Monday 18th March, 2019 at 10:51am
When Lewis Mansell joined Partick Thistle on loan from Blackburn Rovers back in January there won’t have been many who had heard of the striker but the 21-year-old has worked very hard since becoming a Jag and has earned his place as part of Gary Caldwell’s attack.
Lewis provided the assist for Scott McDonald to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Falkirk for the Maryhill Men. Lewis spoke exclusively to ptfc.co.uk after the final whistle to discuss the game at the Falkirk Stadium, starting by giving his summary of the 90 minutes.
Lewis said: “I think overall we didn’t quite play how we wanted to play. In the first half hour we looked good and caused them problems, getting the ball in their box but after that we fell away a bit and didn’t really create enough. We did well in spells but weren’t consistent enough over the 90.”
With the Jags missing a couple of good first half chances to extend what was a one-goal lead at the time, the number 30 told us that there’s a real feeling of disappointment in the dressing room because Thistle ended up drawing.
“It did feel like a chance missed to be honest. We weren’t absolutely brilliant but based on the chances in the game, we feel we should have won. Falkirk were pretty negative in that second half and you could see that they were happy with the draw while we kept pushing for all three points. That makes it even more frustrating that we weren’t able to get the win.
“The lesson to be learned is that we have to be clinical while we’re on top. If you don’t take your chances then you are punished at any level of football so we need to be a bit more ruthless moving forward.”
On a personal note, Lewis was pleased to get his first league start for the Club following a couple of appearances in the starting eleven while on cup duty.
“I was very happy to get my chance from the start in the Championship. I got a couple of good opportunities against Hearts and I worked as hard as I could in those games. Thankfully, the gaffer’s noticed that and given me another start so I just hope that I showed enough to stay in contention for Friday.”
He was also delighted to record his third assist as a Jag, though he’s still desperate to get off the mark in terms of goals in the red and yellow.
“I’m just trying to contribute in any way I can and at the moment I’ve been able to set up a few goals which is fine by me because it means someone’s scoring. As a striker, I’m obviously keen to get a goal of my own but it’s about the team and if me setting goals up helps us towards more wins, like against Dundee United, then I’m more than happy to continue doing that.”
Mansell ended by looking forward to Friday night as Thistle take on Inverness in Maryhill with the opportunity to pick up some more points before anyone else.
“If we play at our best then we’re more than capable of getting the win on Friday. We beat Inverness the last time we played them and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same again.
“It could be important psychologically as well because if we win, it really puts the pressure on those around us to start picking up points. Having said that, we have to just focus on ourselves and make sure that we perform against Caley.”
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