Friday 26th November, 2021 at 11:26pm
The management team’s written previews and reactions are presented by The Jags Trust. You can keep up to date with the latest from The Jags Trust by visiting their website, www.jagstrust.com.
Ross Docherty produced a bit of Scottish Cup magic this evening as his fantastic strike from 20 yards proved enough to beat Dunfermline under the Friday night lights at Firhill. A game which had a dearth of goalmouth action seemed to be heading towards a replay when the skipper popped up in the 82nd minute to curl a beauty into the top corner, past the outstretched arm of Owain Fon Williams. After watching his side claim their fourth consecutive win and their seventh straight clean sheet, Ian McCall spoke to ptfc.co.uk to reflect on the match:
“It’s a great win for us. We were expecting a very tough game and that’s exactly what we got against a Dunfermline side who you could see were playing with more confidence than the last time they were here.
“Drawing a Championship side in the third round is always going to be tough but I thought the boys dug deep. Like last week it wasn’t the prettiest of games but we did the simple things well and I think we deserved to win.”
Off the back of a very successful run of league games, the gaffer said it was important to keep that positive feeling going.
“When you’re on a good run you do start to build up momentum. We’re in a really good place at the moment in the league and we didn’t want that to end tonight because that momentum could be important for us going into December when we’ve got some really big games.”
Ross Docherty’s goal is one that will live long in the memory for the Jags fans in attendance but McCall couldn’t believe his eyes when the captain picked out the top corner.
“I can’t say I’ve seen Doc do that too often! To be fair to him, it’s his pressure that forces the mistake and then when it falls back to him it’s a great hit. Sometimes you need a bit of something special to win a tight game like that and thankfully we got that from Doc tonight.”
It was an historic night for Jamie Sneddon as he became the first goalkeeper in Partick Thistle history to keep seven clean sheets in a row and the manager paid compliment to everyone who played a part in the record-breaking run.
“Jamie didn’t actually have all that much to do tonight. He came to gather a couple of things late on and had one save that I can remember but it was fairly comfortable overall. That’s credit to the shape and organisation of the rest of the team who didn’t let Dunfermline get through.
“The string of clean sheets has been remarkable though. It’s been a real team effort with an incredible work rate from each and every player who’s been on the pitch. Although Jamie didn’t have much to do tonight, we’ve needed him a few times in this run in huge moments too so he definitely deserves a special mention but everyone has done their bit.”
McCall finished with a message to the fans who came along to the game tonight to watch their side book a spot in the Scottish Cup fourth round.
“It wasn’t a nice night and, as I said earlier, it wasn’t a spectacle so credit to all the supporters who did come out in the freezing cold to support the team. Obviously, our end goal this season is to succeed in the league but I think the fans always like a bit of a cup run and they can now look forward to seeing who we’ve got in the next round.”
Further reaction from Thistle manager Ian McCall and Ross Docherty will be available for JagZone subscribers to watch tonight – log in to view.
We’ll also have extended highlights and a full game replay of today’s match on JagZone tonight.
Article Copyright © 2021. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
