Saturday 7th April, 2018 at 6:59pm
After a dispiriting 4-0 defeat to relegation rivals Ross County during the week, Partick Thistle looked to bounce back as they took on Kilmarnock at home this afternoon. The Jags did show an improvement in performance but, unfortunately for the Jags, the result was the same. Killie opened the scoring in the 35th minute as Stuart Findlay nodded home a Jordan Jones cross and that proved to be enough to see the Ayrshire outfit to victory as they secured the three points leaving Thistle still in bottom spot of the Ladbrokes Premiership. Thistle boss, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the game.
The gaffer began by praising the improved performance of his side who showed more this afternoon against a strong Killie side than they did at Dingwall on Tuesday.
“The performance was much better today but it wouldn’t have taken much to have been an improvement. We started very brightly but Kilmarnock came back into it around 20 minutes in as you’d expect considering the form they’re in. Falling behind was disappointing but we came out for the second half and played some good stuff and probably should have grabbed a goal. There was a desire there which I wanted to see from the lads and we can hopefully take that into the split.”
Archie told us that although he enjoyed parts of the showing, he was very frustrated with the simplicity of the goal Thistle conceded as they were dismantled by a quick free-kick.
“Of course that was infuriating. Our guys were focussed on setting up for the free-kick coming into the box and Jordan Jones just moves over very intelligently and no one notices. You’d like to think that someone would notice that and cover it but nobody did and we were punished for it. When goals like those are the difference between a draw and a defeat, it is even more annoying.”
With his side failing to score for a fifth consecutive game, Alan also discussed Thistle’s struggles in front of goal in recent weeks.
“It’s something that we’re desperate to set right. A stat like that can weigh on the lads and affect their confidence but I definitely saw improvement today. At the start of the second half we looked like we were going to get one but a few good blocks and saves stopped us. Ultimately, we need to stop conceding and start scoring if we’re going to get the points on the board.”
With the manager making more changes to formation and personnel today as has been the case a few times over recent weeks, Archie feels that he is a step closer to finding the right team to go with for the rest of the season.
“There are always going to be changes with injuries and suspensions but I felt we needed a substantial shake-up after Tuesday and there were things that works and things that didn’t. All the boys who came back in gave it everything and that’s all I can ask of them. It’s clear to me that there is still fight in the side which we’ll need for the last five games.”
It’s now two weeks until the split kicks off for Alan and the Jags squad with the first game of the league separation coming in a fortnight against an opponent who is to be confirmed. There will be more information on ptfc.co.uk in the coming days.
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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.
