Sat 18 August, 2018
Betfred Cup 
The Energy Check Stadium at FirhillAndréa Mbuyi-Mutombo (73)
Leigh Griffiths (18), Moussa Dembele (78), Tom Rogic (80)
Betfred Cup
Sat 18 August, 2018. Kick Off: - 12:30
The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill
Fixture Information:
Admission Details:
This fixture is an ALL-TICKET match
HOME ticket prices:
Tickets for Partick Thistle supporters can be purchased until 11am on the day of the match.
Prices:
Adults – £20
Concessions – £15
Under 16s – £5
A concession is qualified as a person between 17 and 18, over 65 or a student with a valid matriculation card.
AWAY ticket information:
Celtic supporters will be located in the Jackie Husband Stand.
All Celtic supporters looking to purchase a ticket should contact Celtic Football Club directly.
Having secured their first league win of the season this past Saturday against Falkirk, Partick Thistle continued their success with Irn-Bru Cup progression against Stranraer on Tuesday night. However, before they return to Championship action, the Jags must prepare for their third competition in the past seven days as they take on Celtic in the Betfred Cup. The Bhoys will travel to Maryhill looking to deny Thistle back-to-back quarter-finals in the Betfred Cup as the current holders. Jags manager, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of a tough cup tie.
Alan began by highlighting the importance of a quick start against a Celtic side who have lost their last two games and as such will be keen to right a few wrongs.
“The opening minutes will be crucial no matter what. There are two ways that they could play early on. They could come out low on confidence because of the last two results or they might come out flying, hungry to win. If it’s low on confidence then we’ll need to be ready to take advantage before they can build any momentum but if they start quickly then we’ll need to be on top of our game defensively.”
Following on from Tuesday’s 5-0 success against Stranraer, the gaffer knows it’ll be a completely different game against the Parkhead side.
“I said that straight after the game at Stair Park. We won’t have as much of the ball which means we need to be very efficient when we do have it. We’ve got quite a few guys who haven’t played against Celtic before but the others have told them what it’s like from a player’s point of view and, hopefully, they’ll be able to handle the occasion.”
Archie hopes his team can play with a bit of confidence coming off the back of two straight wins and take the game to Celtic who have been shown to be beatable.
“The lads showed great character to bounce back last Saturday and they were playing with a swagger at times. That continued into Tuesday’s game and hopefully will also carry through to Saturday. You always want your attacking players to look for the ball and that’s been the case the past few games. You can see the guys have that self-belief to try a shot or take on a man and we’ll need self-belief in spades if we’re going to get near Celtic.”
The manager touched on the potential importance of set pieces with Tam O’Ware getting off the mark as a Jag during the week and Sean McGinty always a threat, Archie hopes his side can take advantage of opportunities to deliver into the danger area.
“Set pieces can be a massive part of any game. We saw the wrong side of that too often last season because we were conceding too many and rarely scored from them. This year, I feel we have a greater threat and we need to capitalise in any chance we have to get the ball into the box. Whenever we come up against lower league teams, set pieces can be a leveller so hopefully they can play a similar role in this game.”
More exclusive preview interviews with James Penrice 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 The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 12:15pm on Saturday afternoon.
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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.
Following back to back victories over Falkirk and Stranraer, Partick Thistle competed in a third competition in the last seven days as Celtic came to Maryhill for a Betfred Cup round of 16 clash. The Jags secured a first league win of the season against Falkirk last Saturday before romping past Stranraer by beating the Blues 5-0 in the Irn-Bru Cup on Tuesday.
Alan Archibald made three changes to the side who started at Stair Park in midweek with the first of those coming in goals as Jamie Sneddon returned to the bench to be replaced by Cammy Bell who sat out Tuesday’s fixture. The back four remained the same as it was once again Christie Elliott, Tam O’Ware, Sean McGinty and Max Melbourne across the backline while James Penrice sat just in front of the rear-guard as he did against Stranraer. Shea Gordon and Jack Storer completed the midfield while Blair Spittal, Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo and Kris Doolan formed a three-pronged frontline. The bench featured Jamie Sneddon, Niall Keown, Callum Wilson, Craig Slater, Aidan Fitzpatrick and Chris Erskine with Miles Storey, Stuart Bannigan and Andrew McCarthy all missing out through injury.
As expected, the match started frantically with Celtic looking to impose themselves on the contest and Cammy Bell was called into action in the fifth minute. Smart work from Leigh Griffiths got him away from Tam O’Ware and the ex-Wolves man played the ball across the box, finding Tom Rogic. He tried to beat Cammy Bell at the near post but the Jags’ number one was able to save down to his right.
Celtic continued their dominance throughout the early stages and would capitalise on their control in the 18th minute as Leigh Griffiths bagged his first of the 2018/19 season. Scott Sinclair, who had looked dangerous up to that point, got past Christie Elliott on the Bhoys’ left wing. He then cleverly reversed a ball towards the penalty spot, where Leigh Griffiths had positioned himself and the Scotland international striker struck home despite the best efforts of several Thistle bodies in the goalmouth.
The visitors had another half chance after 24 minutes as Mikey Johnston got a shot away on the Jags goal. A quick one-two between Johnston and Hoops midfielder, Tom Rogic got the former into the hosts’ box and he fired a low shot on target. The attempt had plenty of power behind it but was straight at Cammy Bell who saved and held.
Unfortunately for Thistle, they were forced into their first change of the game in the 37th minute as Shea Gordon was forced off the pitch with a knee injury. The Motherwell loanee went down shortly after a meaty challenge with Kris Ajer and was replaced by Craig Slater after coming back onto the pitch very briefly.
There was one last chance in the first half and it was for the away team once again as Olivier Ntcham went close. The Frenchman picked up the ball midway inside the Thistle half and took a shot, looking to replicate the ranged effort he scored in Maryhill at the start of last season.
The teams went into the interval separated by Leigh Griffiths’ strike in the 18th minute with almost all the play going Celtic’s way, however, Thistle had given a decent account of themselves without quite carving out any real chances. Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo had looked dangerous when in possession and James Penrice had performed admirably in front of the back four. With a couple of good options remaining on the bench, the home side were very much still in the game at 1-0.
In the 51st minute, new Jags signing, Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo had his first sight of goal as he took the opportunity to shoot from 25 yards. He picked up the ball just outside the Celtic box before firing an effort goalwards, however, the DR Congo international dragged his shot wide, causing Scott Bain no problems whatsoever.
In the 58th minute, the Jags made their second alteration of the day as Kris Doolan was withdrawn to be replaced by Chris Erskine who was looking to add to his goal against Falkirk and his assist against Stranraer. Then in the 70th minute Thistle’s final change as Academy graduate, Aidan Fitzpatrick replaced Jack Storer.
Fitzpatrick made a near-instant impact too as he set up the Jags’ equaliser after two minutes on the pitch. Blair Spittal laid the ball off to the youngster and Aidan nipped past two Celtic challenges before dribbling away from Kris Ajer. He then slotted a well-weighted pass into Andréa Mbuyi-Mutomb, who now occupied the striker’s role, and the Belgian-born forward slotted past Scott Bain, knocking the ball in off the far post. The goal sent the Thistle fans wild as the Jags recorded their 14th goal of the season in game number eight.
The lead wouldn’t last long though as the visitors re-established their lead three minutes later. Christian Gamboa surged forward from right-back and delivered a low, whipped cross into the danger area. Celtic substitute, Moussa Dembele was the man to meet it as instinctively lifted a leg at the ball, diverting it past Cammy Bell.
The Hoops would make it three quickly thereafter with Christian Gamboa once again the provider for the travelling holders. The Costa Rican defender once again advanced down the Celtic right, firing a lovely cross into the box. This time Tom Rogic was the man to get on the end of it with the Aussie playmaker volleying home with his right foot from relatively close range.
There were no more chances of note in the closing stages with the match ending 3-1 to the treble-winning Celts. Thistle had done well to stick in the game until the final 20 minutes with Mutombo taking his goal well but Celtic’s depth of squad helped them power through with Moussa Dembele coming off the bench to put them back in front.
The Jags now look forward to a clash with Dundee United as they return to league action next Saturday. Kick-off is 15:00 at Tannadice in the Ladbrokes Championship.
THISTLE TEAM: Bell, Elliott, O’Ware, McGinty, Melbourne, Penrice, Gordon (Slater, 37’), Storer (Fitzpatrick, 70’), Mbuyi-Mutombo, Spittal, Doolan (Erskine, 58’).
UNUSED SUBS (PTH): Sneddon, Keown, Wilson.
CELTIC TEAM: Bain, Gamboa, Hendry, Ajer, Izaguirre, Brown, Ntcham (McGregor, 78’), Rogic, Sinclair, Johnston (Forrest, 69’), Griffiths (Dembele, 64’).
UNUSED SUBS (CEL): Gordon, Simunovic, Lustig, Hayes.
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.
Three weeks after the end of the competition’s group stages, the Betfred Cup returned early this afternoon as Celtic came to Maryhill to take on Partick Thistle. The Jags came into the game off the back of consecutive wins against Falkirk and Stranraer, looking to continue their momentum by progressing into the quarter-final stages, however, it wasn’t to be for the men in red and yellow. They fell behind within 20 minutes as Leigh Griffiths found the net during the first half. With 17 minutes left, Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo equalised for Thistle as he grabbed his second in his first week at the club, linking up with Aidan Fitzpatrick once again. Despite that, two Celtic goals in the final 15 minutes meant the Hoops came away with the victory, although the Jags had no need to be embarrassed after a very spirited display. Thistle boss, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the final whistle.
Archie began by saying he was very proud of his young side today who gave Celtic a really good test as they looked to make cup progress.
“The guys can be happy with how they played. For 70 minutes we matched them as a team and individually. The shape was good, the effort was terrific and some of the individual performances were really pleasing. I think James Penrice was very assured in the midfield, Blair Spittal showed a real desire and there were plenty of others who performed admirably.”
He was slightly disappointed that his side let the game slip away after having equalised but said that the depth of the Celtic squad gave them a huge advantage in the closing stages.
“We’re still light on numbers and we know that. We are very much still looking to bring in a few names as everyone knows and we’ve got a few missing through injury which just limits our options. Obviously, young Aidan Fitzpatrick does brilliantly off the bench but you look at the level of player that Celtic can bring on in the last 20 minutes and that’s really tough to counteract.”
Alan expanded on his praise for Thistle number 21, Aidan Fitzpatrick as the 17-year old made it three goals and two assists in six games for the season.
“Aidan’s an extremely talented lad and we have big hopes for him. He’s got that natural instinct to attack which showed in the goal. It’s been a great week for him but it’s just about managing expectations and not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We had plenty of quality young players on show today which bodes well for the season ahead.”
The gaffer ended by reiterating how important it is that the hunger and desire from today’s game carries over into Championship games.
“It’s all well and good to perform on the television, in front of a big crowd, against the country’s best team but we have to apply ourselves in the same way each week when playing league games. Next Saturday we go to Tannadice for a really tough game against Dundee United and if we can play like we did today against them then we’ll be in with a great chance.”
The Jags now look forward to a clash with Dundee United as they return to league action next Saturday. Kick-off is 15:00 at Tannadice in the Ladbrokes Championship.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Sean McGinty and Jack Storer. 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.
Alan will be here for the next big moment – will you? 2018/19 season tickets are on sale now – buy yours 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.
