Betfred Cup
Sat 15 July, 2017. Kick Off: - 15:00
Tony Macaroni Arena
Fixture details:
Admission Prices:
Adults – £10
Concessions – £5
A concession qualifies as a person aged under 16, 65 or over or disabled.
Supporters’ Buses:
City Centre Branch:
Pick ups:
Q Club – 12:20
Station Bar – 12:30
Non members welcome.
Please call 07979496154 or email to book.
Jordanhill Branch:
Pick ups:
Jordanhill Station – 13:30
Thornwood Bar – 13:35
Prices:
Members:
£8 for adults
£4 for concessions
Non-Members:
£12 for adults
£6 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
Jordanhill Branch Membership Information:
Jordanhill Branch Membership covers all published pre-split Ladbrokes Premiership league away games, except the visit to Ibrox where no bus will run.
Members will benefit from reduced rates for any away cup games.
As in previous seasons, membership can be paid in one installment or over the course of the season. However, we appeal for consistent payments as the buses require to be paid for on each away match day.
Membership costs are as follows:
Adult – £200
Student/Retired/Unemployed – £115
School Attenders – £80
Parent & Child – £240
For more information please contact Iain at
North-West Branch:
Pick ups:
Milngavie Station – 13:00
Esquire House – 13:20
Maryhill Community Halls – 13:30
Prices:
£14 for adults
£8 for concessions.
For seats non-members should e-mail
North-West Branch Membership Information:
Non-members intending to travel regularly should consider joining the North-West since the benefits are considerable.
The North-West will run a bus to every away Betfred Cup, Ladbrokes Premiership and Scottish Cup fixture played outwith Glasgow in season 2017-18.
No need to book seats for each game, your place is guaranteed!
A fixed fee (full fare £270, concession fare £150) can be paid in installments throughout the season. This fee has been held at the same level as in 2016-17.
To become a North-West Branch member please e-mail
Thistle’s 2017/18 campaign begins tomorrow at the Tony Macaroni Arena with the first competitive meeting against Livingston in over four years. The West Lothian side won the Ladbrokes League One title last season and will pose a stern test for Alan Archibald’s side.
With the final training session before competitive action finally returns over, ptfc.co.uk caught up with manager Alan Archibald to get his thoughts ahead of the game.
“We’re looking forward to the first competitive game of the season. All our focus when we got back together as a group in June was looking at this game against Livingston. We aimed to use the time to get the squad in the best shape possible and I think we’ve done that.
“We’ve played five friendly matches against a number of different sides to get prepared for the season. There have been some games where we’ve put out a strong starting side, and others where we’ve rotated a lot more to get everyone minutes into the leg and raring to go for the big kick off tomorrow.”
The opposition may spend the upcoming season in the Ladbrokes Championship but the gaffer has left no stone unturned in his preparations for the opening Betfred Cup tie.
“We’ve treated Livingston like we would any Premiership side. I was fortunate enough to see them in the flesh against Sunderland on Wednesday night and we’ve also had their games against Motherwell and Kilmarnock watched as well.
“The side are on a high after winning promotion last season and they’ll be full of confidence. We’ve given the players as much information as we can to get them ready for Saturday’s game.”
Thistle won all four Betfred Cup games last season but Archie knows the side will have to earn the right to call themselves Group H winners.
“We’re in a really tough group. We have three full time teams in our division which makes it very challenging. St Mirren and Livingston both finished last season strongly and will be looking to get off to a fast start this season.
“We’re going to have to be at our best in every game to get the results we want. Penalty kicks might come into it as well over the next four games and that is something that we have looked at as well. We’re ready for the trip to Livingston and there will be no excuses.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Kris Doolan and Chris Erskine as well as Jags gaffer Alan Archibald are now available to Jagzone subscribers. Log in now to see them. Jagzone members will also be able to watch highlights of the game.
Can’t make Livingston? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:30
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
Alan has committed, will you join him? 2017/18 season tickets are now on sale.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
After a summer hiatus, competitive football is back for Partick Thistle. The Betfred Cup group stages present an early challenge for the Jags with four matches before the start of the league campaign. The first of those four came at the Tony Macaroni Arena with Livingston the opposition. Livi are coming into the new season as a Championship club having won the Ladbrokes League One title last season.
Alan Archibald had a lessened number of players to select from for this fixture due to injuries. Abdul Osman, Mustapha Dumbuya, Callum Booth and Niall Keown were all unavailable for the game meaning the team was a depleted one.
Tomas Cerny started in goals for the Jags behind a back four of Christie Elliott, Adam Barton, Daniel Devine and James Penrice. Ryan Edwards started at the base of the midfield alongside Stuart Bannigan who made his first competitive start for 15 months today. Steven Lawless, Chris Erskine and summer signing, Blair Spittal formed a dangerous trio in behind the sole striker and today’s captain, Kris Doolan.
Livingston got things underway but two minutes in, they were almost behind. Blair Spittal was putting pressure on the Livi backline which led to a poor clearance that fell to Chris Erskine 20 yards from goal. The no. 10 took it down and shot but Neil Alexander was alert in the Lions’ goal and held the attempt safely.
Despite that early Thistle chance, Livi weren’t discouraged and produced a chance of their own in the fourth minute. A smart ball found Dale Carrick in behind his marker, in the Thistle area and he tried a shot. Tomas Cerny was able to smother the chance but when the rebound fell in the box, Ryan Edwards had to act fast to block.
Thistle created another chance in the sixth minute in what was fast becoming an exciting match. Chris Erskine won a midfield battle before slotting the ball through to Kris Doolan. The stand-in skipper unleashed a low shot towards the near post but Neil Alexander was equal to it and made a fine save to deny the Thistle centurion his first goal of the new season.
After these early chances it wasn’t long until the deadlock was broken and it would be the visitors who grabbed the opener. Chris Erskine picked up the ball 20 yards from goal and shimmied past his man before curling an exquisite shot into the top corner to give the Maryhill men lead in West Lothian.
It looked as if Livi had equalised in the 22nd minute when they found the back of the net following a long throw-in but luckily for the away side, it was ruled out. The ball looped high into the air after a sliced defensive clearance and it was nodded home. The home crowd cheered as they believed that they’d drawn level but the referee blew his whistle for a foul on Jags ‘keeper, Tomas Cerny.
The game’s next opportunity also fell to the hosts as they went close in the 32nd minute. A quick one-two between Matthew Knox and Danny Mullen created space for Knox to shoot from range but the no. 16 dragged his shot wide of the target.
Following Livingston’s disallowed goal, it was only fair that the Jags had one of their own. In the 33rd minute Steven Lawless did some excellent work on the edge of the box, shifting past two Livi players, before shooting. Neil Alexander was equal to his effort but the ex-Hearts ‘stopper couldn’t hold it and the loose ball fell to James Penrice who tapped home. Unfortunately for the young defender, the lineswoman had her flag up to deny him his first senior goal.
It looked like the game was going to be level heading into the break but the Lions had one last chance to equalise, two minutes before the interval. Scott Pittman managed to break through a weak challenge from Adam Barton, allowing him to bear down on goal. He hit a low effort on goal but Tomas Cerny was equal to it. When he got to the rebound, it was at such an angle that he could only square the ball across the face of the goal.
So the game did reach half-time at 1-0 with the solitary Chris Erskine goal all that separated the sides. The Jags would be disappointed to have only garnered one goal from an impressive opening 20 minutes. The team looked decent going forward but shaky at the back with Abdul Osman’s organisation and Niall Keown’s no-nonsense defending missing. The Jags would be looking for a good start to the second half as they can’t afford to let a decent Livi side back into the game early in the second period. The home side do have the advantage of a full bench with some quality on it opposed to the Jags’ bench full of youngsters.
If Archie was looking for a strong start to the second 45 then he got the opposite as the hosts equalised in the 46th minute. The ball fell to Livingston no. 14 Keaghan Jacobs who cleverly shifted away from Ryan Edwards before firing a powerful shot into the top corner, beating Tomas Cerny all ends up. The goal brought the Lions level and set the tone for the second half.
Shortly after the goal there was a change in shape for Thistle. They went from a four-at-the-back to a three-at-the-back. James Penrice dropped in to become the left-most centre-half of a three while Christie Elliott and Blair Spittal operated as wing-backs.
The teams traded attacks for a period of the second half with Kris Doolan and Rafa De-Vita both being presented with half-chances. However, in the 71st minute Doolan should have netted. Blair Spittal’s corner found Adam Barton who nodded down to Doolan. The striker took a hit but sliced his shot and missed the target at the near post. A minute after that chance, Thistle made their only substitution of the game as Chris Erskine was replaced by Kevin Nisbet, the most experienced member of the substitutes.
The Jags were almost made to pay for that missed opportunity with 11 minutes to go as Tomas Cerny was forced into a save. Livi goalscorer Keaghan Jacobs hit a cross into the middle and Tomas Cerny moved forward to catch the delivery. The Czech ‘keeper was almost caught out, however, as the ball kept travelling towards goal and he had to backpedal urgently to turn it over the crossbar.
That would be the final real opportunity of the match as things ended 1-1 at the culmination of the regulation 90 minutes. This, of course, meant that the game would go to penalties as the teams jostled for the bonus point that is available to the winners if said penalty shootout in the Betfred Cup.
Thistle would go first and the first man to step up was Stuart Bannigan. He slammed home confidently from 12 yards to give Thistle the lead, however, Livi also scored their opening spot kick despite Tomas Cerny getting a hand to it.
The Jags’ next kick-taker was Christie Elliott. The ex-Whitley Bay player stepped up but unfortunately, Neil Alexander guessed correctly and gave his side the advantage. The next Lions taker didn’t waste the advantage either as he cools beat Tomas Cerny from 12 yards.
Next up for Thistle was new wideman, Blair Spittal, who had a fairly strong game at the Tony Macaroni Arena. He went the same way as Elliott and it produced the same result as Alexander turned it away. Suddenly, all the pressure was piled on Thistle’s next taker as Livi made it three penalties out of three.
Finally, the Firhill side’s fourth penalty taker was Kris Doolan. Doolan has only taken one penalty since the Jags were promoted in 2013 and he missed that one against Inverness at Firhill. Unfortunately, for the Thistle centurion it was the same situation today as Neil Alexander completed a superb shootout performance by saving he spot kick and in the process giving Livingston the bonus point in Betfred Cup group H.
Alan Archibald must now look towards next Saturday’s clash with St. Mirren as the Jags take on the Buddies at Firhill in another Premiership vs. Championship collision. Kick-off is at 15:00.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
After a busy summer of pre-season preparing for the return of competitive football, the day was finally here for Alan Archibald. His Thistle side took on Livingston in the Betfred Cup as the new season got underway. Unfortunately, for the Jags’ boss it was an unsuccessful return to competitive play as the teams drew 1-1 during the regulation 90 minutes with Livingston going on to win on penalties to claim a bonus point. Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk after the disappointing Betfred Cup clash.
Archie was pleased with the way his team began the match as they opened the scoring in the 15th minute and showed some attacking spark in the early stages.
“I thought we started brightly, it was probably our best spell of the game in the first 20 minutes. We should have made more of what we were doing at that time but unfortunately, they came out for the second half and scored at what was a good time for them and a terrible time for us. However, that’s no excuse, we weren’t good enough in the second half.”
Although some managers might blame a poor performance on a lack of fitness among their squad in July, Alan wasn’t making any excuses for his team’s poor display.
“It wasn’t a fitness problem. It was the same last year. We have to go out there and win the games and we just didn’t show enough out there to deserve the victory. Obviously, our injury problems were a big issue but the lads who were on the pitch have to perform.”
The gaffer did mention the injury problems when speaking as four important first team players were missing today, including club captain, Abdul Osman as well as long-term absentee, Gary Fraser.
“We want to make it out the group. From my point of view, I’m trying to get us in a winning shape without a number of important players. We didn’t have anyone on the bench to change the game as they were all young lads. Stuart Bannigan had to play 90 minutes which is a credit to the player but not ideal when it’s his first competitive start last March.”
Although, he was short on numbers today, Archie says that he hopes to see some of the missing players return soon.
“Obviously, two are long term and three are closer. Mustapha Dumbuya and Gary Fraser are out for a while but we do hope to see Abdul, Niall Keown and Callum Booth back soon.”
Thistle now turn their attention to the St. Mirren game next Saturday at Firhill. The Championship side come to Maryhill off the back of a convincing win over Stranraer and will provide another tough test for Alan Archibald’s Jags. Kick-off is at 15:00.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Kevin Nisbet and James Penrice. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
Jagzone subscribers can rewatch the full 90 minutes, and the resulting penalty shoot out from 10pm.
Highlights will be added at midnight 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.
Alan has committed, will you join him? 2017/18 season tickets are now on sale.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
Sat 15 July, 2017
Betfred Cup 
Tony Macaroni Arena
Livingston pick up the bonus point after three Neil Alexander saves give Livi the penalty win. Thistle now move on to next Saturday's clash with St. Mirren at Firhill as they continue their Betfred cup campaign.
Penalty shootout on the way after the standard 90 minutes couldn't separate the sides.
The big man is booked for a heavy challenge on James Penrice.
A cross from Jacobs is nowhere near anyone but ends up looping towards goal and Cerny is forced to tip it over.
The resulting corner finds Barton who flicks it on to Doolan. The striker lets fly but slices across the ball and it goes wide at the near.
Blair Spittal drives inside from the right wing and shoots low with his left foot. It takes a slight deflection and goes out for a corner.
Steven Lawless finds Doolan with a whipped cross from the left flank. Today's Captain, Doolan connects with a diving header but it's wide of the near post.
Rafa De-Vita cuts in from the left onto his right foot and aims a low shot at the near post. Cerny gets down quickly and holds the shot.
As we enter the 53rd minute the team has switched to a back three. Penrice has dropped back to the left of the three and Christie Elliott has gone to left wing-back. Blair Spittal is operating as a right wing-back.
The ball drops to Keaghan Jacobs on the edge of the area and he shifts past Ryan Edwards before unleashing an excellent effort that flies into the top corner leaving Cerny with no chance.
Kris Doolan gets the second half underway for Thistle as the Jags look to get off to a winning start in the Betfred Cup.
It's 1-0 at the break here at the Tony Macaroni Arena but it could really be more for each team. Two disallowed goals and plenty of good chances have made for an entertaining first half.
Chris Erskine was the man who opened the scoring as he beat Neil Alexander from 20 yards with an exquisite effort. Chances for Scott Pittman, Kris Doolan, Matthew Knox and Steven Lawless as well as the two aforementioned chalked-off goals have made for entertaining viewing.
Both teams look poor at the back with Thistle clearly missing Abdul Osman's solidity and Niall Keown's decisive defending. Blair Spittal has looked promising when on the ball and on his Jags debut, he has provided some dangerous service for the attackers.
Alan Archibald will undoubtedly want more goals in the second half so that his side aren't hanging on in the later minutes.
Scott Pittman broke through Adam Barton's challenge to bear down on goal. His shot is low and saved by Cerny. It falls back to the no. 8 but from an impossible angle he just plays the ball across the face of goal to no-one.
It's another disallowed goal but this time it's for Thistle. Steven Lawless shifts past two defenders before shooting. He hits the target but Alexander saves. James Penrice is following up and taps home but the assistant referee has the flag up to rule the goal out.
A quick one-two between Mullen and Knox creates some spacde for Knox to shoot. He does just that but drags his effort wide of the target.
Livingston have the ball in the net but it's disallowed. The ball looped high into the air after a Livingston delivery and it's nodded home, however, Tomas Cerny was fouled as he went for the ball.
A curled free-kick from Danny Mullen looks dangerous from just outside the box but fortunately flies a yard over Tomas Cerny's bar.
Erskine picks up the ball in the final third and a quick shimmie beats his man. He then curls an excellent shot past Alexander into the top corner.
Kris Doolan plays the ball to Blair Spittal in a 3-on-2 situation. Spittal is taken wide though and his eventual shot goes over the bar.
Chris Erskine wins the ball in the midfield and slots it through to Doolan. The striker shoots on his left foot but Alexander produces a smart save to deny him at the near post.
A smart ball presents Dale Carrick with a one-on-one chance which Cerny saves well. The rebound is then blocked by Ryan Edwards and the danger is cleared.
A poor Livi clearance falls to Chris Erskine at the edge of the box. The no. 10 tries a curling shot but Neil Alexander gets down well to hold.
Livingston get things underway here in West Lothian.
The two sides are out on the pitch with Kris Doolan bearing the captain's armband in Abdul Osman's absence. Thistle are wearing the new red and yellow home kit as they line-up with kick-off imminent.
Competitive football is back for Partick Thistle and the season starts in West Lothian. The Jags are at the Tony Macaroni Arena to take on Livingston in the Betfred Cup as group H gets underway.
Thistle won all four of their Betfred Cup group stage games last season, beating Airdrieonians, Queen of the South, Stenhousemuir and Queen's Park. They will be looking for a similar story this season although they are presented with a more difficult group. Livingston come into the new season with plenty of hunger having won the Ladbrokes League One last season. St. Mirren are coming off the back of an incredible run between January and the season's end that took them from virtually relegated to seventh place in the Championship. Airdrieonians and Stranraer both also provide a stern challenge for an injury-stricken Jags side.
The Jags line-up is a depleted one with Abdul Osman, Callum Booth, Mustapha Dumbuya and Niall Keown are unavailable for Alan Archibald so the team is as follows. Tomas Cerny starts in goal behind an unfamiliar back-four set-up. Christie Elliott begins at right-back with Dumbuya missing. Daniel Devine and Adam Barton are Thistle's two centre-halves with Niall missing and Liam Lindsay now at Barnsley. Young, James Penrice makes the cut at left-back in Booth's absence.
Ryan Edwards starts at the base of the midfield alongside the returning Stuart Bannigan who makes his first competitive start in 15 months. Ahead of them, Chris Erskine, Steven Lawless and summer signing, Blair Spittal form a dangerous three in behind the lone striker Kris Doolan.