August 14 1971
League Cup Group 7
Partick Th v Arbroath, Firhill, Glasgow
Preview: The League Cup, the traditional curtain raiser for the Scottish season, kicks off today. Thistle are on a high, back in the First Division just a year after being relegated but they haven’t enjoyed much success in the League Cup since reaching three finals in the 1950s and losing all three. They may feel , however, that they have a real chance this year as they will face Second Division opposition in Group 7 in Raith Rovers and Arbroath plus fellow newly promoted club East Fife who were runners-up to the Jags. It’s the Gayfield men who are today’s first opponents at Firhill. Charlie Smith is out injured but otherwise manager Davie McParland has a full squad to choose from.
Report: Thistle got off to their League Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a thumping win over Arbroath at Firhill in front of almost 5,000 fans. Jimmy Bone opened the scoring in five minutes. Then a quick fire double from Denis McQuade in the 16th minute and Bobby Lawrie two minutes later put Thistle in command before Bone’s second from the penalty spot in 31 minutes. Arbroath had proved difficult opponents in last year’s promotion chase but by wrapping up the points in the first half, Thistle were able to more or less coast to the final whistle. Next up is East Fife in midweek.
