Saturday 23rd July, 2016 at 6:00pm
Thistle nicked all three points in their Betfred Cup First Round group stage tie against Queen of the South but the final scoreline of 2-1 probably didn’t reflect the full story as the home side found themselves trailing 1-0 as late as the 80th minute. A determined Jags side never gave up though and the persistence paid off with late goals from Erskine and Lawless.
It was clear that the late resurgence was still fresh in the mind when a relieved Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk.
“It will be recorded as a 2-1 win but that certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Queens are a really strong side and we knew that going into the game. They certainly caused us problems, especially in the second half but we’re delighted with the character we showed and you certainly learn something different about yourselves in every game.
“The big difference today compared to last season was that all our subs made a difference. We had options middle to front this afternoon and were able to change the game. Pogba came on and obviously got the two assists but each of the three changes brought something different to the game.
“I also think we played to Pogba’s strengths today and got the ball into the box for him which we maybe didn’t do at times last year. It’s a great option to have and we made the most of it today.”
With the early group stages effectively replacing Thistle’s pre-season schedule it could have proved a disruptive influence on preparations for the Premiership season, but Archibald is adamant that competitive football at this stage of the season is a good thing.
“We’re enjoying the competitive football instead of just playing friendlies but it is a difficult balance to get the different players the minutes they need while still looking to win games. Today was as close to a must win game as you can get at this time of the season but we’ve come away with all three points and we have a great chance of topping the group now.”
The final word went to the attacking players in red and yellow who certainly looked to be working well as a group.
“The link-up between the front four in the first half was excellent and Ade looked a real handful. Our goals for column last season looked really poor so we have to improve on that this year. The main thing is finishing our chances, we had too many today that we didn’t finish today and we certainly won’t get that against Premiership teams.”
