Fri 28 September, 2018
SPFL Ladbrokes Championship 
East End ParkSPFL Ladbrokes Championship
Fri 28 September, 2018. Kick Off: - 19:45
East End Park
Fixture Information:
Admission Details:
This fixture is a PAY AT THE GATE fixture.
Prices:
Adults – £18
Concessions – £12
Under 12s – £5
A concession is qualified as a person under 18, over 60, students with a valid matriculation card and unemployed people.
Disabled supporters pay the concession rate with a free carer included in their ticket price.
Supporters’ Buses:
City Centre Branch:
Pick ups:
Q Club – 17:20
Station Bar – 17:30
Non members welcome.
Please call 07979496154 or email to book.
John Lambie Jordanhill Branch:
Pick ups:
Jordanhill Station – 17:45
Thornwood Bar – 17:50
Prices:
£18 for adults
£10 for concessions
All Jags fans are welcome but booking is essential.
For seats please contact Alistair on 07817612563 or email
For general enquires please contact Iain on 07779668357 or email
North-West Branch:
Pick ups:
Milngavie Station – 17:30
Esquire House – 17:50
Maryhill Community Halls – 18:00
Non-Members fares:
£14 for adults.
£8 for concessions.
To reserve seats, please e-mail or call 0141 632 3604 before 9:00 pm.
It’s been a little over five years since Thistle last played at East End Park and the Jags travel there for Friday night’s Ladbrokes Championship fixture against Dunfermline Athletic. The match is being broadcast across the country on BBC ALBA and manager Alan Archibald is looking for his players to rise to the occasion when they head to the Kingdom of Fife. The Jags gaffer spoke to ptfc.co.uk shortly after the final training session of the week had been completed.
“We’re looking forward to the match on Friday night. It’s been a confident week of training after last Saturday’s victory against Queen of the South. We’ll take a big following up to East End Park and it should make for a great game under the floodlights.”
Dunfermline haven’t won in the league since the opening day of the Ladbrokes Championship but Alan knows that the Pars remain a very dangerous side to face.
“I watched them a couple of times in the Betfred Cup and they were brilliant. We know they have a lot of quality in the front areas of their team. We’ve watched their last couple of games and they were very, very good against Greenock Morton last weekend so we know they will be a threat.”
In a very compact division, Thistle are just four points off the summit of the table and, with the rest of the league not in action until Saturday, have the opportunity to climb a few places on Friday night.
“We know it will be a very tough game but we’ve played well in the last couple of weeks. We created three good goals last week, with Kris Doolan’s being the best of the bunch in my view. We played the ball about patiently and created the opportunity to score.
“Where we do need to improve is at the back. We’ve been giving goals away too easily and we need to sharpen up defensively, particularly on the road. We’re desperate to get that first win on our travels, but we know it will be very difficult. We know Dunfermline are a very good side. If we can play at our best and get that win, we know it will propel us up the league and put pressure on the sides around us.”
Ahead of the game, Archie informed us on team news as well as an update on Tam O’Ware who underwent a knee operation this week.
“We’re looking in a good position this week with it mostly being the long term players who are unavailable. Dan Jefferies, however, has picked up a groin injury and he’ll miss out on Friday night.
“Tam O’Ware went in for his operation on his knee on Thursday morning and it should be a straightforward recovery. He’s still been around the group since he sustained the injury and he’ll have a couple of days to rest after the operation before starting to do a lot of hard work to get himself back fit. We’ve been keeping him involved around the group as much as we can. When you are injured you want to be part of things as much as possible. All being well, hopefully we’ll get Tam back ready to play for the run-in to the season.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Stuart Bannigan and Jags gaffer, Alan Archibald, are available to Jagzone subscribers – log in now to see them.
Jagzone members will also be able to watch extended highlights of the game.
Can’t make it to East End Park? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 7:30pm on Friday
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
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.
Following home success against Queen of the South last Saturday, Partick Thistle were on the road again as they travelled to East End Park. The Jags arrived in Fife four points clear of Dunfermline with their hosts having won just one game in six. However, the Maryhill men were still looking for their first away points of the 2018/19 campaign having suffered three consecutive defeats on their travels.
Alan Archibald made just one change to the side that beat the Doonhamers last time out but that change did bring a different formation with the Jags deploying a 3-4-3 set-up. Cammy Bell remained in between the sticks behind a back three which consisted of Niall Keown, Tam Scobbie and Sean McGinty. Christie Elliott and James Penrice operated as wing-backs while Stuart Bannigan and Craig Slater occupied the centre of the park. Last week’s match winner, Blair Spittal, started on the right while Miles Storey was on the opposite wing and Kris Doolan played through the middle. On the bench were Jamie Sneddon, Max Melbourne, Brice Ntambwe, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Andrea Mutombo, Chris Erskine and Jai Quitongo.
The game was an extremely poor one in the opening stages with neither team showing much creativity or drive. It took 38 whole minutes until the first proper chance of the game and it fell to Thistle number seven, Blair Spittal. The midfielder pounced on a loose pass in the Dunfermline defence as Mark Durnan was caught out. Spittal then quickly looked to fire home into the far corner but he dragged the shot and it skipped past the back post.
Dunfermline did have one half chance before the break as Lee Ashcroft’s looping header was tipped over the bar by Cammy Bell. The Jags ‘keeper was backpedalling towards his goal-line and decided to take no risks by touching the dipping ball over the bar.
That would, however, be it for the first 45 as the game went into the break. Not much of a spectacle for the watching neutrals but a much improved defensive display for the away side with the team seamlessly changing to the three-at-the-back.
Nine minutes into the second half, Thistle had another chance to take the lead. Blair Spittal was once again involved although the ex-Queen’s Park man turned provider on this occasion. He found Kris Doolan with a driven pass as the striker moved towards the Pars’ box. His first touch was poor and the number nine was forced wider than he’d have liked, although he did get a shot in. His left-footed attempt found the target but only met the gloves of Lee Robinson who parried before collecting at the second attempt.
The first Thistle change of the game came on 67 minutes as Jai Quitongo replaced Kris Doolan.
Unfortunately, almost immediately after that alteration, the hosts were able to take the lead. Christie Elliott attempted to take the ball down in the box after a block but the defender’s touch spun off his boot and into the path of Aidan Connolly who fired home from close range with Cammy Bell left with nothing to do about it.
Alan Archibald then made two quickfire changes as he introduced Chris Erskine and Andrea Mutombo in place of Tam Scobbie and Blair Spittal respectively. However, despite this, it was still the Pars who were having the chances. Aidan Connolly came very close to a second as he got on the end of a low cross in the 83rd minute. The number 11 found himself at the back post with what seemed an easy finish but he hit the post from close range.
Late on there were two chances for the Jags to draw level and they both fell to Andrea Mutombo. The first one came from Craig Slater’s cross and Mutombo forced a great save from Lee Robinson while his second effort beat the ‘keeper but was cleared off the line.
In the end, the match finished 1-0 to the home side with a scrappy game being decided by one error. The dreadful first half was tight as could be but the goal from Aidan Connolly really boosted the Pars and they could easily have added to their lead. However, the Jags had two decent chance in the dying embers of the game which they couldn’t take as their torrid away form continues.
Thistle return to action next Saturday back at home as they take on Ross County. Kick-off is 15:00 from the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.
PARTICK THISTLE TEAM: Bell, Elliott, Keown, Scobbie (Erskine, 73’), McGinty, Penrice, Bannigan, Slater, Spittal (Mutombo, 78’), Doolan (Quitongo, 67’), Storey.
UNUSED SUBS (PTH): Sneddon, Melbourne, Ntambwe, Fitzpatrick.
DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC TEAM: Robinson, Craigen, Durnan, Ashcroft, J. Longridge, Martin, Vincent, Connolly (Hippolyte, 90’), El Bakhtaoui, L. Longridge, Ryan (Thomson, 80’).
UNUSED SUBS (DFA): Gill, Devine, Beadling, Williamson, Muirhead.
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.
It was another disappointing away trip for Partick Thistle as the Jags were hit with a 1-0 defeat this evening at East End Park. Following a flat first half, Aidan Connolly broke the deadlock for the Pars with just over 20 minutes to play. The visitors pushed for a winner with Andrea Mutombo seeing one effort saved and one cleared off the line, however, the equaliser didn’t come and the Maryhill men were left travelling home after a loss once again. Thistle boss, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the final whistle.
Archie started by reflecting on what were a strange 90 minutes with what was a rather drab encounter bursting into life in the final 20 minutes.
“I thought before the goal, it was very even. Neither team really created much and, to be honest, we should have been ahead after Blair Spittal chance in the first half. Despite that, we concede another goal we gift to our opponents and then they had five or ten minutes where you could see their confidence was high. We could have got an equaliser at the end but they defended well and earned their points.”
The gaffer looked and the goal and expanded on how infuriating it was to see another individual error cost his side.
“We’ve analysed our away games to death and when you look at the goals, it’s not as if we’re being carved open. After the goal, we lost our way a bit and could have conceded again but the actual chance that makes a difference comes from our mistake and it’s one moment like that which can decide a game.”
Alan then looked ahead to two crucial home games against Ross County next weekend and then Dundee United the following Saturday.
“Those were both going to be massive games no matter what. They’re two of the best teams in this league and if we want to be anywhere near the top of the table then we have to take points from them, especially at home. Obviously, our home form has been good but we can’t just expect to win. We’ll have to work very hard to get the three points in those two matches.”
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Sean McGinty and Craig Slater. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
Highlights will be added shortly and will be free for Jagzone subscribers.
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
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.
Elliott crosses for Mutombo who has a shot cleared off the line. That will be that.
Mutombo creates a great opportunity for himself but Robinson throws himself to deny the striker
We're into two additional minutes
A Jags free kick from wide is headed goalward by McGinty and cleared by the home side.
Ryan and Louis Longridge link up before Longridge fires a shot over the bar.
Andy Ryan dives at a cross but can't reach it. El Bahktaoui fires a shot straight at Bell.
Connolly hits the post when it is easier to score. Jackson Longridge has an effort cleared by Elliott. Vincent holds up the ball before Louis Longridge wins a corner.
Louis Longridge gets on a loose ball before having his shot blocked by Keown
Ryan heads past at the back post.
Longridge drills a low cross from the left but it skips out for a goal kick
Quitongo cuts in from, the left hand side and wins a corner.
A mistake from Christie Elliott presents Connolly with a simple chance which he makes no mistake with.
A period of Jags possession in the Pars half results in a cross which is deflected into Robinson's arms.
A good delivery is nodded clear. Thistle get the ball back in the box a second time and again cleared. It's poked back in by Spittal and the flag goes up against Keown for offside.
The game is a lot more open second half and Thistle attack with precision winning a corner.
Jackson Longridge tumbles under little pressure in the box. Referee Clancy, correctly, waves play on.
A Dunfermline cross is met at he back post by Jackson Longridge. His low effort back into the dangerzone is cleared and Thistle break. Spittal picks out Doolan well but he is forced wider than he would like allowing Robinson to gather at the second attempt from his shot.
Ryan slides the ball wide to Louis Longridge who sends his cross right out of play
Slater crosses for Storey who has his header comfortably handled by the goalkeeper.
We're into two additional minutes
A near post header from Ryan goes just past.
The delivery is good but the header is all wrong from a Dunfermline player and Thistle clear
Bell takes no chances with a looping header and tips it over the bar.
Spittal pounces on a defensive error. On his left foot he drills a low shot across goal but it is a couple of yards wide.
A desperate clearance from Spittal sends to it to Slater. The Jags 17 sprays it to Bannigan who plays in Spittal. He hesitates in shooting. Thistle keep the ball and win a corner through Storey
El Bakhtaoui opts to shoot with better options either side of him and it goes wide
Doolan has the ball in the net but the flag was long up for offside against Slater who provided the cross
Thistle spraying the ball around nicely here at East End Park.
Clever play allows Slater to cross. It is met by Doolan who miscues his shot
Dunfermline break forward but a loose pass sends it out for a Jags goal kick
Niall Keown returns to action, Terry Butcher bandage style, and immediately commandingly heads clear the corner
A good cross from Storey is partially cleared by the home defence. No Jags player can react to the ball as it breaks.
Niall Keown takes a knock to the head and needs medical assistance. Thistle play on with ten as he gets patched up
Elliott has acres of space on the right. He advances forward and sends over a decent ball which is cleared for a Jags throw.
It's headed clear at the front post and Storey wins Thistle a throw in to relieve the pressure
Great one touch play gets Elliott down the right hand side. His low cross is cut out and cleared.
Storey with a wide cross which is inches over the head of Kris Doolan at the back post.
Thistle in a 3-4-3 this evening, The first through ball is fed to Storey who skips past Craigen with ease but the flag is up for offside