Thursday 29th December, 2016 at 1:17am
Alan Archibald was looking rather pleased when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk after today’s game. His side had won two games on the bounce for the second time this season, managing to continue the good form they showed against Ross County against tonight’s opponents, Dundee.
A Callum Booth free-kick and a predatory Kris Doolan goal without answer meant that Archie’s team rose to sixth place just a week after finding themselves bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership table.
Alan Archibald started by mentioning his side’s rapid rise from rock bottom to top six.
“It’s a crazy league, we know that. We knew that we had winnable games coming up and we got the win we were in need of and now we have that long awaited home victory we’ve been looking for. I’m happy that we’ve finally rewarded the fans with a victory and a decent performance.”
Archie was glad that Thistle’s attacking quality shone through in a game that lacked rhythm.
“I thought that it was a scrappy game. It was two teams with similar formations trying to break each other down and we knew that it would take some quality from our creative players to do that. Callum Booth’s free-kick was very well taken and for the second goal, Kris Doolan and Chris Erskine were both finding good space and were rewarded. Thankfully, we managed the second half well after going two up.”
The gaffer wasn’t afraid to praise fans’ favourite Ryan Edwards, who has hit a purple patch as of late.
“I think that for the first 20 minutes, Dundee probably just shaded it in the middle of the park but we vastly improved by the second half. Sean Welsh and Ryan Edwards were especially impressive. Ryan’s energy is always there for everyone to see and he’s beginning to show that he has that little bit of quality to go with it.”
The Jags boss was quick to remind us that there’s no time to dwell on a good victory as his side have another important match against Kilmarnock this Saturday – the last game before the winter break.
“The incentive is huge for us. We have the chance to stay where we are, it’s in our own hands. We can’t take Kilmarnock lightly, though. They suffered a bad result last night and they’ll be looking to make amends. It will be a tough, tough game.”
Archibald also offered an update on the status of Liam Lindsay who was subbed off at half-time due to an injury.
“He’s taken a sore one on the face but hopefully he’s alright. I think he caught an elbow, he had a nosebleed and was feeling a bit dizzy but we don’t think it’s a concussion, so we hope he’ll be fine.”
The manager was extremely happy with the resilient nature of the team’s performance, which meant no late goals were conceded. Something the Firhill side have struggled with so far this season.
“We had to be tough. Dundee are a hard team to play against, they got a lot of balls in the box during the second half. I thought we managed the second 45 minutes very well. We’ve crumbled in these positions before, giving away late goals and I’m happy for Tomas Cerny to get that clean sheet.”
As Alan Archibald mentioned, the team now look towards a vital game against Kilmarnock at Firhill on New Year’s Eve. The game is a 2pm kick-off on Saturday and a win would keep the Jags in the top-six heading into the winter break.
