Sat 23 May, 2015
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership 
Fir Park, Motherwell
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership
Sat 23 May, 2015. Kick Off: - 15:00
Fir Park, Motherwell
As the end of the season approaches Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk about the final game against Motherwell.
“Everyone knows there aren’t places to play for this weekend but it gives us a chance to sign off in style and give our fans a bit back after a very poor performance against Kilmarnock. Fir Park is always a tough place to go but we’ll be going there with the same professional attitude that we have had all season. Nothing will change in terms of our preparation.
“These kinds of games are always tough to prepare for as you never know what team sides will go with. obviously Motherwell will have one eye on the play-off and that will be their priority i would imagine. we just need to prepare for the threats we know they carry and play to our strengths during the 90 minutes. We can only worry about ourselves and that’s where our focus will be.”
Reflecting on the season as a whole, Archie is satisfied with what he has seen from his side.
“We’ve had a very satisfying season and we’re delighted to have finished 8th. We have shown that we’ve learned from mistakes last season and grown together as a team. If we can keep that attitude going into next season we should be able to progress again.
“There has certainly been an element of frustration this season too though. If we hadn’t gone on the bad run we went on we might very well have been pushing top six too. There has definitely been consistency missing from our game and that is definitely something we will look to improve next time.”
For now though the target is Saturday and that is where the manager’s focus lies.
“We want to finish on a high and that is what Saturday is about. We can go out there and enjoy playing football, if we do that then we are more than capable of getting the result. We’ll need to remain focussed and keep our discipline but I expect our players to be fully committed and I hope that will bring the result come full time.”
Thistle concluded the 2014/15 season with a trip to Fir Park to play a Motherwell side who were condemned to the relegation playoffs as a result of the results a week before. Thistle were hoping to finish the season on a high following a massively disappointing 4-1 reverse against Kilmarnock the week before.
Manager, Alan Archibald, used the opportunity to experiment with the formation implementing a 3-5-2 formation which saw Jack Hendry make his full debut for the club. He was flanked in central defence by Stephen O’Donnell and Ben Richards-Everton. Christie Elliott and Callum Booth were deployed as wingbacks. There was also a start, for the first time, for David Wilson while another player in the development squad, Neil McLaughlin, was listed on the six strong bench.
Motherwell started the game stronger but there was little in the way of clear goalscoring opportunities. Stephen O’Donnell tried an ambitious 40 yard effort but Twardzik was equal to it and turned it around the post.
It was a typical end of season affair with both sides trying hard to impose themselves on the game but lacking quality at times. Thistle crafted a couple of opportunities with Doolan unable to control a long ball from Jack Hendry before Elliott cut the ball back to Wilson who fired wide of goal.
Craig Moore had the games clear chance as he scampered away from the defence but O’Donnell was across quickly to challenge winning a free kick.
Gary Fraser appeared to be on a one man mission to fire Thistle to a last day win with a memorable goal, peppering Dan Twardzik with a variety of shots from all manner of distances.
Motherwell posed a threat on the break and John Sutton was unable to turn the ball home with Fox struggling to get to it after good play set him free in the box.
With a little under 10 minutes remaining Neil McLaughlin came on as a substitute for Kallum Higginbotham, making him the youngest ever Partick Thistle player to play for the club in the top flight of Scottish football. He also became the first player to play for the club who was born after Scotland last appeared in a major international tournament, a trend that hopefully won’t continue for too much longer!
The game played out to a tame ending with Sutton heading straight at Fox in the dying embers as neither side could find a goal to separate the sides.
Following a typical end of season match away to Motherwell which, in the end, finished 0-0, Jags gaffer, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk to give his reaction.
“Yes, the game certainly had an end of season feel to it but there were definitely some positives to take. I thought we played well at times and it was good to get a couple of the younger guys a taste of first team football. We had a couple of late call offs but the boys that came in I thought handled it well.
“We were forced into a change of formation and went with three at the back, it’s something we have tried before in training and potentially gives us an extra option for next season. Ideally you would want to get to the point where we can change it in the middle of a game to help break down teams and it was good to see how the lads handled it today.
“It’s good to know that we have a bit of quality coming through the youth ranks and that those lads are there o back us up when they are called upon. David Wilson and Jack Hendry both started their first games and both did very well. Hopefully they’ll continue to develop and stay in and about the first team set up.”
Motherwell made nine changes to their team and it was clear their focus was more on next weekends play-off clash against Motherwell, a position Archibald is delighted not to find himself in.
“I came and watched their game against Kilmarnock and I was just so glad not to be in that position this year. We’ve done really well to secure safety early and it means we can go enjoy the summer now and start looking to build for next season.”
