SPFL Ladbrokes Championship
Sat 25 August, 2018. Kick Off: - 15:00
Tannadice Park
Fixture Information:
Admission Details:
The Thistle support will be accomodated in the West Stand for this fixture.
This fixture is a PAY AT THE GATE fixture.
Tickets are available for advance purchase from 10am on Monday 20th August.
Prices:
Adults – £20
Concessions – £10
A concession is qualified as a person under 18, over 65 or a student with a valid matriculation card.
Supporters’ Buses:
City Centre Branch:
Pick ups:
Q Club – 10:50
Station Bar – 11:00
Non members welcome.
Please call 07979496154 or email to book.
John Lambie Jordanhill Branch:
Pick ups:
Jordanhill Station – 12:30
Thornwood Bar – 12:35
Prices:
£18 for adults
£10 for concessions
All Jags fans are welcome but booking is essential.
For seats please contact Alistair on 07817612563 or email
For general enquires please contact Iain on 07779668357 or email
North-West Branch:
Pick ups:
Milngavie Station – 12:00
Esquire House – 12:20
Maryhill Community Halls – 12:35
Non-Members fares:
£17 for adults.
£10.50 for concessions.
To reserve seats, please e-mail or call 0141 632 3604 before 9:00 pm.
It’s been two weeks since Partick Thistle claimed their first league win of the season against Falkirk in a 2-1 triumph over the Bairns with cup duty taking priority in the interim, however, it’s a return to Championship action tomorrow for the Jags as they prepare to take on Dundee United in league competition for the first time since 2016. Thistle boss, Alan Archibald, spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of his side’s trip to Tannadice.
The gaffer began by admitting that the game against the Terrors will represent one of his side’s biggest tests this season with United expected to be challenging for the league title this term.
“It’s going to be one of the hardest games we’ll have, especially away from home. They’ll have one of the biggest supports in the league and it’s never been easy when we’ve gone to Tannadice before. The lads are in a confident mood though, we’ve had three good performances in a row and even though Celtic did beat us, I think the boys recognise that they performed admirably against Scotland’s best team. We want to continue that momentum into a run of league games and that starts tomorrow.”
Archie said that although it should prove to be a very tough test, his side will have to win games like these if they want to sit in top spot come the end of the season.
“When you play your title rivals you want to win that bit more because those three points don’t just boost you, they dent another team’s title hopes. There’s a big expectancy with Dundee United, having been in this league for far longer than they’d have liked, they need to get promoted to justify the money they spend but that expectancy means their fans aren’t too patient and we can take advantage of that with a good start like we had against Falkirk.”
We then asked Archie about new signings, Souleymane Coulibaly and Brice Ntambwe. The pair joined the club this week and although they may not feature this weekend, Alan hopes they can add plenty to his squad.
“Everyone knows we’ve needed more bodies in and these two signings help with that but also bring quality to our team. Neither of them were going to go straight into the starting line up if I’m being honest with you. With Souleymane, he’s obviously come here to score goals and add to our attack but he hasn’t played any football in a long time. He’s just started doing fitness work with us to get up to speed. His situation is not an easy one to work through but we’re working hard to get clearance for him and if we do get it in time for Saturday then he’ll join the squad. I know it is a very complicated matter in what’s going on, but we were told he was good to go to try and sign him and that’s why we went with it.
“As for Brice, he adds a bit of physicality which I feel we’ve slightly lacked in the midfield. He’s not afraid to get stuck in and he can also use the ball well. His clearance is a little bit more straightforward, albeit his last club went bust. If it is anything like Andrea Mutombo’s clearance it should come through quickly. If clearance arrives he’ll be part of the squad for the trip to Tannadice. We had Brice in for a look last week before he went back home to Belgium. He’s not match sharp to go and start the game but hopefully he’ll be on the bench and ready to play a part. Both of our new additions have been in training with us and have fit in very well so there are no problems in that regard either.”
Throughout the start of the season, the Jags have missed different players for different reasons during different games, however, Archibald is hoping that over the next few weeks, he can get most players into contention and really find his best team.
“There have been a lot of moving parts through pre-season. We’ve had players picking up knocks at points, guys on the transfer list and players still to come in so there’s been more rotation than I’d have liked but we’re almost there now. There are a few players still out but they’ll gradually come back in and overall, the squad looks much fuller. Soon enough I’ll be leaving more players out which can only be a good thing.”
The Jags boss is also glad that he’ll now be able to name a much stronger bench for games with more options from the sidelines making it easier for him to change any given game in Thistle’s favour.
“It’s not ideal that we couldn’t name a full bench through the start of the season but there are a number of factors that fed into that but tomorrow we should have a much better looking list of substitutes. Away to Ayr, we only had Aidan Fitzpatrick on the bench as an attacking option and that made it difficult for us to change the way the game was going at 2-0 down. With Andréa, Souleymane and Brice all coming in to add to our squad it’ll give me more options to go with if things aren’t going our way.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Christie Elliott and Jags gaffer, Alan Archibald, are available to Jagzone subscribers – log in now to see them.
Jagzone members will also be able to watch extended highlights of the game.
Can’t make it to Tannadice Park? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:45pm on Saturday.
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 © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
Partick Thistle won their first league game of the season two weeks ago against Falkirk and looked to add to that victory by taking three points from Dundee United this afternoon. The Jags travelled to Tannadice having been knocked out of the Betfred Cup by Celtic seven days prior, venturing to get back to winning ways against the Tangerines who came into the game off the back of consecutive wins in league and cup.
Two changes were made to the Thistle side that was beaten by Celtic last weekend. Cammy Bell remained in goals behind an unchanged rear-guard of Max Melbourne, Sean McGinty, Tam O’Ware and Christie Elliott. James Penrice was once again operating in the midfield alongside Craig Slater who returned to the starting XI in place of the injured Shea Gordon. Jack Storer started in the number ten role with Blair Spittal and Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo on either wing behind the lone striker, Miles Storey. The players on the bench were Jamie Sneddon, Niall Keown, Callum Wilson, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Chris Erskine and Kris Doolan.
The match started quickly but came to a grinding halt as Tam O’Ware went down clutching his knee in the fourth minute. He was attended to for a couple of minutes before the stretcher threatened to make an appearance, thankfully, Tam was able to walk off the park and the stretcher was packed away. Nevertheless, O’Ware did have to come off and he was replaced by Niall Keown.
A minute after that change, United had the lead. A free kick was swung in from the United right and it found the head of Paul Watson. The former Raith Rovers man found himself in acres of space and he headed easily past Cammy Bell to make it 1-0.
The game became extremely scrappy from that point on with neither side really creating much. Christoph Rabitsch could have made it two as the ball fell to him just inside the Jags’ box but his well-struck effort was straight at Thistle’s goalkeeper, Bell.
Miles Storey had a shot on goal 21 minutes in as Blair Spittal lifted the ball towards him. The forward received the ball from Spittal’s lifted pass and tried a shot on the bounce. He rather scuffed his effort, however, and Matej Rakovan saved easily.
Adam Barton came close to a goal against his former club with eight minutes left of the first half. The ball fell to the midfielder following a long-throw and he fired a right-footed effort towards goal. He met it sweetly but his powerful shot was straight at Cammy Bell who held comfortably.
At the start of the second half, the visitors looked better. They tried to get the ball forward more quickly and Jack Storer had the first chance of the second period as his half volley flew a couple of yards wide of the United goal. Storer was replaced shortly thereafter as Chris Erskine came on in the 55th minute.
There was another chance from distance in the 58th minute as James Penrice saw his ranged volley bounce just wide. The ball dropped to Thistle’s number three 30 yards from goal and he decided to have a pop. The Thistle Weir Youth Academy graduate’s effort took a very early deflection which saw it wriggle just wide of the hosts’ goal.
Another chance fell the Jags’ way on the hour mark and this time, they really should have been level. Sean McGinty fed the ball out wide to Miles Storey who created a yard of space before delivering the ball into the danger area. Blair Spittal met the cross and tried to direct the ball into the far corner, however, his attempt spun wide of the target.
In the 73rd minute, Thistle made their final alteration of the game as Kris Doolan replaced Craig Slater with the Jags adopting a more attacking formation.
Unfortunately for the travelling Jags, shortly after the change, Dundee United grabbed a second goal. It was another set play as Yannick Loemba whipped a corner in from the area in front of the tunnel and Paul Watson was there to meet it once again. The defender nodded goalwards, beating Cammy Bell all ends up and doubling his side’s advantage.
As Thistle pushed for a goal and a way back into the game, the home side were able to make it three with a counter-attacking move. The Terrors broke down their left hand side with Fraser Aird moving into the Thistle box. He had the chance to shoot but opted rather to square the ball across the face of goal to teammate, Craig Curran who tapped home into the empty net to put the game beyond any doubt.
The Jags were able to grab a late consolation through substitute, Chris Erskine. Miles Storey crosses the ball in from the right wing and United ‘stopper, Matej Rakovan made a mess of claiming the delivery. He dropped it and Erskine capitalised, nodding home into an empty net for his second of the new season.
The referee called time on the game with the score at 3-1 and Dundee United claimed all three points as their prominence from set pieces proved the difference in a game of little quality. The results sees the Jags remain on three points, putting United three clear of their opponents today.
Thistle now turn their attentions to next Saturday’s league clash against Greenock Morton. The Ton come to Maryhill for a second time this season with Thistle now looking to make amends for a poor result today.
THISTLE TEAM: Bell, Elliott, O’Ware (Keown, 4’), McGinty, Melbourne, Penrice, Slater (Doolan, 73’), Spittal, Storer (Erskine, 55’), Mutombo, Storey.
UNUSED SUBS (PTH): Sneddon, Wilson, Fitzpatrick.
DUNDEE UNITED TEAM: Rakovan, Murdoch, Frans, Watson, Robson, Barton, Rabitsch, Loemba, Aird (Booth, 87’), Safranko, Curran (Glass, 87’).
UNUSED SUBS (DNU): Siegrist, McMullan, Edjenguele, Wardrop, Smith.
Article Copyright © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
After claiming their first league win of the season two weeks ago, Partick Thistle looked to make it back-to-back Championship victories as they travelled to Tannadice today. Unfortunately for the Jags, it was not to be as Dundee United ran out 3-1 winners. The Tangerines went ahead through Paul Watson as he headed home a free kick early on and the ex-Falkirk defender got a second after the break, this time getting on the end of a corner. Craig Curran made it three late on before Chris Erskine pulled one back for the away side, though it was but a consolation. Thistle boss, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the final whistle.
Archie began by explaining his disappointment with his side who lost the game’s first two goals to set plays.
“There wasn’t much in it. Neither team created an awful lot and in the end it’s the set pieces that kill us. We work on them a lot but you can’t tell when the same player gets two free headers in one match like that. We know teams in this league will use set pieces well and we need to be better at defending them.”
The gaffer was pleased with how his side came out for the second half but felt that the second goal really killed Thistle’s spirit.
“We had a good spell after half time where we looked like we were starting to control things. We had a couple of half chances and then Blair Spittal has a great headed chance which he should score. If that goes in then the game is completely different but instead, we switch off and give them the two-goal lead.”
Alan then touched on Tam O’Ware’s injury. The Jags’ number four was forced off the pitch very early in the game with an injury worry. He did manage to walk off the park but the manager knows losing Tam for any amount of time would be a blow.
“He went down with no one really near him and those are always the most worrying ones. He’s a tough lad and we know he wouldn’t go down like that unless there really was something wrong so we’ll get him assessed on Monday by which point the swelling will hopefully have gone down and then we can go from there.”
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Niall Keown and Miles Storey. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
Highlights will be added shortly and will be free for Jagzone subscribers.
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 © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
Sat 25 August, 2018
SPFL Ladbrokes Championship 
Tannadice Park
The ball is slid in the direction of Doolan but Rakovan slides to claim.
Chris Erskine heads home after Rakovan spills a cross
Keown slips as Spittal fires over a free kick. Thanks to the 609 Jags fans in the crowd of 5,219 this afternoon.
Aird breaks away down the left hand side and cuts back for Curran who makes no mistake from two yards out.
Brilliant defending from Melbourne denies United a third with Curran waiting to poke home from inside the six yard box.
Storey slides a ball through on goal for Doolan to try to slide home but the flag is up for offside.
Loemba's corner is met by Watson who powerfully heads beyond Bell.
Curran tries to turn the Jags defence but runs the ball out of play.
Loemba skies a shot over the double tier stand behind Cammy Bell's goal. Impressive to clear the stand in fairness.
Another deep Storey cross but Spittal can't get on it.
Storey's cross is great but Spittal can't quite get on the end of it.
With McGinty having to wait ages for his bandage to be checked, United break but Loemba fires straight at Bell with a golden opportunity.
McGinty's wound has burst open and the Terry Butcher style bandage is implemented.
Rakovan comes right to the edge of his box to claim a through ball.
Slater's corner is cleared. Thistle keep possession before Storey crosses. Spittal's header from eight yards out can't find the target.
Penrice has a shot from the edge of the box which is deflected behind by a defender.
Game getting warmed up with referee decisions frustrating both sides.
Barton robs Penrice and advances forward before drilling a low shot wide of target.
Jack Storer is penalised and booked for winning the ball in a challenge with Rabitsch.
After a bit of medical treatment Penrice is fit to continue.
Penrice is next to need physio attention after landing awkwardly on the turf.
Frans looks to foul Storey inside the box but the Jags attacker manages to get over a cross which Mutombo can't quite meet
McGinty is patched up and can contnue without the need for a Terry Butcher style bandage.
A clash of heads brings play to a halt. Safranko is fine to continue but McGinty needs attention as blood pours out from his head.
Mutombo slides the ball wide to Storer but Murdoch is across to clear. Storer gets it back from a throw in and sends a shot narrowly wide.
Spittal has the ball in the box and shoots on goal but Watson dives in front of his shot to block.
Thistle break away from a United throw in but Storey's cross goes unmet by a Thistle player.
It's played short but Melbourne's delivery is claimed by Rakovan
Storey drills down the left hand side and wins a corner.
Aird's free kick drops to the feet of Barton but his shot is simple for Bell.
Great one touch play from Thistle ends with an Elliott cross clutched by Rakovan
Storey catches Rabitsch a little late.
Slater's delivery is good but Keown can't get his header on target.
Elliott robs Robson in the corner of the pitch and crosses. Frans knocks it behind for a corner.
Thistle break down the right hand side through Storey but Frans heads away his cross. Storer opts for a shot with options available and the danger passes for the home side.
Storer's loose pass is pounced upon by Safranko who crosses. Thistle clear and start to build once again.
Spittal's cross from the left is headed away by Watson. Murdoch completes the United clearance.
Frans' sliding clearance hits off Storey towards goal. Storey races after it but Rakovan is sharp off his line to beat the attacker to the ball.
Mutombo gets in behind the United defence and fires at goal from a tight angle. It's a comfortable save for the goalkeeper.
A dangerous delivery is met at the front post by Safranko but his header is off target.
Mutombo does his job in the wall and deflects it out for a corner.
Loemba takes a tumble wide of the box and wins a free kick in a dangerous area for United. Didn't look much in that as the angry Thistle support indicates
Spittal flicks Keown's ball through to Storey. He gets a glimpse of goal but can't connect it cleanly and it is straight at the goalkeeper. Encouraging play from Thistle.
Thistle break away from a United attack. Storey skips past two late challenges before pinging it to Mutombo. A crossfield pass from Slater just evades the reach of Elliott.
It's become a midfield battle at the moment in an even game. A United free kick from Aird is poor and Thistle clear.
A cross from the right is partially cleared to Rabitsch who fires straight at Bell.
Some grappling between Frans and Storey goes unpunished. Watson is cleared down by Mutombo as Thistle try to get back in the game.
United take advantage of the defensive reshuffle instantly. A free kick comes over from the right hand side and Watson heads home powerfully.
After lengthy treatment, O'Ware has to come off.
O'Ware advances out of defence and he pulls up as he enters the United half. The home side play on with the number four stricken on the turf before eventually putting it out. It looks like the end of O'Ware's game with Keown ready to replace him.