Wednesday 16th July, 2025 at 1:22am
Partick Thistle marked their homecoming to The Wyre Stadium at Firhill with a 2-0 victory over Stranraer in the Premier Sports Cup.
The Jags came into this game top of Group B, after a comfortable 4-1 win over Edinburgh City, with Ross County dropping points to today’s visitors in a 1-1 draw.
It was an unchanged line-up from Friday’s trip to Meadowbank, with the only change on the bench seeing back-up keeper Luis Cameron drop out for a Trialist with new signing Ts’oanelo Lets’osa not involved as the club did not receive his International Clearance in time to feature.
Thistle started the brighter of the two sides, with their first chance coming six minutes in when Robbie Crawford’s effort was deflected out for a corner.
Logan Chalmers looked set to open the scoring when a Stevie Lawless fell to him in space, only for his 18 yard low shot to be blocked by a defender.
Ben Stanway also came close on ten minutes when his free kick from just outside the area rattled off the inside of the post.
From there, Stranraer’s stout defence proved difficult to pick open as the first half trundled on with little in the way of incident.
The Stair Park side created a chance when the clock hit 45 minutes however Sean Docherty could not force the ball home from close ranger and Thistle raced to the other end in stoppage time.
Stevie Lawless was taken down for a foul on the edge of the box and Chalmers lofted his free kick into the mixer, where skipper Lee Ashcroft managed to rise above the rest and head in at the back post with what was the last action of the half.
Half Time – Partick Thistle 1 Stranraer 0
Buoyed by the goal just before the break, Thistle grew in confidence after the restart. They looked more purposeful in attack, getting more joy going forward.
Two minutes it looked like the Jags would double the lead after Stranraer keeper Joshua Lane’s slip as he chased a Lewis Reid pass-back saw the ball come to Chalmers. Chalmers’ audacious chip seemed like it was heading in from long range, but instead hit the crossbar to spare Stranraer blushes.
Tony Watt came on for the last half hour and was close to opening his account after an intelligent pass came to Chalmers, who then flicked the ball onto Watt for a header. Sadly, his effort sailed over as Thistle’s lead remained at a single goal.
The Jags were determined to put the game out of sight, with Watt in particular playing some good football, as Thistle piled on the pressure.
Thomas Horn almost squeezed an 18 yard shot past Lane before Watt was rewarded for his efforts on 87 minutes.
The striker grabbed his first goal in red and yellow in spectacular fashion. A corner made its way to Watt outside of the box. The striker opted to have a dig, firing it into the net from range for a superb goal.
With the game now beyond doubt, there was time for one final moment as Che Campbell came on for his home Partick Thistle debut. Campbell replaced Stevie Lawless, who had looked impressive throughout the game.
Full Time – Partick Thistle 2 Stranraer 0
Thistle’s 2-0 win sees them retain their place at the top of the Group B table, now sitting on six points. Queen of the South’s 4-0 win over Edinburgh City tonight sees them leap into second on three points, having played a game less. QOS will be Thistle’s next opponents, with the Doonhamers making the trip to Maryhill next Tuesday evening.
Partick Thistle: Lewis Budinauckas; Cammy Logan, Lee Ashcroft, Dan O’Reilly, Paddy Reading; Luke McBeth (Zander MacKenzie 59’), Ben Stanway (Thomas Horn 68’), Robbie Crawford (Matthew Falconer 90’); Stevie Lawless (Che Campbell 90’), Aidan Fitzpatrick (Tony Watt 59’), Logan Chalmers
Unused Substitutes: Trialist (GK); Nick Lockhart, Liam Dolan, Jamie Low
Stranraer: Joshua Lane; Sean Docherty (Daniel McManus 45’), Scott Rough, Lewis Reid, Evan Dunne, Mark Russell (C); Jordan Stuart (Kirk McKnight 74’), Lewis Hunter (Aaron Quigg 63’), James Dolan (Tommy Sharp 50’), Bernard Coll; Sallu Turay (Ryan Edgar 63’)
Unused Substitutes: Ewan Henderson (GK); Finn Ecrepont
Referee: Duncan Nicolson
Attendance: 1,952.
By David Forrest
50/ 50 Draw Winners
First Prize – £310 – Ticket No. 249709
Second Prize – Chance to take part in half-time crossbar challenge – Ticket No. 249520
