Saturday 8th December, 2018 at 7:07pm
Partick Thistle recorded their first victory under the stewardship of Gary Caldwell this afternoon as they beat Dunfermline Athletic 2-0 at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill. The Jags hadn’t won a game in their last nine before the visit of the Pars but were able to end that torrid run with a fully deserved win. Blair Spittal opened the scoring on 12 minutes, drilling the ball past Lee Robinson from 20 yards before Miles Storey doubled the lead early in the second half as his flicked effort squeezed over the line. The hosts then professionally saw the game out with every man on the park playing their part right up until the final whistle. A delighted Gary Caldwell discussed the game with ptfc.co.uk following the conclusion of the clash:
“I’m so happy for everyone at the football club. The win has been a long time coming and we feel we’ve been a bit unlucky at times but today we got what we deserved which was the three points.
“We can’t get too carried away. Obviously, we should enjoy it but it’s just a start and we now have to build on it. We need to bring the desire and commitment we showed today into each and every game we play moving forward and hopefully we’ll start to pick up more and more points.”
Gary was very pleased with the way that the individuals performed on the day which then supplemented the stellar team showing.
“As I’ve said, the hunger and desire from each player was terrific. There was a real energy throughout the team which helped us keep the ball out of our net but also pose a threat on the Dunfermline goal.
“We possibly should have scored more to be honest but I can’t criticise them much after that. Each and every player did their bit and they earned the victory.”
With Falkirk and Alloa battling to a draw, the Jags are now lifted into eighth position but Caldwell is keen to focus on what his team are doing and how they can continue that success through December and into the new year.
“We have to concentrate on ourselves and focus on what we can affect. If other results go our way, that’s great but we can’t rely on that. At the end of the day, if we can win our games then we’ll be well clear of the bottom of the table.”
Although today’s win was very much about the team, the gaffer did single out Blair Spittal for some praise. The number seven opened the scoring and worked tirelessly throughout the 90 minutes to ensure Thistle came away with maximum points.
“Blair has outstanding talent and terrific technical ability but he needs to show it more consistently and in the last few weeks I think he’s getting closer to doing that. Previously he was a bit quiet on the pitch but you can see him calling for the ball at every opportunity now which is what we want to see.”
The Maryhill men now look to next week’s clash with Alloa as they aim to make it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. Kick-off is 15:00 from the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.
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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.
