Friday 9th July, 2021 at 3:30pm
The new season officially starts this weekend for Partick Thistle as the Jags take on Dunfermline Athletic in their first Premier Sports Cup group stage game. Following a successful return to the stadium on Monday against Rangers, the red and yellow army will be allowed in once again on Saturday and for some that means the first competitive game they’ve played for the club in front of our fans. Once such player is Thistle skipper Ross Docherty who told ptfc.co.uk that he’s very excited about the occasion:
“I’m really looking forward to the game. We’ve done the hard work in pre-season and we’re now just waiting for the competitive stuff getting started again. After ending last season on such a high, you want to carry that on into the new campaign and we’ll be looking to do that this weekend.”
It was only a month or so ago that the Jags returned for pre-season training but Ross says the work they have done has them in a good place ahead of the Premier Sports Cup group stage getting underway.
“It’s been pretty intense for everyone. We’ve had a few boys miss time with different injuries and knocks which isn’t ideal but I think we’ve been able to get a good amount of work in and we’ve had a few friendlies to get game time as well which is good.”
When Thistle took on Kelty Hearts in their first friendly of the summer, Jags supporters were back in the stadium for the first time in over 15 months and Docherty says that has been a big boost over the course of pre-season.
“It’s been brilliant to have the fans back. Up at Kelty there were a couple of hundred in and then the same at East Kilbride and then seeing them back within Firhill was fantastic too. I think the last game I played in front of fans before the first lockdown was here at Firhill for Ayr United so that tells you how long it’s been.
“Their presence makes a big difference to the game. Being able to hear that cheer when you score or a few moans when you give the ball away makes it feel a lot more real and it will be great to have them for Saturday’s game.”
Ian McCall’s side have now had three pre-season friendlies to prepare them for the start of competitive football and Doc reckons each game has provided a worthwhile test for the Jags.
“The standard of the games has been good. In the Kelty Hearts game, it was pretty even and they passed the ball about which made it hard work but we showed our quality in the end. At East Kilbride, we had a lot of young boys getting game time so it was a chance to build new partnerships and again get more minutes in the legs.
“You then have the Rangers game and they’re the best team in the country or were last season anyway so that’s a really tough test. They put out a strong team in that first half and then make loads of changes at half-time with most of the big-hitters coming on.
“It gave us a good opportunity to work on our shape and get tested defensively which will be useful heading into a league where it’s very competitive and also for what we hope can be a good cup run.”
The Jags are matched up with Dunfermline Athletic, Dumbarton, St. Mirren and Stenhousemuir in their Premier Sports Cup group and Ross feels the team can go into each game looking to win.
“We’ve got nothing to fear. You saw the other night, even against a top Rangers side, that we’re a threat going forward and we’re well organised at the back so we go into the group stage looking to progress and hopefully we get the results needed to do that.”
An exclusive interview with Thistle manager Ian McCall is available to watch for FREE now.
Another exclusive preview interview with Brian Graham 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 Dunfermline, starting at 2:30pm – click here to tune in.
There will also be a pay-per-view option, priced at £12, for any supporter who wishes to watch our live stream of the match – 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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