Friday 22nd March, 2024 at 11:05am
Tickets are still on sale. You can buy yours HERE Partick Thistle fans should buy tickets in R, S and T
175 days before stepping out at Tynecastle to their biggest recorded crowd, Partick Thistle were back on home soil as they began their Sky Sports Cup run, in what would be a history defining journey that would end in their first ever national final.
It all began at Petershill Park in a Sunday afternoon opening fixture against the Spartans. The visitors had shown a positive start to their 23/24 league campaign, heading into the tie 3 places behind the Jags and having secured the three points in the most recent meeting between the sides. Thistle looked to rectify this in a professional manner, keeping on the front foot for the majority of the tie before they were rewarded with the opener through top scorer Cara Henderson in the additional minutes of the first half. With the scoreline to their advantage, Partick Thistle looked to put their opening cup tie to rest on 10 minutes into the second half as the effort from Linzi Taylor confirmed the Jags’ spot in the quarter final draw.
The next tie couldn’t have come with better timing for Partick Thistle, who had seen a 3-0 success in their first match played at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill seven days prior. Their quarter final opponents, newly promoted Montrose, had slightly struggled to adapt to life in the top flight but looked to repeat some of the ‘shock’ results they had created in league outings. That was exactly what they did on the hour mark with a well hit strike from outside the box.
A change of personnel after the goal saw Thistle attack for the closing half hour as the efforts by both Sinclair and Henderson were denied by the framework to for the equaliser. Thistle’s fortunes turned in an instant as both Donaldson and Longcake fired into the net within minutes of each other to seal yet another piece of history as they confirmed their place in the semi final of a national cup competition.
For the third successive match in this competition, Partick Thistle would have the home advantage for their push to the final but in arguably less than ideal conditions Storm Isha hurled its way across the Petershill surface. The opposition for this match were Thistle’s nearest competitors in the league standings, Hibernian, who dumped out both Aberdeen and Dundee United in the search for the final place.
Despite running out victors in the capital in their last domestic encounter, Thistle would have to weather both the literal and metaphorical storm against a side with a 21-goal return in their last 3 matches as hibs flew out of the traps in the opening stages. Despite this, Thistle remained defensively strong before the opening came. Whilst on an attack of their own, Henderson was brought to ground and subsequently awarded a free kick in a threatening area. With the rain now lashing around them, Taylor sent in the free kick that curled past every surrounding jersey in the box before it slid underneath the keeper and into the the net for the opener.
The visitors were reduced to ten soon after as Eddie’s sliding challenge on Linzi Taylor saw the defender shown a second yellow followed by a red.
With the goal and player advantage and the strong backing from the Red and Yellow Army, Thistle kept on the attacking front throughout the second half as they forced the ball down both sides of the pitch and drew out as much space as possible, used to their advantage when Henderson advanced into the box before her shot was deflected.
The search for the game deciding goal was found in spectacular fashion as close to the hour mark, Slater took the ball from the halfway line before creating the space for the 1-2 and unleashing the strike from distance that bolted beyond the keeper for the defenders second goal in a week. The final whistle was drowned out by the celebrations from the pitch and stands alike as this
Partick Thistle squad etched another piece of history into their ever-evolving timeline. A complete team performance reminiscent of the whole cup journey so far had rewarded
them to what now lies ahead, a national cup final against the current league leaders and Thistle’s first opportunity to bring the league cup back to Maryhill in over 50 years.
An incredible feat for any side, arguably none so more deserving than this Partick Thistle side who’ve made making history a common occurrence.
Amy Banks
Tickets are still on sale. You can buy yours HERE Partick Thistle fans should buy tickets in R, S and T
