Friday 20th August, 2021 at 3:51pm
A trip to Arbroath awaits Partick Thistle this weekend as they look to build on their consecutive wins to start the cinch Championship season. The Jags have beaten Queen of the South and Dunfermline Athletic thus far this term but now take on Dick Campbell’s side who took Premiership outfit St. Johnstone all the way to penalties last weekend in the Premier Sports Cup. Thistle defender Richard Foster spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of the fixture:
“We’re pleased to get back to playing games. It was strange to have a break so early in the season but it’s going to be another tough game especially up at Arbroath but, as I say, we’re just buzzing for the games to be back because we were on a bit of a roll winning the first two and then there’s that break which isn’t ideal.”
Although the break wasn’t necessarily ideal for the team, Richard says there were still benefits of having a bit of extra time to train without a game.
“During the break we’ve managed to get another couple of players in; Tunji’s arrived and Jake’s come in which is important to bolster the squad a little bit. They’ve been able to train with the boys for a spell and we had a bounce game in there too.
“It’s good for guys who’ve not played as much to get more time on the training pitch and it means we should go to Arbroath with a squad full of players in the best possible shape.”
Foster then took some time to reflect on the team’s most recent game, a 3-0 win away to Dunfermline, summarising the pleasing aspects of that game for the Jags.
“It was a very complete away performance. Structurally we were very good, there was a good shape about the team, we broke well and put them under a lot of pressure. We rode a bit of a storm at the start of the second half but we knew that would be the case because they were at home and they were 2-0 down.
“We scored three but possibly could have scored more with a couple of decent penalty shouts in there as well so overall it was an excellent away performance and we’re going to need another one of those if we want to get a result at Arbroath.”
Despite an encouraging start to the league campaign for the Maryhill men, Foster stressed the importance of staying grounded so early on in the season.
“It’s easy to be optimistic after two games but it’s a tough league and it’s a long season. We’re not getting above ourselves because we know every game is going to be difficult and every game will throw up new challenges for us.
“It’s a good start though. If we can take the points away at Arbroath then it becomes a great start but we know they’re not going to make it easy for us because they’re a good side who are well-drilled and well-organised.”
After an exclusively Dunfermline crowd at East End Park two weeks ago, there will be travelling Jags supporters allowed into the game this weekend and Richard says that will be a boost for the team.
“I think any fans that we get into games this season is a massive boost. Even playing in front of that partisan crowd at Dunfermline was better than what we experienced last season but, of course, it will be great to see Thistle fans in supporting us.”
Exclusive preview interviews with Thistle assistant manager Alan Archibald and Stuart Bannigan 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 our clash with Arbroath, starting at 2:30pm – click here to tune in.
The home side are providing a livestream of the game which is priced at £13 – click here for more info.
We’ll have extended highlights and a full game replay of the fixture on JagZone following the game.
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