Saturday 4th August, 2018 at 7:42pm
After a summer of rebuilding and a Betfred Cup group stage that ended in progression, Partick Thistle kicked off their league campaign at Somerset Park today. The Jags travelled to Ayrshire after three wins from their opening four games but they failed to start the Ladbrokes Championship season with any points. Two early Lawrence Shankland goals saw Ayr defending a healthy advantage for the majority of the match and Thistle were unable to break the Honest Men down. The match ended 2-0 and Jags manager, Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the final whistle.
Archie began by bemoaning the self-inflicted damage that his side caused early in the game today.
“Last week we shot ourselves in the foot and we did the same today. The first goal is just a clumsy challenge that gives Ayr and added boost in confidence. Then the second goal is just bad decision making followed by some good Ayr play but it was another utterly avoidable goal.”
The gaffer told us that once behind, getting goals back against a rigid and organised Ayr side was always going to be tough.
“It’s always tough to come from behind but even more so against a team like Ayr. Ultimately, we shouldn’t be falling behind in the first place especially when the goals are as poor as the ones we let in.”
Alan also admitted that his weakened bench made it difficult to change the game after falling behind.
“It’s obviously not a situation we want to be in but it’s the reality. We needed our guys on the park to perform but they didn’t. Aidan Fitzpatrick came on for half an hour and I thought he was very bright, however, to ask him to change the game completely is unrealistic and we need to find a way to avoid ever being in that position.”
Archibald then told us that with the squad clearly short of numbers, he’s very much actively looking at bringing more bodies in.
“We clearly need more players in and we’ve got targets that we’re looking at. Today’s squad was a bit lighter than it might have been because of Christie Elliott and Andy McCarthy suspensions and then Jack Storer dropped out this morning with illness. We should have all three of them back next week which will make things look a bit better.”
Alan Archibald’s must now regroup and prepare for next Saturday’s opening home game of the league season as Falkirk come to Maryhill after also losing today. Kick-off is 15:00 from the Energy Check Stadium at Firhill.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Cammy Bell and James Penrice. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
Highlights will be added shortly and will be free for Jagzone subscribers.
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
Alan will be here for the next big moment – will you? 2018/19 season tickets are on sale now – buy yours here.
Article Copyright © 2018. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
