Saturday 16th February, 2013 at 9:24pm
The waiting is nearly over. Not just for one of the most eagerly anticipated league fixtures in some time but finally, after two false starts, Alan Archibald’s first game as Thistle manager.
ptfc.co.uk caught up with Alan after Friday’s training session and he was able to provide us with the latest news from the Thistle camp ahead of tomorrow’s game with league leaders Morton.
“The boys are raring to go and are desperate for a game; you could see that in training all week. We played a match amongst ourselves on Monday just to keep things ticking over and training all week has been really sharp, and it only got better the longer the week went on.”
As Alan reveals he has a bit of a selection headache ahead of the game tomorrow but the kind that all managers relish.
“I’ve a full squad to select from tomorrow which is great. Steven Lawless has trained all week and although he looked a little rusty at the start of the week he’s been getting sharper all week and he comes into the squad tomorrow. Having a full squad to select from is a real asset and a good problem to have. Overall fitness isn’t a problem but you are bound to pick up the odd niggle here and there especially on the heavier pitches and we’re going to need every body available to us.”
Does “every body” include Alan Archibald?
“It does. We simply don’t have enough bodies for me not include myself in the team at some point.”
As important as tomorrow’s game Alan was keen to stress that it isn’t in any shape or form ‘win or bust’.
“It is an important game tomorrow but there are loads of other points to play for after tomorrow, and there are going to be plenty of twists and turns between now and the end of the season. Look at the result between Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline on Tuesday night for example. Tomorrow I think it is going to be really important for us to keep our discipline and not get caught up in the atmosphere of the game. It’s going to be important for us to keep eleven players on the park.”
Atmosphere is certainly something that the game tomorrow won’t lack.
“The fans have really got behind us this season and I expect the same tomorrow. In the bigger games when the fans have turned out in big numbers and really got behind us I feel that the players have really responded to the support and singing; even on Boxing Day when we lost to Morton. That’s something that we really appreciate and the support of the Thistle fans can be a big help to us tomorrow.”
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 2 1 9 7
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Chris Erskine 11
Steven Lawless 10
Steven Craig 9
Kris Doolan 8
Conrad Balatoni 4
Stuart Bannigan 4
Ross Forbes 3
Aaron Muirhead 2
Aaron Sinclair 2
Sean Welsh 2
Christie Elliott 1
Stephen O’Donnell 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 26th 2013
Partick Thistle 2, Cowdenbeath 1
Morton Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
4 0 1 9 6
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Peter Weatherson 12
Archie Campbell 11
Michael Tidser 11
Martin Hardie 7
David O’Brien 7
Peter MacDonald 4
Tony Wallace 3
David Graham 2
Mark McLaughlin 2
Kevin Rutkiewicz 2
Stephen Stirling 2
Fouad Bachirou 1
Lewis Hawke 1
Colin McMenamin 1
Scott Taggart 1
Kyle Wilkie 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday February 9th 2013
Airdrie United 0, Morton 4
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Wednesday December 26th 2012
Partick Thistle 1, Morton 2
Teams
Thistle: Smith, Muirhead, Sinclair, Paton, Balatoni, Archibald, Lawless (Welsh), Bannigan, Craig, Forbes, Erskine (O’Donnell).
Morton: Gaston, Reid, Dyer (Taggart), Bachirou, Rutkiewicz, McLaughlin, Graham (Wallace), Tidser, Weatherson (MacDonald), Hardie, O’Brien.
Scorers
Thistle: Craig (28)
Morton: Hardie (64), Taggart (84)
Crowd: 4,955
Match Highlights
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday February 16th 2013
Morton v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults £15
Concessions £10
Parent & Child £18
Under 16’s £5
Under 12’s £3
Children under 5 years old are admitted free of charge with an adult.
Concession prices are available to supporters over 65 years old, students in full time education and those who are registered as unemployed. Proof of entitlement must be shown at the turnstile when requested otherwise the full adult price will be due.
Information for Saturday
Travel
By Supporters Bus
By Car
Car parking is available adjacent to the ground.
By Bus
Services from Glasgow stop just outside the park. There are also services from Port Glasgow and Gourock.
Match Officials
Referee: Euan Norris
Assistant Referees: Stuart Maccauly and Ralph Gordon
Other First Division Fixtures
Airdrie United v Hamilton Accies
Falkirk v Dunfermline Athletic
Livingston v Cowdenbeath
Raith Rovers v Dumbarton
