Saturday 29th October, 2016 at 8:29pm
A late Abdul Osman winner meant Alan Archibald’s Partick Thistle side travelled back down the road with all three points. Archibald stuck with the same outfield 10 that had done the business at Dens Park on Wednesday with the only absence being Ryan Scully who began his enforced spell on the sidelines with a dislocated shoulder.
It was a strong performance as the team continued with the 3-5-2 system that has served them so well in recent games. Archie took the time to speak to ptfc.co.uk about the result shortly before leaving McDiarmid Park.
Archibald said: “It’s always a hard game up here so we were clearly delighted to take all three points. It’s a ground we’ve had a good record at in recent times so it was good to be able to keep that up today.
“They caused us problems in the wide areas during the first half but, once we settled down, I thought we coped very well. That being said it is a very difficult place to come and get three points so it’s great to be able to do just that.”
Archibald left his outfield players unchanged for the third game in a row, something that he admits he did have concerns about.
“Having played three games on the trot with the same personnel we were a little bit concerned about energy levels going in to the game. Having said that I don’t think you would have known the amount of football they had played by watching them. The fitness on show was outstanding and I thought we worked their goalkeeper more than they worked ours.
“It has been a good week and I think we’ve bounced back well after dropping points against Ross County at home. We’ve taken seven points from three games and that is always a sign of a good week. We now go into a run of games that is really tough but we have given ourselves a really good platform to go and really have a go at the teams we have coming up.”
There were some enthusiastic celebrations after the winning goal was scored and Archibald admitted that it was nice to score a late goal rather than conceding one which has been the pattern in certain games this season.
“It is so pleasing to have got that late winner, especially considering how often the same thing has been done to us. It’s hard on the opposition but it is great for us because it has felt at times this season that we can’t celebrate or relax at all until the final whistle has gone.”
It was clear that, when they did come on, the manager’s substitutes made a big difference.
“Yea, I think they had a major impact. Erskine got on the ball and caused problems and David Amoo did ever so well to get the assist for the winner. It’s great to have such good personnel on the bench, they know the system and can cause problems going forward while also being very aware defensively too.”
The final word was saved for Jags debutant, Thorsten Stuckmann, who added presence and experience between the sticks.
“We made the decision to get Thorsten in when we weren’t sure how long Tomas was going to be out for and we’re certainly glad we did. I thought he did well today even though he didn’t have a huge amount to do. He pulled off an outstanding save, the shot might have been offside but he wasn’t to know that. It was a great debut for the big man and hopefully he can grow into that position in the coming weeks.”
