Friday 4th December, 2020 at 5:23pm
One of three players to start every Thistle game so far this season, Stuart Bannigan has been enjoying his football in the Jags engine room of late. The number eight’s blossoming partnership with skipper Ross Docherty has given the team a strong base to work from in the middle of the park, not only feeding the team’s creative players but also offering an extra layer of protection just in front of the back line. That has led to improved results for Ian McCall’s side with three consecutive clean sheets and two league wins to round off November. The Maryhill men will look to extend their current run when Dumbarton come to Firhill this weekend and Bannigan caught up with ptfc.co.uk ahead of the game:
“We’re really looking forward to this one. Obviously, we’ve got a couple of wins on the bounce now so we just want to keep that going. In particular we’ve been pretty good at home so we’re focused on getting another three points on the board this weekend.”
To Stuart’s point, the Jags are yet to lose a home game this season and he says it’s vital that we continue that record.
“Your home form is always going to be very important. In recent years we’ve sometimes struggled at home but we’ve been pleased with the games we’ve had at Firhill so far this season. The worry was more about the away form but that win at Montrose last weekend got us off the mark in that sense.
“We want teams to come to Firhill thinking this is going to be a really tough game. If you look at the three home league games we’ve had, I think we were on top for long spells of all of them and they could very easily have been three wins so it’s just about making sure that doesn’t slip.”
After a couple of league wins in a row, Banzo says the players are feeling confident but also know they’re in for a tough match against Jim Duffy’s Dumbarton.
“The defence and midfield have done a good job in terms of keeping clean sheets and Kieran Wright’s had very little to do in these last two games which is great. It gives us a platform to go and attack from and if you can keep a clean sheet then you only need that one goal to win as we saw on Saturday.
“No game is going to be easy – we know that – and although we’re really happy about the last two games, we know we have to be ready for another difficult game this weekend.”
The Jags had to dig deep against Montrose to get all three points as the Gable Endies sent the ball into the Thistle box relentlessly but Stuart was delighted with how he and his teammates were able to stand up to the challenge and see out the game.
“It’s very important to be able to grind out results. We lost late goals against Cove and Falkirk which cost us a few points and that was very frustrating but hopefully we’ve learned from those games. A lot of credit has to go to the defence with young Sena playing out of position alongside Darren Brownlie and I think they’ve been standouts for us as well as the two full-backs.”
Connor Murray bagged the game-winner after six minutes at Links Park with his first of the season and Bannigan hopes that signals a more equal share of the goals around the team so that there isn’t as much pressure on Brian Graham to find the back of the net.
“Brian is a great goalscorer and we’re confident he’ll score plenty this season but you can’t rely on one man; you need others chipping in. Guys like Joe Cardle and Connor Murray are more than capable of scoring goals so I’m sure we’ll see more from them and I think Doc’s been really unlucky not to have a goal yet too.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Thistle assistant manager Neil Scally and Connor Murray will be available for JagZone subscribers to watch today – log in to view.
JagZone subscribers will be able to tune in to live audio commentary for this weekend’s clash with Dumbarton – click here to tune in.
There will also be a pay-per-view option, priced at £10, for non-season ticket holders who wish to watch our live stream of the match – click here for more info.
We’ll have extended highlights and a full game replay of our clash with Dumbarton on JagZone this Saturday evening.
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