Sunday 5th February, 2023 at 8:00pm
Partick Thistle fell to a third-consecutive defeat for the first time this season, receiving an 8-1 reverse as they “travelled” to face league leaders Glasgow City at Petershill Park.
Despite conceding 20 goals in the three-game skid, Brian Graham’s side might still find themselves in a top-six position at the close of the matchday, depending on the results of Motherwell and Spartans.
City only took four minutes to find the opening goal as Claire Walsh escaped unmarked and tapped the ball home at the back post from captain Mairead Fulton’s corner. Thistle almost got an immediate response at the other end though as Jordan McLintock was unlucky to drag a shot just wide of the post.
But City doubled the lead before the ten-minute mark as Kinga Kozak managed to dispossess Rebecca McGowan and played the ball into the box, where it found Priscilla Chinchilla, who coolly slotted the ball into the net past Megan Cunningham. Cunningham would be called into action later in the half as debutant Lisa Forrest drove a shot straight at the Rangers loanee after a pass from fellow debutant Linda Motlhalo.
Chinchilla would bag a brace in the 36th minute as City managed to break following a Thistle corner and she got onto the end of a long ball from Fulton, with the Costa Rican making no mistake as she bared down on goal. City made it four shortly before the half as Forrest’s shot from the right-hand side of the box deflected and rebounded off the post into the path of Motlhalo, who just happened to be waiting there to tap the ball over the line. And in the final action of the half, it was five as they won a penalty after McGowan was adjudged to have handballed in the box, which Kozak stepped up to take, sending Cunningham the wrong way.
Thistle made a slew of changes at the break, managing to hold off the City onslaught until the 65th minute when Forrest bagged a debut goal as she tapped in from Meikayla Moore’s cross. City added further punishment in the 74th minute as substitute Lauren Davidson got onto the end of another Fulton assist, with the league’s top scorer driving into the box and disposing the ball into the corner of the net for her 15thleague goal of the season.
Thistle did bag a consolation goal in the 84th minute as Rachel Donaldson collected the ball at the edge of the box and found the room to fire the ball into the net. But City restored their seven-goal lead in the final minute as substitute Megan Foley headed in from a corner.
Thistle now look to bounce back at home against Hamilton Academical; that one takes place this coming Wednesday 8th February at Petershill Park, kick off is at 7.45pm.
