Thursday 2nd May, 2013 at 9:49pm
An otherwise memorable season drew to a low key finish as Dumbarton and Thistle played out a goalless draw in difficult windy conditions at Dumbarton.
Alan Archibald’s final team selection of the season was hampered by the non-availability of a number of players but on the plus side he was able to welcome Aaron Muirhead back following his period of suspension. There were debuts for on loan goalkeeper Glenn Daniels and young centre Liam Lindsay.
With the Thistle fans in excellent spirits there was a real party atmosphere off the pitch but events on the park didn’t match the off field festivities. Although Thistle were probably marginally the better of the two sides in the opening 45 minutes they never truly tested Ewings in the Dumbarton goal.
The Dumbarton keeper made comfortable, routine saves from Christie Elliott and Ross Forbes while Elliott saw his shot from the edge of the Dumbarton penalty box blocked by a defender.
The closest that Thistle came to a goal in the first half was a Jordan McMillan volley following a Stuart Bannigan cross that was blocked for a corner. Kris Doolan too came close but couldn’t get enough of a touch to a cross from the left to divert the ball into the net.
There wasn’t a lot of action at the other end either although it was Dumbarton that were the closest to scoring a first half goal. Conrad Balatoni was well placed to clear a net bound Scott Agnew effort off the line in the 28th minute.
If anything the second half was an even more low key affair than the first half had been. As the afternoon wore on the already stiff wind got stronger and stronger. With Thistle playing directly into the wind there were times where it was a struggle to clear the ball such was the strength of the wind. At one stage Dumbarton won a series of corners in quick succession as Thistle simply couldn’t clear the ball from their own penalty area.
As they had been in the first half it was Dumbarton that came the closest to breaking the deadlock. Scott Agnew, who had had a shot cleared off the line in the first half, was desperately unlucky to see his shot beat Daniels but hit the inside of the post and bounce clear.
Thistle’s best chance of a winning goal fell to Stuart Bannigan who really should have scored after being set up by substitute Chris Erskine. Aaron Sinclair was close as well with a shot from the edge of the box that was deflected just wide of goal.
Although Thistle were unable to end the season with a win they did extend their unbeaten run in the league to an 18th game and extended their winning margin at the top of the First Division to eleven points. Season 2012-2013 will certainly go down as one of the more memorable seasons in Thistle’s long history.
