured the game finished level.

“The annoying thing for me was the freak goal but I’ve been to see the linesman about it,” said McCall. “We could see at the time that the boy was offside – it was a really, really clear offside.

“It was a freak goal and that’s just the way things have been going for us.

“We don’t help ourselves though – we missed a penalty and [Ross] Docherty’s missed a sitter from four yards so the game should have been put to bed. It was a little but nervy for the last 10 minutes and we lost a scrappy goal.”

Falkirk didn’t have long to wait for their opening chance of the game as the visitors seized the initiative early on in Glasgow’s west end. Calumn Morrison turned on the afterburners to burst clear of Ryan Williamson down the left before teasing a delivery across the face of goal, only for Brownlie to recover and intercept before it could reach the unmarked Anton Dowds lurking at the back post.

Thistle are a club in dire need of a slice of luck of late, and fate conspired against the Jags once again at Firhill as they fell behind early on. A Falkirk counter-attack saw the ball eventually worked to Morrison as he drifted into the box. James Penrice stuck a challenge in, only for the ball to bounce off of Morrison and loop over Kieran Wright into the back of the net.

McCall’s men were handed a reprieve within minutes of falling behind but they failed to make the most of it. Cardle took a tumble in the box after a challenge from Paul Dixon and the referee pointed to the spot, but Graham’s strike lacked direction and was palmed wide of goal without too much effort from Motherwell loanee PJ Morrison.

Clear-cut chances were hard to come by as Thistle toiled in the final third. Connor Murray forced a smart stop from Morrison with a venomous effort from distance as the home side started to exert some serious pressure but while Falkirk were under the cosh for spells, Morrison was rarely called into action.

The away side were inches away from doubling their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Robbie Leitch’s driving run down the left resulted in a cut-back across the face of goal. Dowds had enough time to take a touch to steady himself before pulling the trigger but was denied by the frame of the goal to keep the score at 1-0 going into the break.

The game resumed a familiar pattern after the restart; Thistle committed men forward but struggled to break down the resistance that met them, while Falkirk protected their lead and looked to pick the Jags off on the counter, with Morrison a particular threat on the break for the away side.

Parity really should have been restored within five minutes of the second half kicking off. A Cardle free-kick picked out Docherty six yards out and unmarked, but the former Ayr midfielder couldn’t connect properly with the ball and was unable to seriously trouble Morrison in the away goal.

Midway through the second period, the leveller finally arrived. Blair Spittal pulled away down the left and floated an inviting ball towards the back post; Graham headed it into the path of Cardle, and the winger made no mistake from a few yards out.

Barely two minutes had elapsed before Thistle found themselves ahead, with Graham and Cardle combining well again. The latter beat Falkirk’s offside trap and crossed, and the former was at hand to steer the ball home.

With the clock winding down, it looked like Thistle would hold out for the victory but just like last weekend’s 1-0 defeat away at Cove Rangers, a late lapse in concentration again proved costly for them. Connor Sammon teed up his fellow substitute Charlie Telfer, and the midfielder buried his chance from close range to ensure a share of the spoils.

“I said that in the dressing room that it does feel like a big point for us,” said Falkirk assistant David McCracken after the final whistle.

“We never really started the second half and Partick had a good bit of the play and then the game spun on its head.

“We changed our shape to two sitting midfielders but we never got it until we made our subs and I thought the impact was good.”