Sat 20 August, 2016
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership 
Pittodrie Stadium, AberdeenNiall McGinn (28), Miles Storey (58)
Chris Erskine (90)
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership
Sat 20 August, 2016. Kick Off: - 15:00
Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Thistle return to Ladbrokes Premiership action tomorrow with a long trip north to Aberdeen having not been in action since the Betfred Cup disappointment against Dundee United. Ptfc.co.uk caught up with manager Alan Archibald to get his thoughts on the tough trip ahead.
“The squad are all raring to go after not having a game last weekend. We gave them the weekend off to allow them a bit of rest ahead of this week of preparation, while myself and Scott Paterson travelled up to watch the Aberdeen v Hearts game at Pittodrie.
“We’ve watched Aberdeen a number of times already this season and we know they are a strong powerful side with a number of threats that can hurt us. They have recruited very well during the summer and they’ve added a number of quality players to their side.”
Ten days have passed since the Betfred Cup defeat to Dundee United and the gaffer is sure his squad are over the hurt of cup elimination.
“It’s been a long ten days since that game at Tannadice but we are all focussed on Aberdeen. We watched it back over with the players and they are all well aware of how poor a performance it was. When we returned to training on Monday, it was a fresh start and we were putting all our efforts into getting ready for the trip to Pittodrie.”
Each of Thistle’s last two trips have resulted in the side gathering a point in a 0-0 draw, something that Archie is hoping will provide inspiration for the players.
“We know that we will have to be at our best to get anything from the match. We’ve shown in each of the last two games at Pittodrie what we can get if we apply ourselves correctly in the game. We’ve know that on our day we can go and compete with Aberdeen. We’ve managed to get draws in each of the last couple of games up there and we’re looking to take it one step further by grabbing a win on Saturday.”
Stuart Bannigan underwent surgery on his knee earlier this week and the Jags midfielder has begun the road to recovery.
“Stuart had an operation on his knee on Thursday morning and will now begin the rehabilitation process. It’s been a frustrating time for Stuart but now he has got the operation he can focus on recovery. When he initially got the injury in March we took the best advice we could get in Scotland and it was decided that he didn’t need surgery then. He’s now had the operation and Stuart has the drive and determination, both on and off the pitch, to come back stronger than before.”
Finally we asked the gaffer for his team news.
“Tomas Cerny had been struggling with his foot so that weekend rest helped him immeasurably. He’s trained all week so hopefully he’ll be back in contention for Saturday. Liam Lindsay also missed the Dundee United game but he’s been back in training as well, so we’re hopefully going to be at full strength with the only players missing being those who are long term injured.”
Thistle may have faced the long journey down the road having been unable to take anything from Pittodrie on Saturday but manager, Alan Archibald, was philosophical when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk, preferring to focus on the very many positives his team can take from its visit to the Granite City.
“I thought we started the game very well and we certainly didn’t feel camped in or anything like that. We spoke to the boys before kick off and we had a very clear approach and game plan for the match which I think was working.
“We created a couple of really good chances and we simply have to take them, especially at 0-0. It was really frustrating to come in a goal down after such a good half but you can’t argue with a wonderful free kick like that.
“I don’t think Abdul has to make the challenge but it was more the build up that was disappointing, especially as our defensive shape had been so good up until that point.”
After a terrific performance for almost the first hour it was a poor error from Lindsay that led to the second goal, something Archibald hopes the young centre back will learn from.
“It was a big error from Liam and something I hope he will learn from sooner rather than later. Those silly mistakes have cost us before and it is vital that he eradicates it from his game. It’s a real shame because I thought apart from that he did ever so well and, together with Danny Devine, they marshaled the back line very well.”
In the dying minutes of the game, second half substitute,Chris Erskine, rifled an incredible shot into the Dons’ net from the edge of the box, it was a change that had a big impact on the game.
Archie said, “Chris was stripped and ready to come on just before the second goal went in and we just had to hold off for a few minutes. It was always in our plans to get him on around that time because we thought the game would really open up for him and he could exploit the space.
“At that stage of the game we didn’t want the whistle to come and if we had an extra five minutes I definitely think we would have scored the equaliser.”
A good overall performance was blighted when Sean Welsh was given his marching orders having been booked for a foul in his own half before receiving a second booking seconds later for dissent.
Alan said, “Sean will be fined. There’s no need for it. No matter what you think of the decision you can’t do that. Everyone knows the rules and it doesn’t matter how frustrated you are you simply can’t do that. Sean knows that though and he knows he let the team down not only today but also because he won’t be available for Hearts next week.
“Next week is the important one for us now. There were a lot of positives to take from today and we just need to make sure we take them into the game at Firhill on Saturday.”
