ALLY Roy says that being denied his first goal for Partick Thistle by a dodgy offside call has him fired up to down Inverness today in the Highlands.

The striker is desperate to open his account for Thistle after joining the club in January, and thought his moment had arrived as he found the net in the last minute of last weekend’s win over Queen of the South.

The assistant referee had other ideas though, raising his flag to disallow the goal with a somewhat dubious decision, and that has made the 21-year-old doubly determined to get on the scoresheet this afternoon.

“It was very frustrating,” Roy said. “Watching it back, you can clearly see it’s a goal, so I’ve been hard done by there.

“It would have been good to open up my account, but that’s outwith my control. All I can do is try to get on the scoresheet this weekend.

“Hopefully if a chance comes against Inverness I can get on the scoresheet and get the three points, which is the most important thing.”

Despite being at Hearts as a youngster an enjoying loan spells with the likes of Dumbarton, Roy has a point to prove in his homeland after being out of the Scottish game for the last year playing for Sligo Rovers and then Derry City.

While in Ireland, he enjoyed playing and scoring against Dinamo Minsk in a famous Europa League win, and he believes the experience has stood him in good stead to now make an impact on home soil.

“It was a big moment for me in Minsk,” he said. “It was a great experience.

“We went over to Belarus and we weren’t favourites at all, but ended up pulling off a 2-1 victory and I got a goal and an assist.

“It was a proud moment for me and my family, and it’s something I’ll never forget.

“I went over to Ireland because I wanted to play as an out-and-out number nine. I was at Hearts and wasn’t getting the chance I thought I deserved, so I needed to make a change.

“I was promised I was going to play over there so I couldn’t turn it down, particularly with the chance to play in the Europa League. That was a big thing for me.

“I fancied coming home now though so I can spend every day with my family. My sister has two kids and it’s great to spend more time with them.

“In a football sense, I want to come back and prove a point to everyone in Scotland who has doubted me before, and prove a point to myself, because I know I’m good enough to play at this level – and higher.”

Aiming higher is firmly on the agenda for Thistle right now, and Roy is hoping that the Championship strugglers can continue their recent recovery with three points on the road this afternoon. Particularly if it means he annoys some old friends.

“The club shouldn’t be in the position that it is," he said. "As far as I am concerned, it is a Premiership club, so hopefully we can turn the fortunes around and try to push up the table with a couple of wins.

“The quality is in the team, so all we can really do is try to beat Inverness and then win the next game and see where it takes us.

“Inverness is a tough place to go. The conditions are never great, but hopefully we can go up there and get the result we’re looking for.

“I’ve got a couple of friends up there I’ve played with that I’m really close to, so it will be good to get one over on them.

“There’s Kevin McHattie and Brad McKay who are really close friends of mine, so hopefully I can get the win and the bragging rights.

“When it kicks off there’s no friend in football, so I’ll be looking to get the win and then we can be pals again later.”