Friday 25th April, 2014 at 2:53pm
After a pulsating 90 minutes where both Thistle and St Mirren went at each other hammer and tongs [link:HOME] caught up with Thistle manager Alan Archibald who had been hoping that the game might not have been quite so frantic.
“I was hoping that it wasn’t going to get like that. It went like that at Rugby Park as well and it was end to end stuff tonight and it was a very entertaining game. We knew that St Mirren would start the game well, and they did but after the first 5 minutes I thought that we dominated the first half.”
Alan continued;
“They had a wee spell around about the 41 minute mark, when I took a look at my watch, when we couldn’t get out our own half and we couldn’t get the ball back. Our decision making was poor. It was on just to turn it and get it out of our own half and that I think led to the penalty. That was a sore one to take at a hard time to take and the boys were down at half-time. I thought that they had played well enough to have been leading at half-time.”
What were Alan’s thoughts on the penalty?
“I thought it was a very soft decision especially on an occasion like this with so much at stake but the referee gave it. Hopefully we’ll get one like that at the other end in another match. You just have to take the good with the bad with referees.”
Did conceding a goal so close to half-time mean that the manager had to change what he was going to say to the players at the interval?
“I think it did and we had to lift the players because it was a sore one to take after having played so well. Also Prince got injured and we had to take him off. We changed a couple of things and I think that St Mirren were the better team in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half.”
Alan went on;
“I felt though that we finished the game the stronger. I was pleased that the lads kept their shape as St Mirren had that spell at the start of the second half. For about 15 minutes they were good but we kept our shape and still looked a threat. We always looked a threat. It’s important that we are creative and carry a threat.”
Both strikers Kris Doolan and then Lyle Taylor when he came on caused the St Mirren defence a whole host of problems throughout the game. Said Alan;
“It was the same last week for them. It’s very hard for them with the style that we play with one guy up top and the other guy coming off the line. It’s hard for the player up front and he has to put in a real shift and we have two very good strikers at the moment. Kris Doolan scored with a fantastic header from a great cross and Lyle Taylor caused them umpteen problems when he came on and was unlucky when he hit the bar.”
With our game for the weekend now completed what is Alan hoping for from the two other bottom six fixtures this weekend?
“What will happen will happen. I don’t think anyone can predict what is going to happen in these games. It was important that we got something from tonight’s game because we know someone is going to pick up something from the other games. It was vital that we got something as well. If we get the same attitude, performance and desire as we did tonight in the games remaining then we will be okay. The players tonight continued to show a desire to try and go and win the game and they did that in a manner that saw them keep their shape. Earlier in the season we didn’t always maintain our shape and that allowed teams to cut us open so it was good to see us keep our shape against a good St Mirren side who are on a good run of form at the moment”
