Saturday 26th January, 2013 at 9:23pm
It was a welcome return to winning ways against Falkirk last weekend but that will mean little if we don’t follow it up with another three point haul tomorrow when we entertain Cowdenbeath.
Cowdenbeath may be one of the three teams embroiled in a relegation battle but the two previous meetings between the sides this season have been tight affairs and there is no reason to suppose it will be any different tomorrow.
Said manager Jackie McNamara when speaking to ptfc.co.uk
“I know their manager Colin Cameron well as he was a team mate of mine with both Wolves and Scotland. He’s doing a great job at Cowdenbeath with limited resources. He’s side are well organised and they all fight for each other. Tomorrow’s game is a very important one for us though. It’s another home game and we want to build upon the good result that we had last week against Falkirk. To do that we will need to make sure that we are up for the game and that we first of all match Cowdenbeath physically. Once we’ve done that hopefully our ability will then come through.”
“It was certainly great to get back to winning ways last Saturday against Falkirk. We had suffered a few set backs in the games immediately prior that incurring a few silly suspensions along the way and not being clinical enough in front of goal. That said I didn’t think that the performances themselves suggested that there was anything too much wrong. We were much more clinical against Falkirk and watching the highlights back it’s clear that we could have won the game by a bigger margin had their keeper not made a number of excellent saves. It was hugely encouraging to create as many chances as we did during that game.”
“The one downside to an otherwise excellent afternoon was the injury sustained by Steven Lawless. Steven was due to go for his operation on his fractured cheekbone today and we’ll know better after that how long that he will be out for. The initial reports though suggest that it isn’t as bad as first feared and we could be looking at somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks for his return. There is an issue with regard to physical contact as he recovers and we may need to get him a protective mask.”
“Aaron Muirhead, who missed last week’s game through illness, was back in training during the week so Steven Lawless aside the only other injury we have, at the time of writing, is Stephen O’Donnell. I feel that we have missed Stephen’s energy in recent weeks and the good news is that is looking much better and is in line to return next week.”
“We also have Christie Elliott back from his loan with Albion Rovers and his is looking sharp and much more confident. The benefit in sending players out on loan was evident when we brought James Craigen on against Falkirk. He looked really lively when he came on and I know Dick Campbell was greatly impressed with him while he had him at Forfar. He also saw the great potential that James has. He has two good feet and is a natural athlete.”
“James, like the rest of the squad, will have a part to play between now and the end of the season. It’s up to the players when they are in the team to play so well that it becomes impossible for me to take them out of the side. That is the kind of selection headache that all managers want.”
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 2 2 8 8
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Chris Erskine 11
Steven Lawless 10
Steven Craig 8
Kris Doolan 8
Stuart Bannigan 4
Conrad Balatoni 3
Ross Forbes 3
Aaron Muirhead 2
Aaron Sinclair 2
Sean Welsh 2
Christie Elliott 1
Stephen O’Donnell 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 19th 2013
Partick Thistle 4, Falkirk 1
Cowdenbeath Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
0 4 1 6 7
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Lewis Coult 8
Jamie Stevenson 7
Marc McKenzie 6
Greg Stewart 5
Kyle Miller 4
Lewis Milne 2
Mark Ramsay 2
Kenneth Adamson 1
John Armstrong 1
Dean Brett 1
Liam Caddis 1
Kane Hemmings 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 12th 2013
Hamilton Accies 2, Cowdenbeath 1
Last Meeting
Ramsdens Cup Semi-Final
Sunday October 14th 2012
Cowdenbeath 0, Partick Thistle 1
Teams
Cowdenbeath: Flynn, Cowan, Linton (Mbu), O’Brien, Garcia, Adamson, McKenzie, Ramsay (Coult), Stewart, Stevenson, Miller.
Thistle: Fox, O’Donnell, Bannigan, Paton, Muirhead, Balatoni, Lawless, Welsh, Craig (Elliott), Forbes (Slane), Erskine (Doolan).
Scorer
Thistle: Craig (74)
Crowd: 1,159
Match Highlights
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 26th 2013
Partick Thistle v Cowdenbeath
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults: £17
OAP (65+): £12
16-21: £12
Full Time Education: £12
Programme: £2.50
Match Officals
Referee: Crawford Allan
Assistant Referees: Charlie Smith and Ross McIntyre
Other First Division Fixtures
Dumbarton v Hamilton Accies
Dunfermline Athletic v Livingston
Morton v Raith Rovers
Falkirk v Airdrie United
