Tuesday 9th July, 2013 at 1:52pm
This evening Thistle make the trip down to Annan for their second pre-season fixture; the match being arranged as part of the deal that brought Aaron Muirhead to Firhill from Annan last close season.
Like Thistle, tonight’s game is Annan’s second pre-season outing with Jim Chapman’s side having drawn 2-2 with Workington at the weekend.
Three years have passed since we last played Annan, a Simon Donnelly goal giving Thistle a 1-0 League Cup win on our only previous visit to Galabank.
There are, however, some familiar faces in the Annan side. None more than that of goalkeeper Kenny Arthur’s; Kenny, who played with Airdrie United last season upon his return to Scotland after a number of years in England, will combine his playing role at Galabank with some goalkeeping coaching.
Kenny isn’t the only former Thistle player in the Annan squad this season. He is joined by forward Jordan Moffat who was released by Thistle at the end of last season having spent the previous two years at Firhill.
Not a former Thistle but no less recognisable all the same is striker Peter Weatherson who became an Annan player after leaving Morton at the end of last season. Peter, like Kenny Arthur, will combine playing and coaching at Annan this coming season.
The Thistle squad tonight meantime will comprise a similar mixture of players and trialists who featured against Gateshead at the weekend. The heat, plus the fact that this is another game being played on plastic, will enter the thoughts of manager Alan Archibald when he picks his team for tonight.
Said Alan;
“We will field a similar mix of players to what we did at the weekend but we are mindful of the heat and the type of surface that we will be playing on. We are trying though to move closer to how we will set the team up when the season actually gets under way.”
Alan continued;
“The good news is that Sean Welsh should feature tonight and start the game and Steven Lawless should also be involved as well. It’s good to have them back but again we will need to be careful in how long we play them for. Had tonight’s game been on grass then the chances are that we would play them for a little longer. Stuart Bannigan too is on his way back; although tonight’s game will come too soon for him. We are hopefully though that he should be back in time for the weekend’s game at Dumbarton.”
Match Details
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday July 9th 2013
Annan Athletic v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 7:30pm
Prices
Adults £10
Concessions and under 16s £5
U12’s accompanied with an Adult gain free entry
Match Officials
Referee: Alan Newlands
Assistant Referees: Brian Templeton and Lloyd Wilson
