Saturday 9th July, 2022 at 8:20pm
The 2022-2023 competitive season has begun! The Jags travelled to Ochilview Park today to take on Stenhousemuir in the opening Group B match of the Premier Sports Cup. An exciting day for the fans as there were three new signings in the starting line-up.
A fast start from Thistle saw the away side take most of the possession in the opening minutes, with debutant Steven Lawless finding himself in space at the edge of the box, a soft attempt brought an easy save for Conor Brennan.
Again Thistle were on the attack, with a nice turn from Kyle Turner gives him a few yards but his effort strays wide of the target.
After a good spell of football in the first nine minutes, the Jags dominated possession but couldn’t find an opening, the hosts defending resolutely in the opening stages. 20 minutes in, Cammy Smith was next to have an attempt with a low effort which goes just wide of the goal.
A long ball forward from Stuart Bannigan finds it’s way to Brian Graham, who nearly opens the scoring with his first real chance of the game, the ball deflected wide which Cammy Smith collected and forced an the first corner of the game. A great corner from Kyle Turner couldn’t find it’s finishing touch.
The first real chance for the home side came from some poor defending, but resulted in the offside flag being raised. A somewhat frustrating decision for the Warriors fans who struggled to threaten in the opening 45 minutes with stray passes and Thistle interceptions breaking down their attacks.
The first half ended with an underwhelming 0-0 scoreline considering how much possession Thistle maintained.
The opening minutes of the second half saw Thistle pick up from where they left off before the break, with Kevin Holt’s shot from outside the box again straying wide to the home fans relief. However, this wouldn’t last as Ross Docherty floated a searching ball over to Brian Graham, who nodded it down to Kyle Turner, who calmly passed the ball into the back of the net to break the deadlock.
The Jags continued their momentum as Brian Graham collects a ball from Cammy Smith on the left hand side, He cuts inside and finesses the ball just wide of the target. More of the same from Thistle as they dominate possession in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
In an unlikely turn of play, Mikey Anderson found himself in space inside the box, the initial shot rifled towards goal was excellently blocked by Jamie Sneddon, the ball deflected outwards and landed straight to the feet of Stenhousemuir forward, Matty Yates who again strikes the ball into Sneddon, this time deflecting into the back of the net. The goal gave confidence to the Stenhousemuir players, as they pressed high and managed to create another chance, this time the effort from Matty Yates was comfortably saved.
A substitution from Ian McCall’s side saw the return of centre half Darren Brownlie, who makes his first competitive appearance in over a year replacing Kevin Holt, who was playing his first game in a number of weeks.
It didn’t take long for Thistle to begin dominating again, as Brian Graham bags his first goal of the new season. New signing McMillan, with an effective overlap and cross into the box found the striker, who glances it past Conor Brennan and celebrates
with the Red and Yellow Army.
Newly graduated Zander MacKenzie replaces re-debutant Steven Lawless, who had a very promising 80 minutes, to make his professional debut.
Cammy Smith went down for treatment in the dying moments of the match, he seemed okay but was replaced by former Warrior loanee, James Lyon moments after.
Thistle weren’t finished just yet, with Kyle Turner beautifully striking the ball towards goal, for what seemed like the nail in the coffin, the ball struck the crossbar and bounced out of play.
Ross Forbes’ corner reaches Darren Brownlie’s head, but the ball ends up scrambling into the box, Sneddon comes across and rapidly collects the ball to prevent an opposition corner. The Jags were straight on the attack again as they secured two last minute corners, which ultimately resulted in the full time whistle being sounded.
The two goals from Kyle Turner and Brian Graham secured three points in the Premier Sports Cup. A great start to the season!
