Partick Thistle avenged their Premiership play-off loss to Ross County by knocking the Staggies out of the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 victory.
Former County striker Brian Graham opened the scoring for the visitors, with Scott Robinson making it 2-0 in the closing stages of the first half.
A stunning finish from Stuart Bannigan shortly after the restart put the result beyond doubt.
If memories of their last trip to Dingwall were still fresh in Partick’s minds it did not show early on as the visitors started on the front foot.
Some neat passing moves did not lead to clear-cut chances, though, and both goalkeepers had a quiet half hour.
New Ross County signing Eli King did get Jamie Sneddon scrambling across his line with an effort from a long way out that went just wide of the mark, before Partick took the lead.
A cross from Aidan Fitzpatrick on the left flank found its way to Graham at the back post, with the experienced forward tapping in.
Partick extended their advantage with the last move of the first half. Kerr McInroy charged onto a cutback to the corner of the box and saw his effort blocked into the path of Robinson, who was left with another simple finish.
Derek Adams made a triple change at the break to try and add some attacking impetus, bringing on James Brown, Jay Henderson and Jordan White, and it certainly seemed to make a difference.
Within five minutes of the restart, Yan Dhanda, Henderson and White had all had good chances – but none of them could find a way past Sneddon.
Any momentum County had been building was quickly dismissed when Stuart Bannigan scored a superb third in the 54th minute.
The ball sat up nicely for the midfielder 25 yards out and he volleyed the ball past George Wickens and into the bottom corner to seal Partick’s progress.
Nashville SC v Toronto: Smith refuses to rule out playoff push
Nashville SC are ignoring any suggestions that an MLS playoff position is out of their reach ahead of the midweek clash with Toronto at GEODIS Park.
That was the message from the Boys in Gold head coach Gary Smith, whose side sit 13th in the Eastern Conference after their 1-0 defeat to Charlotte FC last time out.
Nashville are still only three points adrift of ninth-placed Philadelphia Union and a place in the postseason, with Smith refusing to give up hope.
"I don't believe, and nor do any of the guys in the group, that we are by any way, shape or form, out of the hunt for a playoffs position," he said.
"A couple of results get you right back in to the mix again, and that's, of course, our challenge over the next two games."
Toronto are fourth in the East standings after their 3-2 defeat against New York City FC in their last outing.
Visiting head coach John Herdman is looking forward to facing a familiar face in Jacob Shaffelburg when his side visit, however.
"He's flying at Nashville," Herdman remarked on Monday. "I've seen some stats at the weekend about his impact on their team and how many touches he has in that opposition half and how many crosses are leading to goals.
"I remember having him in that Gold Cup recently. He came off the bench and scored against the US. It shows where he's at now as a player."
PLAYERS TO WATCHNashville SC – Sam Surridge
Former Nottingham Forest striker Sam Surridge continues to provide the goals for Nashville this term, scoring a club-leading five in MLS this campaign.
The Englishman failed to find the target against Charlotte, but managed a hat-trick against CF Montreal in his previous outing before that.
Toronto – Prince Osei Owusu
In the absence of the in-form Federico Bernardeschi, Prince Osei Owusu will be expected to step up against Nashville.
The Toronto forward leads the club scoring charts with five goals in 12 MLS appearances this year, two ahead of any teammate in the league.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Opta's win probability has Nashville as the overwhelming favourites for this one, yet a draw may be more likely considering each team's recent form and head-to-head records.
Toronto are unbeaten in five straight meetings with Nashville (W2 D3), with the Boys in Gold the only side the Canadians have played three or more times since the start of the 2022 season and not lost against.
Nashville have also won only two of their last 16 matches against MLS opponents in all competitions (D6 L8), though 11 of the 12 points they have collected over that time have come at home (W2 D5 L3).
Smith's hosts have conceded at least once in 12 consecutive matches in all competitions, too, their longest streak in club history after opening the season with three straight clean sheets.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC win: 55.4%
Toronto win:18.6%
Draw: 26%
Emery revels in 'special day' as Villa seal Champions League qualification
Unai Emery says Aston Villa have achieved their dream after qualification for next season's Champions League was secured.
Tottenham's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday left Ange Postecoglou's fifth-place side five points behind Villa, who subsequently sealed a fourth-place finish with a game to spare.
More importantly, the Villans are back in UEFA's premier club competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season, when they suffered European Cup quarter-final elimination to Juventus.
Additionally, the club secured their highest top-flight finish since the 1995-96 campaign, which they also ended in fourth place.
Emery, whose side reached this season's Europa Conference League semi-finals, now has his sights set on Europe's top prize next season, in which he is demanding even more from his players.
"It's a very special day," the Spaniard told Villa's official media channels. "It was our dream when we started the season to be here. To play Champions League is, after the Premier League, the best.
"You can play in the Premier League against the best teams in the world, it's very difficult. When you are playing in the Champions League, you are playing against the best teams, at the same time, from other countries. And it's amazing.
"We know the history of Aston Villa is so long and so successful. Even in the Champions League, we knew the responsibility was to try to increase our level, try to be demanding and to dream.
"I want to enjoy more and, next year, the new challenge starts for us. To build a team again, and be strong to go and always increase our level; this is our objective."
CF Montreal v Columbus Crew: Champions Cup final preparations Nancy's focus
Wilfried Nancy says the Columbus Crew will use their next three road games in MLS to prepare for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, starting with Wednesday's trip to CF Montreal.
MLS Cup holders Columbus will face Mexican side Pachuca in the Champions Cup final on June 1, having seen off Monterrey in the semi-finals earlier this month.
Before then, they face visits to Nancy's former employers Montreal, as well as the Chicago Fire and Orlando, in MLS. Last Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to FC Cincinnati left the Crew eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Asked about the challenges presented by their road stretch, Nancy said: "It's exciting. We'll play many games, we'll face different kinds of teams.
"We want to challenge ourselves. We want to get better and find ways to have good performances. We have this spirit.
"This is the spirit of my team, the spirit of wanting to do well. We'll play Montreal, then Chicago and Orlando, then we play the final. Three games to prepare the final. This is the way we see it."
Montreal are just three points behind Columbus, having seen a 2-0 lead evaporate in their 3-2 defeat to Inter Miami last time out.
Despite the loss, midfielder Bryce Duke was encouraged by the way Montreal kept Lionel Messi quiet, saying: "We need to keep going in this direction and get results.
"It's going to be a tough month ahead. It will be important to recover and be ready for Wednesday.
"It's a great achievement to contain Messi, now the aim will be to keep the lead next time and play the full 90 minutes."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Jules-Anthony Vilsaint
Vilsaint recorded a goal and an assist against Miami, his second MLS game with one of each, with the other coming versus Columbus last September.
The only Canadian with more such games than Vilsaint for Montreal in MLS is Patrice Bernier, with five.
Columbus Crew – Max Arfsten
Arfsten scored what proved to be a late consolation off the bench against Cincinnati, his third career goal as a substitute in MLS (including playoffs).
Only three players have more goals off the bench in MLS play since the beginning of last season – Duncan McGuire with six, Josef Martinez with five and Tyler Wolff with four.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Columbus are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Montreal, including a scoreless draw when the sides met in April.
The Crew's longest ever unbeaten run against Montreal is five matches, their last streak of that length being recorded between 2016 and 2018.
They had their nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions snapped by Cincinnati last time out, though seven of those matches had finished level. Montreal tend to be solid at home, so another draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 36.8%
Columbus Crew – 34.7%
Draw – 28.5%
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