Sat 9 February, 2019
William Hill Scottish Cup 
Locality Hub Bayview StadiumWilliam Hill Scottish Cup
Sat 9 February, 2019. Kick Off: - 15:00
Locality Hub Bayview Stadium
Fixture Information:
Ticket details:
This game is a PAY AT THE GATE fixture for Partick Thistle supporters. Prices are as follows:
Adult – £15
Concessions – £12 (Over 60/Students)
U16 – £5
Parent & child – £18
Parent & two children – £21
Supporters’ Buses:
All Supporters Buses are fully booked for this fixture.
City Centre Branch:
Pick ups:
This bus is now full.
Q Club – 11:00
Station Bar – 11:15
Please call 07979496154 or email for any further information.
Please note this bus is now fully booked.
John Lambie Jordanhill Branch:
Pick ups:
This bus is now full.
Jordanhill Station – 12:30
Thornwood Bar – 12:35
Prices:
Members-£8 for adults and £4 for concessions.
Visitors- £16 for adults and £8 for concessions.
For seat information please contact Alistair on 07817612563 or email
For general enquires please contact Iain on 07779668357 or email
Please note this bus is now fully booked.
North-West Branch:
This bus is now full.
Pick ups:
Milngavie Station – 12:30
Esquire House – 12:50
Maryhill Community Halls – 13:05
Non-Members fares:
£16 for adults.
£10 for concessions.
For enquiries, please e-mail or call 0141 632 3604 before 9:00 pm.
Please note this bus is now fully booked.
Still unbeaten in 2019, Gary Caldwell’s Thistle side will go into Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup tie with East Fife in buoyant and confident mood. Although a quarter final spot may be the primary reward for victory the desire to maintain the current run of good form is clear among the entire squad and coaching staff.
The Jags manager spoke to ptfc.co.uk as he was finalising preparations for the match on Saturday and explained how important it is for his side to maintain the feel good factor that has arrived at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.
“Cup games are always exciting for everyone involved. It’s something a bit different; away from the week-in week-out of the league. In the last round we got a good result and it started the little run of wins we’re on at the moment so we’ll be looking to continue that.
“It feels like we have finally lifted the gloom around the place a little and that is going to be massive moving forward. Progressing in the cup is our main aim for this weekend but a win will do more than just book our spot in the next round, it will continue the momentum we have built and keep the positive feeling we have just now.
“Some people might see this cup game as a distraction from the league but for us, we’re on a run of wins and we want to continue that for as long as possible in whatever competition. Wins breed confidence and you can carry that forward into the games to come.”
Despite his side getting another draw against a lower league club Caldwell knows that the Fifers shouldn’t be underestimated.
“East Fife have already beaten Championship sides, including us, on multiple occasions and were only beaten by St Johnstone on penalties so they’ll fully believe they can win – especially given they are the home side.
“We treated Stranraer with the right amount of respect and we will do the exact same for East Fife. If anything you do more preparation work for these kinds of games because there is an additional element of the unknown for teams from outside your own league. We’ve watched as much footage as we have been able to get though so we have a good idea of how they will play. They are a good side who will be fighting for everything during the game and we need to be ready.”
Thistle travel to the Bayview Stadium with three consecutive wins under their belt in all competitions for the first time since July and Caldwell is only too aware of the positives this will bring.
“You can see in the results that we’ve improved in recent weeks. The squad as a whole are performing to a higher standard and we’ve got competition within that squad for places. When you can bring guys like Kris Doolan and Gary Harkins off the bench, it shows that there’s a good unit in place.
“On top of that, the guys who do miss out have the right attitude. They understand that it’s not just 11 players and are willing to work hard whenever they get on to keep pushing us in the right direction.”
Finally the Gaffer offered an injury update, focusing on Joe Cardle’s continued recovery from a hamstring injury picked up against Queen of the South.
“Joe’s slowly getting better. He’s been getting a balance of work and rest that you need when you’re coming back from an injury like his. We’ll hopefully have him running next week and then training the week after that. It’s really important that we don’t rush him though as we don’t want a recurrence that could side-line him for longer.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Craig Slater, Miles Storey and Jags gaffer, Gary Caldwell, 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 the Locality Bayview Stadium? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:45pm on Saturday.
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 © 2019. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
Partick Thistle looked to get into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons as they travelled to Methil to take on East Fife this afternoon.
The Jags came into the tie on a run of five games unbeaten with that set of fixtures including their fourth round win over Stranraer at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill. On the flip side, East Fife had already beaten three Championship sides this season including the Jags themselves in the Irn Bru Cup.
Gary Caldwell made one solitary change to the side which triumphed in the highlands with Gary Harkins coming in for Blair Spittal with the number seven having to settle for a place on the bench having picked up a small knock.
Thistle’s formation didn’t change though with Conor Hazard in goal behind a back five of Christie Elliott, Jack McMillan, Steven Anderson, Steven Saunders and James Penrice. In midfield, the returning Harkins played alongside Stuart Bannigan and Craig Slater while Aidan Fitzpatrick and Miles Storey once again operated as inside forwards up front. On the bench for the visitors were Jamie Sneddon, Sean McGinty, Callum Wilson, Blair Spittal, Kris Doolan, Souleymane Coulibaly and Lewis Mansell.
The match began in a scrappy manner and it took 12 minutes for a real sight of goal to appear. The game’s first chance came for the away side when Craig Slater found Christie Elliott with a deep free-kick. The number two then tried to lift his head back across goal and over the hosts’ goalkeeper, Brett Long, however, his looping effort landed on the roof of the net.
The travelling Glasgow side had another headed chance on 22 minutes although it was Miles Storey acting as creator this time. He used his blistering pace to avoid East Fife challenges on the right flank before lifting a cross to the far post. The delivery held up in the strong wind and came to Aidan Fitzpatrick. Like Christie Elliott before him, Aidan tried to lift the header over the ‘keeper into the far corner but his effort only ended up going back across goal for Brett Long to gather.
Two minutes later the 17-year-old had another opportunity as he received the ball in the box from the right-hand side. He controlled well and shifted in-field looking for space to shoot before then shifting back the way he came to get the ball onto his stronger side. The number 21 fired low at the near post but Brett Long the goalkeeper was equal to it, holding comfortably.
The game then went into a lull which continued until the 39th minute when Rory Currie went close after some excellent footwork. The striker picked the ball up on the left of the Thistle box and then used a series of twists and tricks to bamboozle the Jags defenders who tried to stop him. Eventually, he took a shot but was unable to find the target from eight yards or so.
Shortly thereafter we had one of the games big talking points as Conor Hazard gave away an indirect free-kick. The incident began with Hazard’s attempted long kick up the park which was completely caught in the wind. As a result, it ended up coming back towards the Northern Irishman’s goal and he caught the ball. Referee, Don Robertson, quickly blew his whistle and signalled for the indirect set piece despite some protests from the visitors. Eventually, the free-kick was taken but Steven Anderson charged it down and deflected it behind for a corner kick which was subsequently headed over the bar by Darryl Meggatt.
As such, the sides went into the interval with game goalless after a half of weather influenced football. The harsh Methil winds had made for unattractive and scrappy football with the Jags struggling to battle the wind was blowing against them. A number of Conor Hazard’s punt’s upfield had been sent back his way, most notably the pass back incident at the end of the half.
Despite the wind being in their favour, the away side started the second half in the same way they ended the first; unconvincing. Their passing remained sloppy and East Fife were pressing high with Gary Harkins required to clear a header off the line in the 49th minute. Gary Caldwell then proceeded to make two quickfire changes as Steven Saunders was forced off with injury to be replaced by Kris Doolan on 56 minutes before Aidan Fitzpatrick made way for Blair Spittal three minutes later.
Just one minute after that second change, the away team should have taken the lead through Miles Storey. The opening came from some excellent work down the left by James Penrice who drove forward with pace from left wing-back before firing a low ball across goal. The delivery found Storey at the back post but the off-balance forward scuffed the ball into the turf as it bounced up and back off the bar before a shot from range was deflected wide for a corner.
The subsequent corner was whipped in by Craig Slater and just as he did at Inverness a week ago, he found Steven Anderson at the back post as the veteran defender nodded the ball home from a matter of seven yards. The goal was his second in two games since joining the Club on loan for the rest of the season from St. Johnstone.
East Fife pushed and pushed without reward for the remainder of the match with one of the only remaining moments of note coming when Miles Storey came off injured to be replaced by on-loan forward Lewis Mansell who was making his Thistle debut.
The Maryhill men had one final chance to put the game to bed as Kris Doolan fed Craig Slater on the right. Slater then cut inside and rifled a powerful effort towards goal but Brett Long stood strong at his front post, parrying the ball before it was cleared.
However, the Jags wouldn’t need another goal as the full time whistle went with the score at 1-0, securing Thistle’s place in Monday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final draw.
For Gary Caldwell’s side though, it’s back to league action next week with a trip to Alloa on the horizon. Kick-off is 15:00 from the Indodrill Stadium.
PARTICK THISTLE TEAM: Hazard, Elliott, McMillan, Anderson, Saunders, Penrice, Bannigan, Harkins, Slater, Fitzpatrick, Storey.
UNUSED SUBS (PTH): Sneddon, McGinty, Wilson, Coulibaly.
EAST FIFE TEAM: Long, Docherty, Watson, Meggatt, Dunlop, Linton (Bell, 78’), Slattery, Davidson, Watt (Court, 68’), Currie, Dowds (Watson, 82’).
UNUSED SUBS (ESF): Terry, Dunsmore, Kane.
It’s now six games unbeaten since the turn of the year for Partick Thistle with the Maryhill men securing a Scottish Cup quarter-final place today in Methil.
The Jags edged past East Fife this afternoon thanks to a solitary goal from Steven Anderson who now has two goals in his first two games as a Thistle man. Having taken the lead in the second half, the away side then confidently saw the game out despite pressure from the Fifers, putting them in the hat for Monday night’s draw for the next round. Thistle gaffer, Gary Caldwell, spoke to ptfc.co.uk to reflect on a hard-earned win:
“It was a difficult game, no doubt about it. Even without those conditions it would have been tough because East Fife are a good team but when you add in that wind, it becomes even more difficult for us to play our best stuff.
“However, cup football is all about winning and that’s what we’ve done so although it wasn’t pretty, we can be happy with another positive result. Beyond that, it was good to get a clean sheet because I think we’ve deserved one for a couple of weeks.”
Gary then heaped praise on match-winner, Steven Anderson, who proved vital to the team’s efforts at both ends of the pitch.
“Ando’s been a great addition. I think I’d describe him as old school in the way that he defends. He just wants to head things and put in tackles but he’s also smart enough to know when the right time is to do that which you saw a couple of times today.
“He’s someone who young centre-halves should look up to and try to learn from. He’s been very successful in his career and uses his experience to command the defence which helps those around him.”
Caldwell also paid tribute to assistant manager, Brian Kerr, when discussing Anderson’s goal which came from Craig Slater’s corner.
“They did well for the goal; it was great movement at the back post. I have to say, Brian Kerr, works very hard on the set pieces. We have different movements each week and you could see early on in our time here, they were nearly coming off but now they’re coming off more often and Brian’s work is a big part of that.”
The manager then touched on one of the game’s big flashpoints which occurred when Conor Hazard ended up catching his own kick which was aimed for the East Fife half.
“I can’t really repeat what was going through my head when that happened but to be fair, the referee is right. I thought that maybe he would have let him off with it because of the unique circumstances or given a drop ball or something but I suppose the rules are the rules and you can’t begrudge the referee doing his job.”
Gary then complimented his side’s attitude with the team battling against East Fife to keep the clean sheet and confirm cup progression.
“Before the game, I told them to make the most of this opportunity. In your career, you don’t get many chances to go to the latter stages of cup competitions and you need to give it your all when you get the chance.
“I thought we did well in that regard. You could see everyone on that pitch wanted it and there was a desire and drive that was needed against a very good East Fife team. Now, we’re in the quarter-final and we just need to give our all again in the next round and see where it takes us.”
A more in depth video interview with Gary Caldwell is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Steven Anderson and James Penrice – log in now to see them.
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 © 2019. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk
A minimum of 5 added minutes.
Doolan feeds Slater who cuts inside an forces a save the near post..
Mansell is played through but the keeper comes out to block his shot.
Thistle get let off s the ball flashes across their goal but no one can get touch.
Slater swings the corner in and Steven Anderson heads in at the back post to put Thistle ahead.
Penrice puts a great ball across which finds Storey the back post but he hits the bar from close range
Great run by Penrice, He slide the ball across goal but no one can get toe on it.
Storey gets the ball over from the right but its just over the head of Harkins.
Harkins has to react quickly to clear a header from the line
The Free kick is blocked by a Thistle body and out for a corner
An indirect free kick in the area for East Fife after Hazard is forced to catch his own kick out after the wind blows it back
East Fife are close to the opener. a shot is curled just past the post from the Thistle right.
Fitzpatrick turns well in the box but his effort is held by the keeper.
Thistle break quickly through Storey who crosses for FItzpatrick but he can't guide his header on target.
A series of East FIfe corners but Thistle eventually scramble clear.
A good run by Penrice down the left, he finds FItzpatrick who slides it to Elliott, His effort is across goal but Storey is offside.
Slater lifts a free kick to the right and Elliott gets good head to the ball but it's just over the bar.
Aidan FItzpatrick picks the ball up. creates space for himself before firing towards goal but it is wide of the left hand post.