Tue 21 July, 2015
Friendly 
Firhill Stadium, Glasgow.Steven Lawless 46′
Ryan Jennings 50′
Friendly
Tue 21 July, 2015. Kick Off: - 19:30
Firhill Stadium, Glasgow.
As Thistle prepare for their first pre-season match at Firhill we caught up with manager, Alan Archibald, ahead of kick off to find out how the preparations were going.
“It has been a really hard pre-season so far but we have eased off on last season a little bit to minimise risk of injury. A lot of teams focus on running during pre-season but we’re always keen to get the boys with a ball at their feet as early as possible.
“We’ve worked the boys hard and I think that showed in the game against Falkirk. We had flown up late on the Friday night and I think you saw that tiredness on Saturday. Hopefully tonight you’ll see a different more energetic Thistle.”
For Archibald pre-season is all about fitness and this was something he was keen to get over ahead of tonight’s clash with Wigan.
“I think some people read too much into pre-season games in terms of the results. For us as a management team it’s all about making sure the players get enough minutes and their fitness is where it should be. That’s why you saw a couple of players playing out of position at the weekend, we really just need to get them time on the park before the season starts.”
Archie added to his first team squad with yesterday’s signing of experienced defender, Gary Miller, a player he was pleased to get over the line.
“Gary gives us a bit of experience at the back and I think will complement the other players we have there very well. He’s comfortable playing our style of football and has proved that during the time he spent with the squad down in England.
“We’re still probably looking for a couple of extra bodies to strengthen us a bit but our squad is starting to take shape. The focus now is to make sure as many of our players as possible are fit come the beginning of the season.”
Wigan Athletic were the first visitors to Firhill this season and it was a chance for the home fans to see the debuts of new signings Tomas Cerny, David Amoo and Gary Miller as well as Callum Booth who signed a permanent deal at the end of last season.
There was a well known face in the opposition as ex-Caley striker, Billy McKay, lined up for the visitors.
Thistle had the better of possession in a scrappy opening with Lawless and Doolan both looking lively and linking up well. Doolan couldn’t quite direct a header on target from an Amoo cross and then Sean Welsh came within inches of opening the scoring. Having collected the ball in midfield his 25 yard shot beat Nicholls but agonisingly crashed back off the base of the post.
There was a scare for the Jags at the other end when Flores and McKay worked the ball well between them but Elliott did well to make a timely tackle. Frans was then caught out by Lundstram who squared to McKay eight yards out. Thankfully for Thistle he somehow screwed his effort wide of the target when it looked easier to score. Robles then side footed an effort just wide before a lovely move, again involving the impressive Welsh, saw Lawless fire just wide.
The teams went in with the score still 0-0 at half time but it would not remain that way for long.
Thistle were quick out of the traps in the second half and, after 52 seconds, took the lead. Elliott’s throw in came back to him, he drove forward before finding Lawless who took a touch and fired low past Nicholls into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. However, within four minutes, the visitors levelled when Jennings was allowed to go forward with no challenge from a home player and buried his 18 yard effort past Cerny.
Thistle weren’t done yet though and Lawless set up Bannigan at the edge of the box but the Jags midfielder’s blistering effort was superbly saved by Nicholls. Despite a raft of substitutions from both sides, the game remained entertaining with some neat football.
Cerny produced a marvellous save from Power’s 20 yard free kick and then Grigg got behind the home defence to go one-on-one with Cerny, only for the home keeper to save well low to his right.
Fraser then saw a typically strong effort go over the bar before substitute Kevin Nisbet was forced wide in the box after good work by Stevenson. Kevin was unlucky not to get his shot away before the tackle came in.
The referee’s whistle signalling the end of an entertaining 1-1 draw.
Alan Archibald brought his squad to Firhill, for the first time in the 2015/16 season, for a friendly against League One side, Wigan Athletic. Following a tired looking performance against Falkirk on Saturday, Archie was keen to see a different side to his Thistle team. “It was a much different game to Saturday, different opposition, different tempo and different quality. It was a game that didn’t feel particularly like a pre-season match and it was played at a decent tempo. That’s exactly what you want at this time of the season because all too often you end up with gameslike Saturday and that isn’t nearly as much use to the team.”Steven Lawless scored the Jags’ only goal of the game and Archibald was once again impressed the winger, who signed a contract extension at the end of last season. “Stevie has had a tremendous pre-season and we’ll be looking for more of the same once the season starts. He’s the sort of player who can cause defences real problems, especially when he gets the ball at his feet and he showed that today.”Another Thistle midfielder who could play a big role in the Jags’Ladbrokes Premiership campaign is Sean Welsh. Having gone through injury hell over the past two years Sean has fought back into contention in the last month but didn’t reappear for the second 45 – a fact that caused concern for many fans. Archibald was quick to dismiss any major worries though.
“Someone stood on Sean in the first half and we didn’t want to take any risks – it was as simple as that. He wanted to play on but we told him just to get himself in the ice bath and rest it. It was just a very minor knock and it shouldn’t have any repercussions after tonight. “Sean has been through so much over the last two years we just want to take it extra slow with him to make sure he is 100% andisn’t going to do himself any further damage. To be fair with Sean it has been three different injuries so it isn’t like the same thing is recurring over and over – he has just had terrible luck! “I really don’t want to talk too much about him for fear of jinxing him but, needless to say, he could be like a new signing for us and we just have to hope this is the start of a new leaf for him.”Thistle’s latest signing, Gary Miller, also took his Firhill bow tonight, albeit only for the last 20 minutes, but Archie was pleased with his fitness and contribution. “I thought Gary did well when he came on and we’re pleased with his overall fitness. Tonight was just about getting the minutes right for everyone which is why he only played a limited role, but we’re looking forward to seeing more of him when the season starts.”As the start of the season approaches all eyes are on the transfer market for further additions to the Firhill squad, but the manager remains resolute that he will not sign players just for the sake of it and will only look to get quality in that will enhance the overall level of his side. “We’re still trying for another striker, we have a number of irons in the fire but we’ll need to keep working on those as none of them are over the line yet.
