Raith Rovers star Kyle Turner recounts his play-off final misery with Partick Thistle

Having comfortably seen off Queen’s Park 8-3 on aggregate and Ayr United 8-0 on aggregate respectively in the two legged Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-finals and semi-finals, the buoyant Maryhill men then beat Ross County – who had finished second bottom of the top flight – 2-0 at Firhill in the play-off final first leg.

Partick were then winning the second leg in Dingwall 1-0 with 19 minutes remaining, but a late collapse saw Malky McKay’s side prevail 3-1 after 90 minutes and extra time, before seeing off Thistle 5-4 in a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out.

"The Queen's Park tie was kind of tight in the first leg,” Turner, 26, who is now on loan to Raith from County, told the Fife Free Press. “We went two goals up but we got pinned back slightly. In the second leg we scored early and we were on a roll really.

"We carried that into the Ayr game and we nearly killed the tie in the first leg when it was 3-0. In the second leg we kind of blitzed them away and I think everybody was really excited about going into the final.

"Obviously we took great supports everywhere in the play-offs. Then in the first leg we went 1-0 up and obviously Ross County got a player sent off.

"Really when we look back at it, we probably should have killed the game in the first leg, with the amount of chances we had. You always know going up there at 2-0, it was tricky.

"That day as well, you saw that a couple of things could have gone a different way.

"A possible penalty and a red card (against County).

"But looking back at it, we probably should still not surrender a three-goal lead.

"We should probably see the game out but that's football. It happens and obviously we had to pick ourselves up from that.

"For sure that was the biggest disappointment of my career. It's probably the most gutted I've ever been in football.

"We went from 25 minutes away from gaining promotion to not getting promotion and getting beaten in probably the worst way possible, in a penalty shootout.

"It was obviously a tough day and it was one that I'll remember for a while.”