Sat 28 October, 2017
SPFL Ladbrokes Premiership 
The Energy Check Stadium at FirhillSPFL Ladbrokes Premiership
Sat 28 October, 2017. Kick Off: - 15:00
The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill
Fixture details:
Tickets on sale: Monday 9th October
HOME Ticket prices:
Adults £22
Concessions (Over 65s, students, disabled supporter including carer) £15
Under 16s FREE
Match Sponsor:
PlayerZone:
Paul McGinn and Milan Nitriansky
Aitken Suite:
Opens to all supporters at 11:45
Half Time Legend performing 50/50 draw:
Gregg Watson
Programme:
Available around Firhill for only £3
With four points from a possible six it’s fair to say things are looking significantly rosier in the Thistle camp than they were seven days ago. Having said that when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk, Alan Archibald was quick to emphasise that there is a lot of work left to do to get the season back on track.
He said: “I think we’re all in a better place because of the win but also because of a much better performance on Tuesday night against Hamilton as well. I know from a football point of view the game at the SuperSeal wasn’t a classic but from a manager’s point of view it was much better in terms of us being better organised and harder to beat. It was night and day when compared to the performance against Dundee where, yes we might have won, but we were terrible at times.
“The lads looked more confident on Tuesday night, more like their old selves, and hopefully we can take a bit of that into the game on Saturday. We started the game really well and that just helped grow the confidence again. Hopefully we can use that and go to kick on again to build on it further when it comes to Saturday.”
Many column inches have already been dedicated to the Jags’ poor start but with the team still in touching distance of the pack Archie knows his team have a great chance to get right back in about it with a result on Saturday.
“Considering we had such a bad start we are still there or there abouts in terms of our position in the table – we haven’t been cut off yet which is pleasing. We’re still in about the group and everyone else plays everyone during this period so we just need to focus on our own game and make sure we pick up as many points as we can.
“We’re at home on Saturday and we’ll be aiming to build on the feel good factor that was left over after last week. The decision making was much better on Tuesday and I think a bit of the desperation has gone. That can become a problem i you’re on a bad run as you sometimes become too desperate to win and the decision making can go out of the window, especially in the later stages of the game. We were better organised on Tuesday and that was the major positive for me.”
Despite a run of disappointing results there has never been any question of disharmony in the Jags dressing room, a factor that is not underestimated by Archibald.
“The good thing going through these runs is that we have a strong and close knit dressing room. We have strong characters and that always helps when you aren’t winning games. As I say, hopefully that’s us turned a corner now and we can look to kick on from here.”
It may yet prove to be the case that Thistle have already had their “sliding doors” moment and Archibald is only too aware of how massive seemingly small incidents can ultimately prove.
“Seasons can turn on one incident in a game. I think you saw that with Tomáš Černý’s penalty save last week. That keeps us in the game and without it we almost certainly would have lost that game. It really is tiny margins but you see it every season – especially in this league.
“We’re not out of the woods yet but ultimately it comes down to keeping the core group pulling in the right direction. We got a clean sheet on Tuesday and I was really pleased with that, now we need to turn that point into a really good point by getting a result against St Johnstone who are always hard to beat.”
More exclusive preview interviews with new signing Martin Woods, Paul McGinn and Jags gaffer, Alan Archibald are now available to Jagzone subscribers – log in to see them. Jagzone members will also be able to watch highlights of the game from midnight.
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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.
Having picked up just three points in their opening nine games, Partick Thistle have enjoyed a miraculous upturn in fortunes over the last week leading up to this afternoon’s match. A last-gasp win over Dundee gave them their first victory of the season while a battling draw with Hamilton during the week brought the Jags their first clean sheet of the league season. Those two results didn’t lift the Jags off the bottom but they were only there on goal difference.
Visiting Maryhill this afternoon were St. Johnstone. The Perthshire outfit sat in sixth place ahead of the game but were coming into the match off a poor run of form. The Saints hadn’t won a game in four, failing to score in all of those games.
The Jags went with a very similar line-up to that which started at the SuperSeal Stadium on Tuesday; making just one change. Tomas Cerny started in goals once again behind an identical back five to that which played in midweek. Paul McGinn, Niall Keown, Daniel Devine, Jordan Turnbull and Steven Lawless formed the Jags’ rear-guard in behind Adam Barton and Ryan Edwards in central midfield. Blair Spittal played in the number ten role again while Miles Storey started up top alongside Conor Sammon who replaced Kris Doolan in the starting line-up. Doolan dropped to the bench and new signing, Martin Woods, also made the squad.
St. Johnstone were the team who created the first chance with their first sight of goal coming in the 1st minute. Brian Easton swung a cross in from the wing and the ball dropped in the Jags’ box. It fell to David Wotherspoon who took a shot but Tomas Cerny made the block at close range.
The next opportunity came in the 14th minute and it would be the opener. Miles Storey picked up the ball near the half-way line and burst down the left flank. The ex-Aberdeen striker knocked the ball into space behind Joe Shaughnessy and raced past the centre-half, leaving the defender in his dust. Storey then moved into the box and tried the finish from the angle, slotting it past Zander Clark and giving Thistle the lead. Just after the goal, St. Johnstone were forced into a substitution as Michael O’Halloran came on for Stefan Scougall who had been struggling in the early stages of the match.
The Jags almost doubled their lead in the 20th minute through Blair Spittal. A Ryan Edwards free-kick was cleared but only as far as Spittal who controlled before slamming a shot towards goal from a few yards outside the box. His effort whizzed goalward but missed the far post by what seemed like inches. Three minutes after Blair’s chance, the visitors were forced into yet another change as Brian Easton went off, being replaced by Scott Tanser.
The game then descended into a scrappy tit-for-tat as both sides began passing sloppily and surrendering possession far too easily. The game went into the break at 1-0 with Storey’s goal separating the teams. Due to the history of this fixture, the home side grabbing the opener was a good sign for Thistle but with 45 minutes left for the away team to turn it around, the Jags would need to stay alert to claim the three points.
St. Johnstone turned up the pressure in the early stages of the second period with half chances coming the way of Liam Craig, David Wotherspoon and Scott Tanser but the Saints still weren’t troubling Tomas Cerny too much with the Czech ‘keeper easily claiming a number of crosses from the McDiarmid Park side.
As the game entered its final ten minutes, Alan Archibald made two changes in the 80th and 83rd minute respectively. Firstly, Conor Sammon was replaced by Kris Doolan following a good shift by the on-loan Hearts man and then Blair Spittal was taken off for Martin Woods who was making his Thistle debut having signed with the club yesterday morning.
The visitors huffed and puffed looking for an equaliser but no such goal was forthcoming and the Jags picked up the victory upon the referee’s final whistle. Miles Storey’s second Partick Thistle goal being the eventual winner with the win putting the Jags into tenth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Alan Archibald’s side now look towards next weekend’s trip to Govan to take on Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Thistle travel to the Gers looking to make it four games without defeat; kick-off from Ibrox is 15:00.
PARTICK THISTLE TEAM: Cerny, McGinn, Keown, Devine (c), Turnbull, Lawless, Barton, Edwards, Spittal (Woods, 83’), Sammon (Doolan, 80’), Storey.
UNUSED SUBS (PTH): Scully, Nitriansky, Fraser, Nisbet.
ST. JOHNSTONE TEAM: Clark, Comrie, Shaughnessy (c), Anderson, Easton (Tanser, 23’), Paton, Davidson, Wotherspoon, Craig (MacLean, 70’), Scougall (O’Halloran, 18’), Cummins.
UNUSED SUBS (STJ): Mannus, Alston, Johnstone, Gilchrist.
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.
Having secured their maiden win of the league season last Saturday against Dundee, Partick Thistle have been looking at the table optimistically with prospects suddenly looking much better. A midweek stalemate with Hamilton left the Jags within touching distance of those above them and a 1-0 win today against St. Johnstone at home puts them up two places in 10th position. A solitary Miles Storey goal was enough for the Maryhill men to keep the points in Glasgow as they kept a clean sheet for the second league game in a row having failed to do so at all in their opening ten games of the Ladbrokes Premiership campaign. Thistle manager, Alan Archibald, spoke to ptfc.co.uk following his side’s win.
Archie began by explaining just how happy he was with the defensive side of his team’s performance, earning the aforementioned clean sheet.
“Getting another clean sheet is brilliant. We started the season poorly, having no shutouts in the league and conceding some poor goals, but now keeping two clean sheets back-to-back is pleasing. Our game management was much better today as well. You could see that we were still a bit fragile at times but we saw it out and I’m delighted with it.”
The gaffer then mentioned about the goal. Miles Storey’s second for the club and second in consecutive home games; it was the spark of quality that was needed to break down a resolute St. Johnstone rear-guard.
“Miles used his pace well. He recognised the space in behind and exploited it brilliantly. It was a very good finish too, showing plenty of composure and it’s good to see him building on the goal from last week.”
The Jags boss then talked about Miles’s potential with the ex-Inverness player coming into a run of form in the red and yellow.
“I think he just needs a run of games to help get his confidence up and, of course, his two goals will help that as well. He didn’t get much game-time at Aberdeen and when you’re not being played for so long it can be difficult to then going back to your best form but hopefully he’s almost there now.”
After an excellent week during which Thistle have taken seven points from a possible nine, the Jags have moved up two places into tenth. However, Alan knows his side are still in a fight at the bottom of the table with some tough fixtures ahead.
“Coming off the bottom – for more than one day – will boost the confidence. We’ve looked better going forward and to get the two clean sheets is massive. We could have got the win on Tuesday but the other wins make it easier to take. We have some difficult fixtures coming up and we know we have to keep picking up points otherwise we’ll find ourselves bottom again.”
The manager also gave us an update on Chris Erskine who despite being named in today’s squad, dropped out at the last minute.
“Chris trained this week but felt his calf a little bit yesterday. We asked him to try the warm up but he felt it again near the end of the warm up and he dropped out.”
Alan and his squad now look towards next Saturday’s trip to Ibrox as they look to make it four games without defeat. Kick-off from Govan is 15:00 next weekend.
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 Steven Lawless. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
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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.
For the second week in a row Miles Storey is the match winner at Firhill.
Last week his winning goal came in injury time this time it arrived in the 13th minute.
St Johnstone had pressure as the second have wore on but few, if any, clear cut chances and Thistle kept a clean sheet for the second week in a row.
Edwards earns Thistle a free kick inside the St Johnstone half.
Barton thumps the ball out of play but the ball is still deep inside the Thistle half.
Lawless takes the ball down towards the St Johnstone corner flag.
Minimum of 4 minutes additional time to be played.
The referee spots a push inside the Thistle box as free kick is thumped into the box giving Thistle a free kick that Cerny is in no rush to take.
Man of the Match: Miles Storey
The corner bobs about the box before it is eventually headed harmlessly wide for a goal kick.
It's an easy catch from a Wotherspoon cross for Cerny.
Warm applause too for Spittal as he comes off for Woods to make his Thistle debut.
Play is stopped for a St Johnstone player to be treated for a knock just as Thistle were pushing forward.
Clark needs two attempts to collect Spittal's corner.
Spittal's effort is saved at Clark's front post.
Doolan is able to find Storey in a forward position but he is forced wide.
Warm applause as Sammon is replaced by Doolan as Thistle make their first change.
The corner is headed clear but St Johnstone remain firmly on the attack.
St Johnstone free kick deep inside the Thistle half. Ten Thistle men behind the ball.
Storey is penalised as he attempts to force his way through the St Johnstone defence at the edge of the box.
Clark comes off his line to gather Spittal's corner.
Cerny makes an excellent catch to claim the free kick when it comes over.
St Johnstone have a free kick in from the left touchline in line with the 6 yard box.
Sammon is able to turn towards goal but there is no power in his shot and Clark saves.
Although the corner is cleared Devine is able to get the ball back out wide to Spittal who this time drills in a low cross that St Johnstone are happy to get clear.
Cerny is swiftly off his line to take command as the Thistle goal again comes under pressure.
Cerny gets down low to grab a shot come cross from Comrie after Lawless was left exposed on the left.
Thistle have been reasonably comfortable for much of this game but St Johnstone are steadily building prressure and Wotherspoon shot hits a defender taking the pace off the ball which allows Cerny to grab hold of it before it goes out for a corner. Cruical period of the game.
Craig makes a real mess of a header from a teasing Wotherspoon cross from the right.
After a St Johnstone player goes to gropund inside in the box in an attempt to win a penalty Tanser sends a dipping shot over the Thistle crossbar.
Some great tracking back from Edwards helps start a Thistle attack that is halted at the edge of the box.
Cerny collects a cross under a bit of pressure as St Johnstone start the second half on the front foot.
The tricky overhead conditions aren't making things easy for either side but Thistyle go into the dressing room at half-time with a 1-0 lead.
The goal that arrived in the 13th minute was all due to the pace of Miles Storey who accelerated clear of the St Johnstone defence before placing the ball into tjhe far corner of the net.
Blair Spittal wasn't too far away with a shot from the edge of the box a short time later and Thistle have looked a threat coming forward.
St Johnstone try and catch Thistle on a quick break but although O'Halloran managers to get a shot on goal there is no pace in it and Cerny is left with a comfortable save to make.
Spittal's corner is cleared.
A dangerous looking Storey cross is headed clear from the edge of the St Johnstone 6 yard box.
Minimum of 3 minutes additional time to be played.
The flag goes up for offside as Sammon sends Storey clear down the left.
It's fairly scrappy stuff at the moment with the strong wind not helping things any.
The free kick is delivered deep into the 6 yard box but the referee spots a foul and Thistle have a free kick.
St Johnstone have a free kick just in from the right touchline and in line with the corner of the Thistle box.
Storey is able to lift a cross towards the back post where Sammon nods the ball on but Clark is able to collect ball.
Sammon heads the corner clear and in doing so sets Spittal clear on the counter attack. Spittal finds Sammon with a return pass but Sammon can't hit target with his shot or find Storey at the back post.
Spittal can't find a Thistle player with his corner that swirls towards the back post.
Edwards' neatly weighted pass finds McGinn and his cross is cleared behind.
Another break in play for a St Johnstone player to receive treatment.
A free kick sent deep into the St Johnstone box by Edwards is only cleared as far as Spittal some 20 yards out and his shot isn't too far wide of Clark's right hand post.
Cerny keeps Thistle's lead intact with a block at close range.
It's come to life now though. A great turn of acceleration from Storey takes him clear of a defender on the left hand side. He cuts inside and knocks a perfectly placed shot past Clark and into the far corner of the net.
There is a break in play for a St Johnstone player to receive treatment but in truth this game hasn't got going yet.
Spittal finds a little space inside the st Johnstone half. He finds Storey to his left. Storey moves inside and sends a shot well wide of goal.
St Johnstone threaten on the counter attack but Lawless is on hand to thump clear Cummin's cross from the left.
Early chance for St Johnstone. Easton swings a ball over to the back post. It's knocked down to Wotherspoon whose effort is blocked by Cerny.
Thistle make one change from the side that started at Hamilton on Tuesday. Into the starting elevel comes Conor Sammon while Kris doolan drops to the bench.
New signing Martin Woods starts the afternoon on the substitute bench.