Saturday 19th January, 2013 at 9:22pm
2013 hasn’t been too kind to Partick Thistle so far but tomorrow afternoon we play our first home game of the New Year determined to start the fight back and take the first steps to recapturing our berth at the top of the First Division.
Tomorrow’s game is the second time that we have welcomed Falkirk to Firhill. It was Falkirk that opened the current season here at Firhill and it’s kind of apt, therefore, that they are our first visitors in 2013.
That opening league game of the season set the tone for an excellent start to the season. Thistle made a whirlwind start that afternoon and were 2-0 up inside the first ten minutes before finally winning a thoroughly entertaining fixture 3-1.
Off the field the Thistle fans more than played their part that afternoon. Speaking to [link:HOME] yesterday Paul Paton recalled that afternoon;
“It obviously helped that we made such a good start to that game but you felt a real rush of blood when you heard the Thistle fans roar that day. We need the backing of fans though even more when things aren’t going right. It’s in those situations that we all need to pull together. The fans really can, and have, made a difference.”
Tomorrow the aim is to replicate the excellent display, on and off the park, that marked Falkirk’s visit to Firhill in August.
Looking ahead to the game manager Jackie McNamara said;
“Off the pitch the fans will have a big part to play this tomorrow. They’ve been excellent all season and now that we’ve reached the halfway stage of the season we need their support more than ever as we make a big push for a place in next season’s SPL. I’ve a lot of faith and belief in the group of players that I have. We’ve come a long way from where we were this time last season and we want to keep progressing.”
“Our last few results have been very frustrating and it is vitally important that we get back to winning ways as soon as possible. Every team will go through a difficult spell during the course of a season and I don’t think that the performances that we have produced in the last few games, although there have been bits and pieces that I’ve not been happy with, have been terrible ones. We do need to be more clinical at times and we need to do things quicker. Above all we need to show patience when we are playing a side that is sitting in.”
After Friday’s training the manager was also able to provide us with all the latest team news;
“Aaron Muirhead is unwell and he will miss out tomorrow otherwise we are not too badly placed for the game. Mark McGuigan started the reserve game with East Fife during the week but on a brick hard pitch he was feeling his ankle injury and we took him off. We will need to wait and see how he is. Stephen O’Donnell will miss the Falkirk game but he isn’t too far away and it shouldn’t be too much longer before he is available again.”
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 2 2 7 8
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Steven Lawless 10
Chris Erskine 9
Steven Craig 8
Kris Doolan 8
Stuart Bannigan 4
Ross Forbes 3
Aaron Muirhead 2
Aaron Sinclair 2
Sean Welsh 2
Conrad Balatoni 1
Christie Elliott 1
Stephen O’Donnell 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 12th 2013
Dumbarton 2, Partick Thistle 0
Falkirk Stats
Current Form – Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 1 2 9 7
Scorers Season 2012-2013
Lyle Taylor 17
Stewart Murdoch 3
Kieran Duffie 2
Jay Fulton 2
Conor McGrandles 2
David Weatherston 2
Blair Alston 1
Stephen Kingsley 1
Luke Leahy 1
Lewis Small 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First division
Saturday January 12th 2013
Falkirk 0, Morton 1
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday October 27th 2012
Falkirk 0, Partick Thistle 0
Teams
Falkirk: McGovern, Flynn, Kingsley, Dods, McGeever, Murdoch, Duffie, Alston (J Fulton), Taylor, Weatherston (Haworth), Leahy.
Thistle: Fox, O’Donnell, Bannigan (Sinclair), Paton, Muirhead, Balatoni, Lawless (Elliott), Welsh, Craig, Forbes (Doolan), Erskine.
Crowd: 3,818
Match Highlights
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 19th 2013
Partick Thistle v Falkirk
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults: £17
OAP (65+): £12
16-21: £12
Full Time Education: £12
Programme: £2.50
Match Officials
Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referees: Dougie Potter and Douglas Ross
Other First Division Fixtures
Cowdenbeath v Dunfermline Athletic
Morton v Livingston
Raith Rovers v Hamilton Accies
Airdrie United v Dumbarton
