Saturday 20th March, 2021 at 8:55pm
It was a frustrating return to action for Partick Thistle as they had to settle for a point following the visit of Cove Rangers to Maryhill. In Thistle’s first game of 2021, the Jags took the lead in the second half through Joe Cardle and passed up a number of opportunities to extend the lead. They were made to pay when Mitch Megginson grabbed an equaliser for Cove Rangers to ensure the game finished in a tie. Thistle manager Ian McCall spoke to ptfc.co.uk shortly after the full time whistle.
“There wasn’t a lot in the game in the first half. It’s incredibly difficult for players, for every team, to come back after three months and be right at it from the first whistle, so it was to be expected a little bit. I thought we got better as the game moved on and in the second half we created a number of good opportunities.
“Niang has got to score to make it 2-0, Penrice has had a shot blocked by our own player and Cardle has an effort cleared off the line too. Erskine had a chance from one of those wonderful runs he makes but he was denied by the goalkeeper with a good save.
“There have been a few times we’ve not seen games out at Firhill, looking back to the Falkirk game for example, it was 88 minutes when they equalised. It was 80-something this afternoon as well. We’ve just got to see the game out.”
The Thistle manager was disappointed by his side’s inability to see out the final moments of the game while holding the slender lead.
“It’s frustrating. I’m very pleased with the levels of fitness and pleased with a lot of the game, although it maybe wasn’t a great watch – but that’s to be expected after the break we’ve had. It was definitely two points dropped for us.
“It’s a good finish from the Cove player for the goal, I think Megginson is one of the top strikers in this division and he showed that with his finish, but there was a lot we could have done to prevent the opportunity he had. Kieran Wright had to make a really good save to deny Megginson later in the game to stop us losing it right at the end.”
Joe Cardle made a big impact when he arrived into the game as a substitute and the gaffer was pleased with the contribution of the number seven.
“I thought he was terrific. He scored a good goal and created a number of good chances, he was very unlucky not to add a second goal when it was cleared off the line by the Cove defender but that’s exactly the impact you hope to get from a substitute.”
Next up for Thistle is a Scottish Cup tie at Firhill against Cowenbeath on Tuesday night.
“We’ve got a cup tie on Tuesday, which is important as we want to progress as far as possible in the competition. Doing well in the cup also brings prize money which in this year of all years, any income we can bring into the club really helps. We’ll recover well and then do what we can on the training pitch to prepare for that game which is just a couple of days away.”
A further reaction interview with Thistle gaffer Ian McCall and Stuart Bannigan will be available for JagZone subscribers to watch – log in to view.
We’ll also have extended highlights and a full game replay of today’s match on JagZone this evening.
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