Sat 7 May, 2016
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership 
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.
Steven Lawless 33′
Kris Doolan 66′
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership
Sat 7 May, 2016. Kick Off: - 15:00
Rugby Park, Kilmarnock.
Summary
Thistle travel through to Ayrshire for the second time this season to face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, a modern stadium located in the middle of a housing scheme. This is the second season that Kilmarnock have had a plastic pitch in their home stadium, a surface which Thistle put five beyond the hosts in November.
Entry
The traveling Jags fans will be housed behind the goals in the Chadwick stand. With plenty of space and no pillars to spoil the action the Jags support are guaranteed a good view.
Entry Prices:
Adult – £20.00
Concession – £15. 00
Under 16 – £5. 00
Travel
Train
There are a number of trains from Glasgow to Kilmarnock which will get you to the match in time for kick off. The stadium is then less than 1 mile from the train station and should be walkable.
Supporters Bus
CITY CENTRE BUS:
Pick Up:
Q Club: 12:20
Station Bar: 12:30
Non members welcome please call 07979496154 to book.
JORDANHILL BUS:
Pick Up:
Jordanhill: 13:30
Thornwood Bar: 13:35
Members Prices: £6 for adults. £4 for concessions.
Bookings are essential. Contact Alistair on 07817612563 or .
General Enquiries: contact Iain on 07779668357
NORTH WEST BUS:
Pick Up:
Milngavie Station: 13:00
Esquire House: 13:15
Maryhill Community Hall: 13:30
Prices: £12 for adults. £7.50 for concessions(School aged children, unwaged adults, senior citizens & matriculated students)
Car
Kilmarnock is easily reachable by car and less than an hour from Glasgow. There is no car parking at the stadium for fans and on street parking around the stadium is restricted so be prepared to park and walk to the ground.
Pubs & Eating
If you don’t fancy a famous Killie Pie there is a number of options for before the match, there is a trusty McDonalds close by and a number of eating places within the city centre.
There is a number of pubs in the city centre and around the train station. There is also The Portman Hotel and Howard Arms within walking distance of the stadium. If you want something closer there is a sports pub in the stadium and also a bar in the Park Hotel which is in the grounds of the stadium.
With only eight days remaining until the 2015/16 SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership campaign comes to a conclusion, Thistle still have three massive games to play and will have a direct influence on the composition of next year’s top flight. First up for Alan Archibald’s side is a trip to Rugby Park tomorrow to face a Kilmarnock side who are flying high after a 4-0 win over Hamilton Accies last weekend. By contrast, Thistle’s last game was a dismal 4-1 defeat to Inverness and the manager is keen to get that loss out of the system as quickly as possible.
“Last week’s result, and performance, was unacceptable. We reviewed the game with the players on Monday, as we do for all games, and we’ve put it firmly behind us. We’ve got to focus on the three games we have left, starting with Kilmarnock, to have a strong finish to the season.
“We’ve got a six point cushion over Kilmarnock and we need to use that to our advantage. I’d much rather be in our position where our destiny is in our own hands and we aren’t relying on other results to help drag us back into the pack. We’ve got to get ourselves over the finishing line as quickly as possible.”
Kilmarnock sit six points behind Thistle in the Ladbrokes Premiership table and will be looking to get three points to drag Thistle into a playoff battle.
“We know Kilmarnock are a side who will be high on confidence and they’ll be looking at the game as an opportunity to drag us back into the playoff battle. We know that if we can get the victory then we’ll be safe and guaranteed to be playing next season in the Premiership.
“We’ve had two home games where we should have picked up the points we’ve needed, and we failed to do that. We’ve played with this pressure for the majority of the season, with a win putting us up a couple of places and a defeat dropping us down a few. It’s something the players have been used to all season.”
This week also saw Alan, together with his assistant, Scott Paterson, secure their long term futures at the club with a contract extension until 2019.
“It’s great to sign an extension with the club. We’ve been talking about it for a while and I didn’t need much persuading to sign. It’s great to know you’ve got the support of the board and I think this contract shows their faith in Scott and me.
“We’re working hard to establish Thistle as a Premiership team and, when the players can see that we’ve pledged our futures to the club, then hopefully they will as well. We’ve tried to make Firhill a good place to come and play football, the players seem to enjoy it and we hope that can continue for the next three years.”
Finally, the gaffer brought us up to date with the team news ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Rugby Park.
“There isn’t much difference to report in squad selection this week with Stuart Bannigan and Gary Fraser still out long term. We had hoped to have Tomas Cerny back for selection but it’s come too soon for him. We have a couple of players with knocks but we’re hopeful they’ll make it in time and we’ll give them every opportunity to prove their fitness ahead of a crucial game for the side.”
Thistle travelled to Rugby Park knowing that a win would secure the sides Premiership status for another season. Kilmarnock, meanwhile, were looking to drag the Jags back into the relegation playoff fight with just two games of the season remaining after this clash.
Manager Alan Archibald made two changes from the side which lost disasterously to Inverness last week with injury forcing him to reshuffle his defence. Callum Booth dropped out of the squad, allowing Mustapha Dumbuya to move to left back. Gary Miller came into the side at right back while Frederic Frans partnered Dan Seaborne in defence, with Liam Lindsay struggling to shake off a knock.
Kilmarnock started the game brightly forcing a succession of early throw ins, putting the Jags rear-guard on the back foot. Miles Addison was proving a danger and he was the target for Josh Magennis’ long throws. Scully had to be alert to instinctively tip the ball around for a corner.
As news filtered through of Hamilton taking the lead in Dundee, Kilmarnock came close to opening the scoring when Kiltie fired an effort just over Scully’s bar.
Thistle had their first chance on goal after 15 minutes, Dumbuya’s cross was met by David Amoo who couldn’t get any power in his header, allowing Jamie MacDonald to comfortably collect. Amoo was hurt in the process and his game was brought to an early conclusion with Christie Elliott summoned to replace him.
Josh Magennis was next to test Scully in the Jags goal tipping the ball around the post from the edge of the box. The game picked up a frantic pace and with just over half an hour played, Thistle took the lead.
Thistle won a corner, which was partially cleared to Abdul Osman. He was able to slip the ball to Steven Lawless, who cut inside onto his favoured left foot before drilling a low effort powerfully past MacDonald in the Kilmarnock goal. It was a powerful effort and left the goalkeeper with no chance to save.
Kris Boyd has been a menace for Thistle in the past and he tried to drag Killie level just before half time, but his cut back, intended for Magennis was deflected behind for a corner by Seaborne. It was Magennis who had the last effort with a swerving effort from the corner of the box, but it was high and wide of goal.
The results at half time meant Kilmarnock would be consigned to the playoffs if it stayed the same, so it was no surprise that Kilmarnock came out straight from kick off to grab an equaliser. Magennis teed up Kris Boyd on the edge of the box but his effort was tame and cleared the ball by a number of feet.
Thistle were defending excellently to restrict the efforts on goal that Ryan Scully had to contend with. Kilmarnock were presented with an excellent opportunity to level on the hour mark when they won a free kick on the very edge of the Thistle box, but Kris Boyd could only smash his effort into the Jags defensive wall.
With 25 minutes remaining, Thistle all but sealed the game through a goal from talisman Kris Doolan. Ryan Scully’s kick out was headed on by Abdul Osman, missed by Addison, presenting Kris Doolan with a run through on goal. With Balatoni coming over to try and challenge the striker, Doolan fired an effort into the turf and beyond the helpless MacDonald.
The noise coming from the Thistle support was ramped up by a few decibels with that crucial goal but Kilmarnock still posed a danger, introducing former Jag Kallum Higginbotham to the action.
He sent over a succession of deliveries from corner kicks, but Ryan Scully and his defence were able to repel all crosses and clear away for another attack.
A Kilmarnock goal would have renewed the belief of the home side, while also sending the tension factor for the Jags support. Kris Boyd was able to get away from Seaborne inside the six yard box, but couldn’t fire his effort on target.
Kallum Higginbotham had the final Kilmarnock effort, his shot getting deflected beyond the reach of Scully, but Gary Miller was swiftly across to clear off the line.
Thistle saw out the final moments in relative comfort winning corner after corner. In stoppage time, Thistle nearly put the shine on a tremendous victory when Sean Welsh smashed an effort off the cross bar. Kevin Nisbet’s rebound header appeared goal bound until a Kilmarnock player cleared off the line.
Referee Andrew Dallas blew the full time whistle and the players were able to take a richly deserved applause from the large Thistle backing that travelled to Rugby Park. Thistle will spend a fourth consecutive season in the Premiership, a feat not achieved since the 1990s.
Thistle’s 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock secured the club’s Premiership status for another season and it was a visibly pleased Alan Archibald who spoke to ptfc.co.uk shortly after the full time whistle.
“It’s great to get over the line and finally secure our Premiership safety for another year. We knew that it was in ourown hands and we had three games to do it, so it’s great to seize the opportunity at the first time of asking.
“When you look at the start we had to the season, it’s great to secure safety with games to spare. The credit must go to theplayers who showed great resolve to go on an excellent run of form and we were in with a chance of top six on the very last game before the split. We took a while to get over that, but we’ve finally edged over the finishing line today.”
Thistle’s victory condemns Kilmarnock to a playoff slot and Archie was pleased with the way his side performed on the day.
“Kilmarnock were fighting for their lives today and we knew it would be a battle. We showed no fear and played well to get the win. The defence were excellent today, they gave Ryan Scully a lot of protection and he didn’t really have too much to do.
“Lawless grabbed an excellent goal at a great time for us and it gave us something to defend. Doolan did what Doolan does and netted a second. He had an unfortunate afternoon being flaggedoffside a lot, but he kept gambling and got his reward. It was a really hard opportunity for him to take on his left foot but he did really well with it.”
With two games still to play Alan is continuing to look up the table as the side look to finish the season on a high.
“We’re only three points behind seventh place and we’re going to keep pushing to try and catch the sides above us. With us now being safe we’ll have to look at the players available to us. A couple are on the verge of suspension and a couple have been carrying knocks so we’ll need to see how they are on Monday.”
Finally, the gaffer had a word of thanks for the Thistle support. “The fans travelled down in great numbers today and it really is appreciated. They’ve backed us through thick and thin and we owed them a performance after last week’s showing. We set out at the start of the season to make sure we were a Premiership side in 2016/17 and we’ve done that, but none of it would be possible without the support of the fans. They’ve got two games remaining in the season and I’m sure they’ll enjoy both of them, starting with Tuesday night’s trip to Tannadice.”
