Saturday 20th January, 2018 at 7:44pm
After a three week break, Partick Thistle returned to competitive football with a trip to Palmerston Park this afternoon. The Jags faced Queen of the South in what was their first game since the 30th of December and it was a successful return to action for the Maryhill men as they ran out 2-1 winners. Conor Sammon opened the scoring at the end of the first half before the Doonhamers drew level in the 55th minute. The game was an end-to-end one and just as it seemed destined for a replay in Glasgow, Conor Sammon popped up with another goal as his deflected effort sent Thistle into the fifth round draw. Jags boss, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk after seeing his side progress in the cup.
Archie started by making clear the pride he has for his side as they move into the next round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
“The first thing I said to the lads was well done. This was by no means an easy tie against a lower league side. Queen of the South have plenty of quality and we had to fight hard for the win. This game was one being tipped to be an upset and it was up to us to ensure it didn’t end up that way. In the end, we’ve got the win and that’s what it was all about.”
Thistle boss, Archibald spoke of his side’s energy and positive attitude in an action-packed game with some good play at points.
“The boys applied themselves well and got up to speed quickly. When you have no game for three weeks, it can be difficult to get up to match speed immediately but I thought we cut the sloppiness out fairly quickly. There were periods when we played good football but we allowed them to play more freely than we would have liked. We wanted to nullify Dobbie but we didn’t do that too well and he looked dangerous for them. However, in the end, we’ve got over the line.”
The gaffer was full of praise for the day’s match winner, Conor Sammon, who netted twice as he made it three goals in two games having picked up the McCrea Financial Services December Player of the Month award.
“I thought he was great today. He played really well against Ross County and changed the game for us on that day but the key was to build on that. He was a handful for their defenders today and obviously getting two goals is brilliant. He’s a really hard worker and I’m sure he’ll continue to push for a starting spot in the team.”
Alan then finished by mentioning the two returning players in the team. Callum Booth and Abdul Osman, who have both missed five months of action, started this afternoon and Archibald was happy with their comeback performance.
“Callum came back in and you wouldn’t know he’d missed any games. He was up and down that wing constantly and didn’t show any rustiness although he’ll probably be feeling it later tonight. I thought Abdul slotted back into the team fairly well and just having the captain back on the pitch was a boost in terms of morale. Mustapha Dumbuya was back in the squad too but we didn’t want to risk him on the artificial surface but hopefully he’ll get some more minutes in the coming weeks.”
Archie and his squad now turn their attentions to Tuesday night’s clash with Celtic as they return to league action at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill. Kick-off is 19:45 in Maryhill.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Callum Booth and Conor Sammon. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
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Article Copyright © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
