Saturday 26th December, 2020 at 4:30pm
A trip to face League One leaders Falkirk on Boxing Day ended with the points shared as Partick Thistle drew 0-0 with the Bairns at the Falkirk Stadium. Thistle hit the woodwork twice in the latter stages of the first half but saw their hopes of winning severely dented when Zak Rudden was sent off in the 64th minute. The hosts huffed and puffed as the final whistle approached but a resolute Thistle backline saw off any danger to ensure a point was heading back to Firhill. Jags boss Ian McCall spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the match:
“I thought the team were brilliant and we created the best chances of the game. We hit the bar through Shea Gordon and then Zak Rudden hits the inside of the post and you can’t come much closer than that. We had other half chances too and looked on top to start the second half.
“Obviously, the red card changes things completely and we had to defend a lot more but even with that we looked dangerous on the counter and could have done better with some of the openings that were there at times.”
Once down to ten men, Thistle did a good job of limiting the home side and the gaffer was pleased with the way his team fought for the point.
“They threw a few attacking players on towards the end and were really pushing for the win but our guys stood up to that really well. Right across the back four we performed excellently and, to be honest, there weren’t many nervy moments after the red for us.
“That’s one goal conceded in seven games which is a fantastic record and a testament to the work those guys at the back have done. I have to give a word to Ciaran McKenna today as well because coming back from injury to fill in at right-back he was very solid and a big part of that clean sheet.”
Considering some of the chances the Jags created, McCall was frustrated not to have taken all three points although he did reiterate the pride he had in the way his team kept Falkirk at bay.
“Look, when you have the chances we had you’re always going to be frustrated not to have won especially when you see the way we defended late on. If we could have taken one of those chances then I’d have been very confident about seeing it out, however, we didn’t and we have to settle for a point which considering the circumstances isn’t the worst result.”
Ross Docherty was forced off the pitch in the first half due to injury and the manager says we’ll have to wait and see exactly what the problem is with the number 23.
“Of course, it was a huge blow to lose Doc so early in the game. He’s the skipper and a very influential player for us so we missed his presence in the middle of the park though I thought Shea Gordon did a terrific job after coming on. We’ll need to assess Doc’s injury over the next few days before we can say anything about it.”
A further reaction interview with Thistle gaffer Ian McCall will be available for JagZone subscribers to watch – log in to view.
We’ll also have extended highlights and a full game replay of today’s match on JagZone this evening.
Article Copyright © 2020. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
