Wednesday 24th March, 2021 at 12:05am
Partick Thistle advanced to the third round of the Scottish Cup with victory over Cowdenbeath at Firhill this evening. The Jags ran out 3-0 winners to book a clash with Dundee United in the competition’s next stage at Tannadice on Saturday 3rd April. Shea Gordon opened the scoring with a low drive after six minutes before Zak Rudden added to the scoring with his first goal as a Thistle player. Connor Murray rounded off a dominant display for the hosts by firing home the third in the 65th minute. Jags boss Ian McCall spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the final whistle:
“We’re pleased with that because it was a pretty comfortable evening in the end. Saying that, we could have scored more and we want to be more ruthless but as I said before the game, there’s always a shock and thankfully it wasn’t us. There were a lot of very good individual performances but the players are still finding their feet.”
One of the standout performers was Scott Tiffoney who, having only officially signed a few hours before kick-off, managed to set up the opening goal.
“That move happened quite late on. Young Adam Devine had been brought in originally because we thought Ryan Williamson would be out another month but he’s made great progress and that meant Adam would be unlikely to get game time so it made sense for all parties that he went back to Rangers.
“That meant we had a spare loan slot and we were looking for a wide player who could play through the middle. Someone with pace as well and Scott fits that profile perfectly. It was good to get him in for this game and we felt that he played well tonight.”
Another one of McCall’s recent signings Ross MacIver was very involved in Thistle’s attacking forays, however, the number 31 saw efforts denied by Cowdenbeath goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth on three occasions.
“He came off thinking that he should have had a hat-trick. He had two or three good chances with headers and to be fair one of them was a terrific save from the goalie but the last of those he should have stuck away. He did well though and it will be a difficult team to pick for Saturday which is a huge game.”
Zak Rudden got off the mark as a Jag with a goal early in the second half and the manager hopes he can now just kick on and reach his full potential.
“Zak’s been really unlucky with injuries and hasn’t had a run of games for us yet which is a real shame. He’s still searching for sharpness because he did miss so much time but he’s a standout in training and now he’s got that first goal we just want to see him kick on.”
Thistle Weir youth academy product James Lyon came off the bench for the final 15 minutes, making his second appearance as a senior player and Ian says those were minute well earned by the youngster.
“I don’t want to build him up too much when he’s still a very young guy but having seen him since he’s been in training with the first team squad I think he’s got a big future. He’s got certain attributes that you can’t really coach, you either have them or you don’t.
“He’s got great awareness, he can carry the ball really well and he covers the pitch too. He’s one of a few boys who we have in and they’ve all got great quality so hopefully we’ll see him continue to develop into a real player.”
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 tomorrow evening.
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