Friday 13th December, 2019 at 4:39pm
Dario Zanatta might have been disappointed to drop to the bench last Saturday for Partick Thistle’s trip to Palmerston Park but the Canadian showed the right attitude as he waited for his chance before helping the team to a 2-1 comeback win against Queen of the South. Zanatta came on at half-time in Dumfries and his introduction coincided with a significant shift in the momentum of the match as goals from Joe Cardle and Reece Cole flipped the game on its head after the interval. Now, Dario can’t wait to contribute again against Inverness whether that be from the start or off the bench with the Jags hoping to build on their win last week. He spoke to ptfc.co.uk ahead of the match, starting by commenting on the team’s trip to watch the Glasgow Clan and goalkeeper, Jamie Sneddon, trying his luck out on the ice:
“It was very enjoyable. I hadn’t been to a game in a while but I think I knew a little bit more than most of the boys. Jamie did his best when he got out there but it’s not easy and we all got a bit of a laugh out of that.”
Returning to the football, Dario spoke about the challenge the Jags face this weekend in the from of Inverness.
“At Queen of the South, I don’t think it was our best performance but it was a brilliant result, a really positive result. Inverness are a good side though and they’ll come into this game with confidence so it will be another tough game.
“We showed what we’re capable of when we beat them 3-1 up at their place. We showed that we can compete with the one of the best teams in this league so it’s up to us to produce that sort of performance again.”
Thistle moved above Alloa with their victory against the Doonhamers but Zanatta is keen to see the team climb a bit higher with some more positive results in the upcoming games starting against the Caley Jags.
“It was great to get off the bottom of the table and that’s a big boost in terms of confidence for all the players but we need to keep looking above us. I think it’s Morton now who are directly above us and we can leapfrog them if we win so that’s our next goal.”
Thistle’s number 19 admitted that he was gutted to be on the bench last week but does understand the manager’s decision to leave him out of the starting line-up.
“Of course you want to be starting every single game but, personally, I do feel like I can do better. Being dropped was a bit of a wake-up call in that regard so now I have to start showing what I’m capable of more regularly.
“I was pleased to get that chance off the bench and I feel like I made an impact, getting us a bit further up the pitch and just trying to stretch their defence out a little bit so I want to be able to make that impact again against Inverness.”
Reflecting on the winning goal in last Saturday’s fixture, Zanatta is hopeful that as many fans as possible turn out to support the team against John Robertson’s side this weekend.
“We had a great support in Dumfries and you could really see what it meant to each and every one of the fans when Reece’s goal went in. Those are the moments that you cherish in football and hopefully we can provide another win for the fans against Caley.”
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