Wed 30 December, 2015
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership 
Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen.
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership
Wed 30 December, 2015. Kick Off: - 19:45
Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen.
Summary
Thistle travel to the Granite City in the midweek between Christmas and New Year for our one currently scheduled fixture at Pittodrie for the 2015/16 season. Thistle fans who have made the journey in the past will know they are sure of a cold, windy welcome!
Entry
The travelling Thistle support will be housed in a small section at the end of the South stand. The view is reasonable with clear sight lines throughout the whole section, meaning there are no irritating poles blocking your view of the action.
Entry Prices:
£25 – Adults
£18 – Over 65
£14 – Students and Over 75
£10 – Under 18
£6 – Under 12
Travel
Train
There are plenty of trains throughout the day which will take you to Aberdeen, the problem is that there are none which will bring you back after seeing the full 90 minutes! Supporters travelling on the train will, therefore, have to endure an overnight stay though we’re told the Aberdeen nightlife is well worth a visit!
The last train to get you to Aberdeen allowing for a comfortable 90 minute walk to the Stadium, giving you the chance to check-in and grab a bite to eat, leaves Glasgow Queen Street at 15:41.
There are plenty of trains back on the 31st, allowing you a long lie after an celebrating three points for Thistle, but the last one to return you to Glasgow in 2015 departs at 18:30!
Supporters Bus
CITY CENTRE BUS:
Pick Up:
Q Club: 12:50
Station Bar: 13:00
Non-members welcome please call 07979496154 to book.
JORDANHILL BUS: (SHARING WITH NORTH WEST)
Pick Up:
Jordanhill: 15:25
Prices: £20 for adults. £12.50 for concessions.
Bookings are essential. Contact Alistair on 07817612563 or .
General Enquiries: contact Iain on 07779668357
NORTH WEST BUS: (SHARING WITH JORDANHILL
FULLY BOOKED
Pick Up:
Milngavie Station: 15:00
Esquire House: 15:15
Maryhill Community Hall: 15:40
Prices: £20 for adults. £12.50 for concessions(School aged children, unwaged adults, senior citizend & matriculated students)
Car
Thistle fans travelling to Aberdeen by car are advised to take great caution due to the adverse weather conditions anticipated throughout tomorrow.
There is plenty of street parking around Pittodrie, but a lot of that may be filled by local residents so fans may have to park a little further away from the stadium than they normally would fora Saturday game.
Pubs & Eating
There are plenty of pubs on King Street as you head from City Centre towards Pittodrie stadium, but be wary that not all may be welcoming to Thistle colours. In the City Centre are more chain pubs as well as a variety of food outlets to eat.
There are three Pizza Expresses to choose from in Aberdeen, so take along your 50/50 tickets from the Ross County game to enjoy a 25% discount on your meal and make your day, slightly, easier on the wallet.
PTFC.CO.UK caught up with Alan Archibald as he prepares his side for another tough Ladbrokes Premiership fixture, this time against Aberdeen. His side were denied the opportunity of playing on Boxing Day with the game against St. Johnstone called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
“It’s frustrating to have our game on Saturday called off due to the bad weather, but it was the right decision by the referee. We’ve experienced first hand what it’s like to have a game started and then abandoned at half-time with the safety of our players at risk in poor conditions.
“The one positive it presented though, was that we were able to allow our players who might have been 50/50 for Saturday’s game, or who would have struggled with two fixtures in four days, to get that extra days rest on Saturday. We absolutely wanted the game to go ahead but a little bit more recuperation is always welcomed.”
Thistle face Aberdeen and Celtic in quick succession, but Alan believes his side pose the mental toughness to pick up maximum points from the double header.
“We have the two toughest games on the fixture calendar coming up but the likes of Motherwell and Inverness have shown that these teams aren’t invincible and that points can be picked up. We go into the game in good form having won our last four matches and we’ll look to take that on. We had a resilient away performance at Tannadice and we know more of the same will be required on Wednesday.
“We’re aware of Aberdeen’s threat, they probably have two of the best wingers in the league through Hayes and McGinn while Rooney is banging in the goals. They’ve done ever so well this season and they’re sitting high up in the table. We’re going to have to defend really well and block every effort through to goal. We’ll also have to take our chances when they present themselves to ensure we have the opportunity to take three points”
Despite not playing on Saturday, Thistle rose up to a season-high position of sixth in the league as a consequence of other results, something which pleased Archie.
“It’s a remarkable league this season as we’re sitting in sixth place in the league, but we are only three points ahead of the playoff slot. It’s compact and we know we’ll have to keep picking up the points to ensure we can try and build a little gap between ourselves and them. We’re still focussed on looking up and catching the team in front of us.”
Finally, Alan brought us up to date with the latest team news ahead of the long trip to the north.
“Sean Welsh’s suspension will carry on to the Aberdeen game so he’ll be missing for us. Christie Elliott is back in training but a lack of game time means he might still be a while away. Gary Fraser is back in contention having gotten over his ankle knocked he picked up a couple of weeks ago and he’ll be in the squad to travel to Aberdeen.”
Thistle headed to Pittodrie on a wild windy Wednesday night looking to continue a run of good form which had seen the side record four consecutive top flight victories for the first time since 1977. In their way to prevent the streak extending to five victories was an Aberdeen side who were presented with the opportunity to go top of the Ladbrokes Premiership table.
Manager Alan Archibald made two changes to the side which had emerged victorious against Ross County with suspension robbing him of the services of Sean Welsh. Ryan Edwards made his second start as a Partick Thistle player looking to provide the link between the midfield and Kris Doolan who would plough a lone furrow up front throughout the game. In the only other change to the starting line up David Amoo was preferred to Robbie Muirhead in a wide berth.
Aberdeen started the game on the front foot, looking to get an early goal to unlock the Thistle defence and settle down the 12,000 odd home fans crammed into Pittodrie, but they could only present Tomas Cerny with a series of crosses that the Thistle custodian was more than well placed to deal with.
Thistle were gradually coming into the game as an attacking force with Amoo making a couple of forceful runs down the right hand side but unable to find a Thistle body with his resulting crosses, due to good defending.
With barely 20 minutes played, Aberdeen almost took the lead when Shinnie took aim from the edge of the box and fired a powerful effort which hit the crossbar before bouncing away to safety. Doolan glanced a header wide of goal as the game entered a lull and Thistle held their shape against an Aberdeen side that appeared unable to break them down during the remainder of the first half.
Aberdeen started the second half in more urgent fashion having clearly received a reminder of what is at stake for the side with Celtic, the league leaders, not playing.
It was Thistle that created the first chances of the second half when Doolan and Amoo both found crosses into the box but, both having their efforts cleared by strong Aberdeen defending.
McGinn latched onto a long ball from Logan but with plenty of options inside the box, opted to chip the advancing Cerny but only found his effort going straight to the goalkeeper.
Aberdeen’s fans were becoming frustrated as the home side stepped it up a gear as they looked to snatch the all-important first goal. Thistle faced a barrage of high set pieces which were defended excellently as a unit.
Cerny was forced into an excellent save when McLean took aim from the edge of the box, but the goalkeeper made a comfortable save from a shot which appeared destined for the bottom corner of the net. Aberdeen were applying the pressure with great effect, but Cerny was equal to everything and his assured handling provided many a relief to Thistle players and fans alike.
With the game entering its dying embers, manager Alan Archibald brought on Mathias Pogba to replace the tiring Ryan Edwards. The physical striker led the line with Kris Doolan filling into a deeper slot. Pogba brought a different threat to the Thistle side as they troubled Aberdeen in the closing stages of the game, with Bannigan firing over from inside the box when a chance presented itself at a difficult angle.
The last chance of the game was to be Thistle’s but Callum Booth’s cross wasn’t able to reach Mathias Pogba and referee Clancy decided enough was enough, blowing the fulltime whistle to signal a well-deserved point for Thistle.
Aberdeen threw everything they had at Thistle tonight but tremendous defending by the entire team ensured they were kept at bay and extended the unbeaten run to two months.
After a game played in less than favourable conditions resulted in a hard fought draw for Thistle against an on form Aberdeen side, Alan Archibald cut a satisfied figure when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk post-match.
“That was a performance we can all be very proud of and we are certainly satisfied with the point. It’s one of the toughest places to come in the league but we limited the number of chances they had. I know they hit the bar but overall I didn’t think they really cut us open like they have done to other teams this season.
“I think we showed a spirit and resilience, especially in theclosing stages, which has been missing at times since we came back into the top flight. I think that comes with experience but hopefully it’s a lesson we’ve now learnt.”
Although Aberdeen probably had the better chances, Thistle were far from toothless and could even have snatched a late smash and grab.
“We’ve actually come away from that a wee bit disappointed not to have won the game, given the chances we had late on. To be fair, I think that would have been very harsh on Aberdeen and, although three points would have been brilliant, we’re happy with a point and a good strong performance.”
Defensively the Jags were very strong, something which didn’t escape the manager’s attention.
“I thought right the way across the back four we were very solid today. They played as a unit and did everything they needed to keep the ball out of the net. Big Liam picked up an early booking which always makes it tough but I thought he managed the game extremely well. Everyone threw their bodies in the way at times and it was a real team effort to get that result.
”Thistle have now picked up 21 points across their last 10 gameshaving only tasted defeat once in that time. The Maryhill side are also unbeaten in two months and Archibald sees that confidence as crucial heading into the next run of fixtures.
“Going to places like Pittodrie and Celtic Park with confidence makes the world of difference and I think you saw that tonight. It’s still really tight in the league but if we can keep this confidence going then we can keep looking above us in the table.”
