Friday 20th December, 2019 at 8:00am
Scottish Premiership
17th February 2018
Partick Thistle 1 Dundee 2
I have chosen this game because, in my opinion, it was a hugely significant one in terms of our league status at the time and the repercussions which followed that have contributed to the whole future of Partick Thistle Football Club. There is no way we should have lost this match, as I shall explain. Yet look at the score!
Conor Sammon had given us the lead five minutes before the half-time interval. The margin could have been wider, though. Did we chase that second goal which could have put the contest to bed? No, we did not. We sat back as if the game was won and we had taken a giant step towards retaining our top flight status. Dundee came more and more into the game without seriously threatening our slim advantage. I became increasingly anxious – no surprise there, then. What really concerned me was the fact that we had become sloppy, second to every ball.
The visitors, who should have been out of the reckoning, gradually realised they could be in with a chance. We managed to hang in there until the 85th minute but that’s when the game turned on its head.
A 50/50 tackle midway in our half, was lost, with our player finishing grounded with arms outstretched claiming he was fouled. The referee wasn’t interested, but the Dundee striker certainly was. He was off like a shot and in no time at all, the ball was in the net. Worse was to follow.
In the final minute, Dundee, whose tails were well and truly up now, grabbed an unlikely winner. The wrong attitude had crept in and Thistle threw away three valuable points. In the 85th minute I realised that relegation was more than just a remote possibility, and…did we recover? Where are we now? Interesting questions.
Let’s have a look at the team:- Tomas Cerny, Mustapha Dumbuya, Callum Booth, Baily Cargill, Niall Keown, Abdul Osman, Chris Erskine, Conor Sammon, Ryan Edwards, Martin Woods, Miles Storey.
The trap door should have been slammed shut, but it was edged open and a few weeks later we fell through. Sorry to depress you like this.
Within the programme there is a not to inform supporters that James Penrice had signed a new two-year deal with the club, meaning he would be a Jag until the summer of 2020.
Interestingly, there is also a Dream Team selection by Dougie Taylor, who chose the following players in his all-time Jags starting XI:- Alan Rough, Alex Forsyth, Jackie Husband, Alan Archibald, Brian Whittaker, Davie McParland, Tommy Gibb, Johnny MacKenzie, Chic Charnley, Denis McQuade, Kris Doolan. No-one will argue with that!
Robert R.
