Saturday 12th January, 2013 at 9:20pm
Tomorrow afternoon a Thistle side will make the short trip to Dumbarton to play a competitive fixture for the first time since April 2006. That afternoon Thistle were able to overturn a 2-0 half-time deficit and win 3-2.
A similarly tight game is in prospect tomorrow. The league table may still show Dumbarton sitting at the bottom but under the auspices of new manager Ian Murray they’ve undergone something of resurgence of late. Some notable wins away from home have seen them back in touch with those immediately above them, and with the benefit of a number of games in hand. They will view tomorrow’s game, therefore, an ideal opportunity to put further pressure on those above them.
Our own concerns lie, of course, at the opposite end of the table with the promotion battle in the second half of the season shaping up to be an enthralling one. As manager Jackie McNamara explained to ptfc.co.uk every game between now and the end of the season is a vitally important one.
“It’s a bit of a cliché I know but every game between now and the end of the season is going to be a big one. Every team has something to play for and that makes for very difficult matches no matter what position a team is in the league. We found that out when we played at Airdrie recently even though we had enough chances to win the game. We’re expecting a similarly tough game at Dumbarton tomorrow. They’ve had a couple of excellent wins away from home at Falkirk and Morton recently and the reports we’ve had from their game with Dunfermline last weeks were that they were unfortunate to lose the game.”
But for a couple of absentees the manager has virtually a full squad to pick from.
“Sean Welsh is suspended following his red card last Saturday and Stephen O’Donnell looks like the only other player to miss out tomorrow. It’s an old injury that Stephen has that become inflamed and he has been wearing a ‘moon’ boot to take the pressure off it. Hopefully he’ll be able to start back soon and we’ll see how he is but I think we’re looking at another couple of weeks at least before he is back.”
“James Craigen is back from his loan spell from Forfar Athletic and he’s added to the squad and is in contention for a place. James did well while on loan with Forfar. Indeed all the lads that have been out on loan have done well and benefited. Mark McGuigan did well while he was out at Albion Rovers and Christie Elliott, who is due back a week on Saturday, has also done well. We’ve not had a reserve game for about 5-6 weeks so the benefit in having players out on loan is obvious. You can only do so much training and there is nothing like playing games. The competitive games that the players out on loan will play, and have played, will hopefully mean that we will be up to speed as and when they are required.”
The dreaded bug that has laid low so many people so far this winter has so far kept pretty much away from Firhill.
“The physio is ill, as is Craig Hinchclife but touch wood we managed to stay clear of it. Steven Lawless was unwell last week and that’s why we only included him as a substitute at Livingston last Saturday. These type of things are just part and parcel of football. Players immune systems can be low after playing games and that means that they can pick up any bugs that are going round.”
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 2 2 7 8
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Steven Lawless 10
Chris Erskine 9
Steven Craig 8
Kris Doolan 8
Stuart Bannigan 4
Ross Forbes 3
Aaron Muirhead 2
Aaron Sinclair 2
Sean Welsh 2
Conrad Balatoni 1
Christie Elliott 1
Stephen O’Donnell 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 5th 2012
Livingston 2, Partick Thistle 2
Dumbarton Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 0 3 8 11
Scorers season 2012-2013
Jim Lister 9
Bryan Prunty 7
Scott Agnew 3
Mark Gilhaney 2
Garry Fleming 1
Andrew Graham 1
Alan Lithgow 1
Steven McDougall 1
Chris Turner 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 5th 2012
Dumbarton 0, Dunfermline Athletic 1
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday August 25th 2012
Partick Thistle 3, Dumbarton 0
Teams
Thistle: Fox, O’Donnell, Bannigan, Paton, Muirhead, Archibald, Lawless (Craigen), Welsh (Sinclair), Doolan (Elliott), Murray, Erskine.
Dumbarton: Grindlay, Devlin, Forsyth (Creaney), Lithgow, Graham, Fleming, Gilhaney, McDougall, Lister (Agnew), Forbes, Lamont (Johnston).
Scorers
Thistle: Doolan (15), Erskine (62), Bannigan (69)
Crowd: 2,944
Match Highlights
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 12th 2013
Dumbarton v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults £15
Concessions (under 16s and OAPs) £8
ALL TICKET FIXTURE
Ticket Information
Travel
Directions
Supporters’ Buses
Match Officials
Referee: Des Roache
Assistant Referees: Alastair Mather and James Burns
Other First Division Fixtures
Dunfermline Athletic v Airdrie United
Falkirk v Morton
Hamilton Accies v Cowdenbeath
Livingston v Raith Rovers
