Saturday 2nd April, 2016 at 3:36pm
Saturday’s match with Kilmarnock was a hard fought stalemate with neither side able to find the decisive goal that would have helped both get three points closer to achieving their goals. Ptfc.co.uk caught up with Alan Archibald shortly after the full time whistle to gauge his reaction.
“I didn’t think we played well enough to get the three points today. We knew that today would be a battle with Kilmarnock fighting for their lives and so it proved. We didn’t win enough of our individual battles to merit getting the three points and, in truth, Kilmarnock created the better chances in the game.
“There wasn’t a lot of quality in the game today. Kilmarnock are fighting for their lives and you can see by the way they set up that they were looking to stay in the game for as long as possible and grab a late goal to win and it almost worked for them. Our players didn’t do enough for us to say we deserved to win the game, so we have to settle for the point.”
With the game ending in a draw, the gap between Thistle and Kilmarnock remains 9 points and the manager was pleased not to concede any ground.
“The positive I can take from the game is that we didn’t lose the game. Kilmarnock hit the post early on and had the better of the chances so we showed good character to remain in the game. The gap between us remains 9 points and it’s a good cushion to have as we approach the split.”
David Amoo had a significant first half impact on the game with his direct running and crosses causing Kilmarnock plenty of problems, but the goal eluded the side throughout the 90 minutes.
“It was a game of two halves for David. In the first half we got him on the ball on plenty of occasions and he was able to fire crosses into the box. After the break we weren’t able to get him on the ball as much and it contributed to the lack of clear opportunities in the second half.
“The side did well but the guile and final ball required in the attacking third of the pitch wasn’t there for us today and we drew a blank in front of goal.”
With two games to go Alan believes Thistle have to win both of their remaining games to have any hope of a top six place.
“It’s frustrating because a win would have kept us right up there with Dundee and Ross County. We’re now slightly playing catch up and relying on other results to get into the top six.
“We have to prepare for the game against Dundee United and make sure we are ready for another tough battle. After their victory today they’ll be coming looking for three points as they try to apply pressure on Kilmarnock, we need to make sure weare up for the fight to get three points.”
