DOUGIE Imrie watched on with pride as his side battled away at Firhill to hold a much-fancied, free-spending Partick Thistle side to a point in their William Hill Championship opener.

Neither side could find a breakthrough on the opening day as Imrie and Kris Doolan both had to settle for a point in Glasgow’s north-east, but there were plenty of positive signs for the Cappielow boss to dissect as his new look side continue to find their feet.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas may be wondering what could’ve been had his early chance got the better of Partick keeper, Myles Roberts. But despite the obvious financial gulf between the two sides, Ton walked away from Maryhill with their first point in over two years.

Here’s what we learned from the opening day draw at Firhill.

New boys show up well

Much of the debate in the build up to this Championship opener was revolving around the fitness and capabilities of Imrie’s two newest recruits JET, who was forced to watch from the stands against Alloa due to a delay in clearance and Ali Crawford, who’d penned a six-month deal in the hours leading up to the game at Firhill.

Eyebrows had been raised about JET’s goal scoring prowess and if he was the answer to the George Oakley-shaped hole left in Imrie’s front line. He certainly fills the void left behind.

(Image: Gary Bradley)

The former Livi man was a towering presence at the top end of the pitch, a fact compounded when the two teams walked out before kick-off and he dwarfed the usually imposing Brian Graham next to him.

And despite not having played since the end of last season, he showed that he’s still capable of doing a job as a no.9. He showed some nice touches and wasn’t shy in throwing himself about as he led the line well in a 72-minute debut.

As previously mentioned though, he’ll feel as if he should’ve made the net burst with a golden opportunity inside 10 minutes when one-on-one with Roberts, with the likes of Garrity and Crawford in support.

Questions were also being asked of the decision to re-sign former loanee Ali Crawford.

Football’s a fickle business where fans remember you for your big moments. Unfortunately, Crawford’s was a missed penalty against Arbroath. That was one of many collective missed opportunities that saw Ton miss out on the play-offs two seasons ago.

But the faux outrage that his announcement was met with, was soon withdrawn after about 12 minutes on Saturday.

You’d not have thought he’d not played in over a year, with a great engine and his eye for a pass against Partick. He’ll be a big player for Imrie this season.

Shug

Iain Wilson should’ve been in for a tough afternoon as the sole-holding midfielder against the likes of Logan Chalmers, Scott Robinson and Aidan Fitzpatrick.

But he was head and shoulders above anything that Partick had to offer in the middle of the park.

(Image: Gary Bradley)

He mopped up anything that threatened to trouble the backline, spring the counter-attack into life, as well as do his bit to marshal a usually potent Brian Graham out of the contest. The former Killie man was everywhere and his work is now finally being noticed.

He’ll feel the benefit of a full pre-season and Imrie’s side will be the one’s who win overall as a result.

This’ll only be the beginning of what could be for a special season for the man known as Shug.

Defensive nous

Saturday’s clean sheet was a big moment for this new-look Ton side and for Imrie. That was only his second clean sheet on the road since the end of February and his second competitive clean sheet of the season.

The backline of Ballantyne; Broadfoot; Boyes and Delaney lined-up for only the third time this season as they still get used to each other in their new surroundings. Broadfoot remained the only survivor from the defence that lined up in that 3-1 defeat to Inverness on the final day of last season.

(Image: Gary Bradley)

However, when up against the aforementioned Partick front line, they couldn’t have looked more comfortable against a striker as deadly as Graham, last seasons top scorer in the division.

Both Boyes and Broadfoot looked assured in possession and weren’t afraid to get involved in the physical battle that normally ensues with Graham – there was lots to be positive about.

Add in that Cammy Ballantyne looks as if he’ll be a 7/10 every week with Zak Delaney getting more confident as the games go on, Ton look like they have the right amount of guile, physicality and composure to build from more weeks than not.