SPFL Ladbrokes Championship
Sat 25 January, 2020. Kick Off: - 15:00
Gayfield Park
Supporters’ Buses:
City Centre Branch:
Pick ups:
Q Club – 10:45
Station Bar – 11:00
Non members welcome.
Please call 07979496154 or email for any further information.
John Lambie Jordanhill Branch:
Pick ups:
Jordanhill Station – 12:15
Thornwood Bar – 12:20
Prices:
£18 – adults
£10 – concessions
All Jags fans are welcome but booking is essential.
For seats please contact Alistair on 07817612563 or email
For general enquiries please contact Iain on 07779668357 or email
North-West Branch:
Pick ups:
Milngavie Station – 11:30
Esquire House – 11:50
Maryhill Community Halls – 12:05
Non-Members fares:
Concessions – £10.50
Full fare – £17
To reserve seats, please e-mail or call 0141 632 3604.
Important Segregation Information for Travelling Fans
From www.arbroathfc.co.uk:
“Would all supporters attending this Saturday’s Championship fixture between Arbroath and Partick Thistle at Gayfield Park on Saturday 25th January please note that supporter segregation will be in place.
It is acknowledged that this decision does restrict the normal movement of supporters inside Gayfield however it is an absolute club priority to ensure that all Supporters can attend the match in a safe and friendly environment and enjoy the football on show.
Arbroath FC supporters will occupy the Harbour End of Gayfield, which will sweep round to the the TV Gantry whilst also gaining access to the Harbour side of the Main stand.
Partick Thistle will be allocated to the the Pleasureland End (Switchie End) of Gayfield whilst also being permitted to Sections A and B of the Main Stand.
We expect a large crowd to watch this weekend’s anticipated fixture.
Your co-operation of the segregation arrangements is greatly appreciated by both clubs”
JagZoneLIVE v Arbroath
Our audio commentary service, JagZoneLIVE, will be broadcasting from Gayfield Park as Partick Thistle look to get their first win of 2020.
The build-up to the game with our commentary team will begin at 2:45pm, 15 minutes ahead of kick-off.
To listen to the broadcast, simply log in to your Jagzone account, click on the audio commentary tab and press the play button on the player.
Jagzone LIVE is only available to Jagzone subscribers so sign up here to listen to the show.
It’s been a busy January transfer window for Thistle manager, Ian McCall. Five new players signed, two new contracts agreed and a loan deal extended until the end of the season have made for a very exciting month as far as the Jags are concerned and now they’re looking for all that hard work to pay off as they take on Arbroath in the Ladbrokes Championship. Thistle have been unable to beat the Red Lichties in two attempts so far this season with the teams drawing back in September before Dick Campbell’s side came to Maryhill and won 3-1 in October. Now, with just three points between the sides, the third edition of this clash could prove to be the most important one yet as the two sides look to distance themselves from relegation trouble. Jags boss, Ian McCall, spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of the fixture:
“Arbroath are going to be really tough to beat. They’ve been incredible for a couple of years now. Even the season when we won the title with Ayr, they looked like a team who could go on and win the title and that’s exactly what happened.
“They’re really solid at the back and they’ve got some talented boys up top so we’ll have to be on our game to beat them but that’s ultimately the aim because we need to get back to picking up points.”
The Angus side added Craig Wighton to their ranks this week on loan from Hearts and McCall feels the 22-year-old could prove to be a great capture for Arbroath.
“Wighton’s a very good player and still young. He’s obviously struggled for game time over the past few years so a loan move will be good for him. He burst onto the scene with Dundee but everything has stalled a bit for him and now it’s up to him to make an impact during his loan.”
Thistle haven’t met this Saturday’s opposition since October when they beat the Jags at the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill and the manager is hoping for a much improved performance from that day.
“We were the architects of our own downfall that day. We struggled to keep a hold of the ball and quite a few of our guys had an off-day. The team that plays this time will probably be very different to that one so we’re hoping that the guys we’ve brought in will make a difference.”
One of those new players looking to make an impact will be Brian Graham who became the latest arrival in Maryhill on Thursday as he penned a two-and-a-half year deal with the club, joining from Ross County and McCall was very pleased to get the deal done.
“I’m delighted that he’s here. I’d been talking to Ross County for a number of weeks and credit to the guys up there for helping to get it across the line because I think he’ll be a big player for us. He’s proven in the top flight and the Championship as a goalscorer and is the type of striker that I feel we need.
“He’s a two-time Championship winner too so that sort of experience is very valuable and, on top of everything else, he’s the right type of person. He’s a winner and to get him for two and a half years is brilliant.”
The manager ended by discussing whether there would be more business done before the transfer deadline on 31st January.
“I think there will be more. There might be one or two others leaving. Gary Harkins was told today that he’s free to leave the club and I did that with a heavy heart because the supporters will remember Gary’s first spell here when I worked with him and I’ve seldom worked with a more naturally gifted player but I think that’ll happen within the next few days.
“Lewis Mansell has a little knock at the moment but we’re hopeful he’ll be able to go out on loan which will be good for him but that injury has just pushed that back a bit.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Tam O’Ware and Thistle manager, Ian McCall are now available to JagZone subscribers – log in to view.
Jagzone subscribers will also be able to watch extended highlights of the game.
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.
It was defeat in Angus or Partick Thistle as they were beaten by Arbroath for the second time this season. The Red Lichties raced into a two-goal lead early in the contest with goals from Michael McKenna and Craig Wighton as the men from Maryhill struggled to deal with the hosts’ endless pressing. There was more of the ball for the Jags in the second half but they failed to create much except a consolation goal, scored by Brian Graham, in injury time by which point it was too late for a comeback. Thistle boss, Ian McCall, spoke to ptfc.co.uk after full-time:
“First and foremost, Arbroath deserved to win the game. They came out for that first half really up for it, with the wind and their back, and they used it well. Their set-piece delivery was superb but they’re still poor goals to concede from our view.
“Second half, I thought we started well enough and looked like we’d stage a fightback but we allowed the game to drift away. We really needed that goal early in the second half but it didn’t come.”
The conditions were tough with a very strong wind going against the away side in the first half but Ian stills feels the team should have done better.
“We won’t make excuses but it was like a hurricane in the first half. In a game like that, it’s not about playing football. It’s about your ability to do the simple stuff and that’s no disrespect to Arbroath, they’ve got some very talented players but they were much better than us in the conditions.”
Zak Rudden dropped out of the team late on and the manager gave us an update on the striker’s condition.
“Zak hurt his thigh in the warm-up and we had to take him out of the team which was a blow. He really impressed against Celtic and had a big part to play today so to lose him so close to kick-off was really disappointing.”
Thistle other attacking signing of the window, Brian Graham, did get his first outing as a Jag and his first goal but McCall felt the team didn’t give the forward enough service.
“I was pleased that Brian got his goal but obviously it was just a consolation. He had to feed off half-chances today and he managed to get on the end of a few crosses but none were really clear cut chances. In future, we’ll hopefully give him a bit more to go off.”
McCall finished by paying tribute to the travelling Jags support who made the long trip to Gayfield Park in cold and windy conditions.
“We obviously feel sorry for the fans because we haven’t rewarded them for their backing. It was not a nice day today but plenty of punters made the trip and deserved a better performance than the one they got. For us, we now have to get back to training and make sure the showing is a lot better at home to Ayr next Friday night.”
A more in depth video interview with Ian McCall is available to Jagzone subscribers now – log in to view.
Jagzone subscribers will also be able to watch extended highlights of the game.
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 © 2020. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
Sat 25 January, 2020
SPFL Ladbrokes Championship 
Gayfield Park