Sat 13 July, 2013
Friendly 
Dumbarton Football Stadium, Dumbarton.
Friendly
Sat 13 July, 2013. Kick Off: - 15:00
Dumbarton Football Stadium, Dumbarton.
Tomorrow afternoon Thistle’s pre-season programme continues with a trip to Dumbarton, a side that we faced in First Division action just a few short months ago.
While our two home games with Dumbarton last season ended in comfortable wins we had a little more difficulty in the two matches away from Firhill. Indeed not only did we fail to record a victory at Dumbarton last season we failed to score a single goal while collecting just a single point. Tomorrow’s game promises then to the stiffest pre-season test we have received thus far.
Thistle are expected to be along the lines of the teams that have filled the two pre-season fixtures so far although trialist Gary Fraser, expected to join Bolton Wanderers, won’t be involved for Thistle tomorrow.
Speaking to [link:HOME] a little earlier today manager Alan Archibald gave us just a brief update on the team news for tomorrow;
“The game will come just a little too early for Stuart Bannigan who picked up a knock a couple of weeks ago and Steven Lawless might miss tomorrow’s game as well though only because his partner is due to give birth anytime now. Otherwise everyone is fit and well and we are looking forward to what will be a tough game for us.”
Alan was also able to give us his thoughts on today’s League Cup draw with Thistle handed a home tie against Ayr United.
Said Alan;
“It’s a good draw for us in as much as we’ve got the home tie that we were looking for. We’re expecting a hard game though and we know that we will have to be at our best if we want to progress to the next round.”
Match Details
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday July 13th 2013
Dumbarton v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults £10
Concessions £5
The Supporters bar at the stadium will be open to Thistle fans on Saturday from 1:15pm.
Directions
Match Officials
Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant Referees: Stuart Hodge and Craig Winning
Thistle took their tally of goals from their last two pre-season outings to nine with a 4-3 win over Dumbarton. The quality of the football that Thistle produced at times was excellent but equally there was a casualness at the back that allowed the final score to be a little closer than it perhaps should have been.
Even though Thistle won last season’s First Division with a bit to spare they encountered a few problems in their away fixtures with Dumbarton; collecting just one point from a possible six and failing to register a single goal. They fell behind in this game as well. Just over four minutes were on the clock when Mark Gilhaney had time and space at the back post to nod the ball home from about a yard out.
Worse could have followed less than two minutes later. Ross Smith was allowed a free header from a corner from the left with Thistle left thankful that Smith’s header lacked accuracy.
There had been signs, however, in those early stages that Thistle were looking sharp coming forward and they were back on level terms in the 10th minute. A series of passes around the edge of the Dumbarton penalty box left James Craigen with just the keeper to beat and he confidently steered the ball beyond Grindlay and into the net.
Three minutes later Thistle were close to taking the lead. Ross Forbes’ cross from the left picked out John Baird and Grindlay did well to claw the ball round the post for a corner.
Thistle though did take the lead in the 20th minute. Steven Lawless was a constant threat to Dumbarton every time he got the ball and he had a huge part to play in this goal. His surging run ended with his squaring the ball to Ross Forbes to his left and Forbes low drive found the bottom corner of the net.
Just prior to the half hour mark Thistle had a third goal although there was a touch of good fortune surrounding this strike. James Craigen’s lofted cross into the box wasn’t a great one but the ball caught in the wind and when Grindlay good only punch clear Stephen O’Donnell was on hand to gather it and lash a shot high into the net.
Thistle were close a number of times to extending their lead further before the half-time whistle. Ross Forbes curled a free kick just over the bar and John Baird too saw an effort clear the Dumbarton crossbar with not too much to spare.
Steven Lawless’ performance merited a goal and he was twice close to scoring it before the interval; firstly his angled drive went wide of goal before Grindlay had to save low to his left to keep a Lawless effort out.
It was Sean Welsh though that was closest to a fourth goal for Thistle before half-time with Grindlay doing well to turn his powerful drive round the post for a corner.
A little over two minutes of the second half had been completed when the game had another goal. The slackness that had littered some of Thistle’s defending in the opening half reared its’ head again and Scott Agnew was able to find the net with a shot that was deflected wide of the grasp of Scott Fox.
Thistle though were able to re-establish their two goal lead in the 57th minute. Ross Forbes touched a free kick into the path of trialist Mark Kerr who was lurking to his right and Kerr’s shot from fully 30 yards out beat Grindlay for the pick of the game’s seven goals.
As is the norm in pre-season fixtures there were frequent substitutions during the course of the second half and that unquestionably had an impact on the rhythm of the game.
Dumbarton though were able to reduce the gap to just a solitary goal with 19 minutes remaining when Megginson was able, unmarked, to tuck the ball home from six yards out.
The home side could even have been level with 7 minutes of the game remaining when Garry Fleming curling shot wasn’t too far away from finding its’ intended target.
Thistle too were close to scoring before the end of the game. In what was the last serious action of what had been an entertaining fixture; James Craigen was only denied his second goal of the afternoon by a fine stop by Grindlay who did well to tip Craigen’s 25 yard effort over the bar.
Saturday’s pre-season friendly with Dumbarton, with no fewer than seven goals scored, was an entertaining fixture. [link:HOME] spoke with manager Alan Archibald after the game and we asked him what his verdict on the game was.
“A bit mixed. I thought that we knocked the ball about well and played some good stuff in the first half after starting slack in the first few minutes. I thought we played some good football and could have scored on a number of occasions when we broke forward on what was quite a sticky pitch. I was quite happy with the way we played when we had the ball and were going forward. The negatives, obviously, was losing three goals; that was disappointing.”
Alan continued on that subject;
“There was a bit of slackness at the start of the game and I said to the players at half-time that in pre-season games you get into the habit of playing tippy tappy football at times and into doing things that you wouldn’t do in a real game. Things like passing the ball in the wrong areas and generally making the wrong decisions and I think you could see that that was what caused a couple of the goals. I think we will put that down to it being pre-season. It’s something that we never did last season and we want to get back into the good habits of last year when we weren’t giving goals away.”
He continued on that theme;
“You tend to find in pre-season when you want a player to do something sharply they don’t and when you don’t they do. When a game has a competitive edge you need to make the right decisions at the right times and in pre-season games you tend to make the wrong decisions. That’s all it was today.”
There were, of course, plenty of positives to take from the game and there was praise from the manager for Steven Lawless;
“I thought Steven Lawless was unplayable at times to be honest and he was really good. Steven has missed out a bit pre-season after picking up a couple of knocks but you could see today the quality that he brings to the team.”
The game gave the manager the opportunity to cast his eyes over another trialist.
Said Alan;
“We had another trialist at the back today; we’ve gone through a few pre-season. We know that we need cover having lost a couple of centre backs, myself and Andy Dowie, and we are on the look out all the time and it is just a case of going through them all to see what they have to offer. I thought the lad today did well. I thought he acquitted himself well. He hasn’t had any pre-season and he only arrived late on Thursday and he only had one training session with us.”
The manager was also able to give us an update on another couple of trialists that have been with us pre-season.
“We’re speaking to Bolton about bringing Gary Fraser in on loan and we are probably going to offer Mark Kerr a contract. He’s done really well and he is the right type to come in and enhance our midfield. We had a bit of an injury crisis in midfield towards the end of last season and that left us a bit short and it is an area that we need to be well covered in. So we will offer Mark something and we will see where things take us over the weekend with Gary Fraser.”
The search for players is on-going as the manager explains;
“I’ve got until the end of August to try and get things sorted but I really want to get things sorted as quickly as possible. As I said; we are always on the look out for players and it wouldn’t be a surprise if there were a couple of more trialists in Tuesday’s game with Livingston.”
Tuesday’s game will be another stern test as Thistle’s pre-season preparation steps up.
“There’s been a progression in the type of games that we have been playing and you will see that again on Tuesday. Livingston are full-time and they are a little more than just being a decent First Division team. We’re trying too to make sure players get 90 minutes of action. We did that today and we will do that on Tuesday as well. It does upset the rhythm a little when you make six changes during a game but that is something that we just need to do.”
Is there anything arranged yet for Saturday July 27th?
“We’ve something pencilled in for Firhill on that date and hopefully that will be confirmed shortly and perhaps something midweek as well.”
