Saturday 12th March, 2016 at 3:37pm
Thistle could not manage to overcome the champions at Firhill on Saturday but Sean Welsh did notch the first goal against our city rivals in almost two years as part of another admirable performance at the end of a very tough week for the Jags. Manager Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk after the game andgave us his thoughts on the contest.
“I thought we were right in the game in the first half and had a couple of right good chances. We lost a poor goal at a terrible time though and that ultimately cost us.
“The fact that we have challenged the top three teams this week and it has only been a one goal margin each time shows that we aren’t far away in terms of quality but we simply didn’t hurt them enough today. Our final ball was very poor and Craig Gordon looked relatively comfortable for large parts of the match.”
A Sean Welsh penalty – the first the Jags have won in 68 games –gave a bit of late hope to the home side but, as far as Archie was concerned it was too little too late.
“I actually thought it was disappointing how we played after we got the goal, in a funny kind of way. We showed the desire and drive that had been missing since we conceded the first goal. Perhaps if we had played like that for longer in the game it might have been worth more than just a consolation.”
A strong first half performance probably should have seen Thistle go in at the break at least level but a momentary lapse saw Leigh Griffiths nab yet another goal for the Hoops.
“There were a lot of positives for us to take from that first half and we caused them big problems at times. But, after we conceded we simply weren’t at the races and large parts of the second half passed us by.”
It was always going to be a very difficult period for Thistle as Archibald’s men played the top three sides in the space of eight day and the gaffer knows it isn’t this week that will define his season.
“We always knew anything we took from this week was going tobe a bonus and these three games were never going to define our season but the next three or four might. We play each ofthe bottom three as well as Ross County and it is clear that how we do in those games will, to a large extent, dictate where we finish in the league.
“We’ve put in a lot of great performances this year but now is the time when we really need to dig in and get the most number of points possible from the upcoming games. The next month is a massive one for us and we need to make sure we are ready for it.”
