Partick Thistle WFC v Hamilton WFC – 5th November 2023

Following an unexpected break at the hands of Storm Babet, Partick Thistle Women returned to SWPL1 action in historic fashion as they took on Hamilton Academical at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill.

The afternoon’s opposition found themselves bottom of the table in a testing round of fixtures which saw them claim two points from a potential thirty-three. In the reverse tie Thistle ran out 3-0 victors in South Lanarkshire as the Jags looked to reclaim league points following the unlucky loss to Celtic in the latest match three weeks prior.

Manager Brian Graham had a full squad selection at his disposal going into this match, both Ava Easdon and Jenna Ferguson returned following their successful international period with Scotland U19’s whilst Emma Lawton had recovered from her recent injury allowing for her selection into the right back position.

Despite Thistle’s strong introduction it was the opposition who took the opening shot of the match. An ambitious effort from outside the box was sent at Ava Easdon but didn’t trouble the Scotland international as it went beyond her crossbar. The response from Thistle was immediate as current top goal scorer Cara Henderson created the solo run from the centre of the pitch, her resulting effort forced the deflection and won thistle the first corner of the game.

Partick Thistle had found particular success in getting the ball in behind the Hamilton backline, with numerous instances down both the left and right hands sides where the through ball had seen thistle gain the advantage. The most notable example came 15-minutes in as Hay had gotten into space at the corner of the box before dispatching the pass that saw Henderson go through on goal. She took the shot whilst simultaneously going to ground through the sliding defence as the ball rolled narrowly beyond the post to deny the opener.

Just as they were in attack, thistle showed the strength of their defensive work when required of them. 19 minutes into proceedings Hamilton collected possession and begun a series of high airborne passes that saw the advance from the back into the final third. Denying any further progression was Bulloch, whose sliding effort saw the ball go back into the favour of thistle as they re-entered their attacking threat.

It took just 35 minutes for history to be cemented as Thistle gained their well-deserved opener from Sinclair. From the goal kick, Partick Thistle worked their way up the pitch, with Lawton using her pace advantage to get the better of her player to play the pass to Hay who was situated close to the corner flag. Her precise cross ball looped perfectly to the head of Sinclair who put the effort into the back of the net, marking her fourth goal of the season.

The second half began much to the same as the first had ended, as Henderson looked to double the deficit almost immediately from kick-off. The Jags broke away through the efforts of Donaldson whose pass reached the intended Henderson, allowing her to go one on one with the Hamilton keeper before being flagged offside.

It was the almost mirror image of this that saw Partick Thistle gain their best opportunity to double their lead. Henderson once more saw herself go through on goal as a result of the pass from Hay, however in this instance she was brought to ground as the goalkeeper attempted the save, immediately awarding the penalty to the home side. Henderson made no mistake of her opportunity as she sent the shot bolting into the top corner from the spot, cementing the top scorer’s seventh of the season.

Two intervals of substitution saw Docherty, Hay, Taylor, Bulloch, and Henderson be replaced by Longcake, Slater, McGowan, Adams, and Munro as Thistle looked to claim the three points whilst still pushing their attacks to extend their lead even further.

5 minutes from time is when their search became a reality through a sensational strike from Emma Lawton. Thistle advanced into the box before the pass was sent back out with its perimeter as it continued to fill with defensive bodies. Collected by Lawton from range, she fired the shot at pace beyond all that surrounded her as the ball bounded into the back of the net just below the underside of the cross bar. Her strike saw her immediately embraced by her teammates whilst the record crowd at the Wyre Stadium joined in the celebration.

The sounding of the full-time whistle only kick started the jubilant scenes shared by the crowd around the stadium. In a match that saw them pick up three goals, three points and slot into sixth place in the SWPL1 table, Partick Thistle Women completed a historic 90 minutes in their ever-evolving timeline, and undoubtedly inspired the future generation that currently cheered their name in the process.