Match Preview
2008 came to a pretty miserable end for Partick Thistle with two consecutive 2-0 defeats but the start of a New Year provides an opportunity to make a fresh start. And what better way is there to kick-off a New Year than with a fixture against Clyde? Our record against Clyde in recent years has been good but despite defeat in their last outing Clyde have been in excellent form of rate and it will require a good Thistle performance tomorrow to prise maximum points from the trip to Broadwood Stadium.
Earlier this morning www.ptfc.co.uk spoke to manager Ian McCall just before the players headed out to training and he was able to provide us with the latest team news.
"Marc Twaddle is available to us again after missing the Morton game with suspension and that is a big boost for us but we do have some problems elsewhere. We knew that Ian Maxwell wouldn't be fit enough to feature against Morton but we had hoped earlier in the week that he might make the Clyde game. Unfortunately Ian has tested his injury and he is still feeling pain in it and he will miss out again tomorrow. Ian will go for a scan on Wednesday in an attempt to get to the bottom of the injury but in the meantime his continued absence is a big blow. It means that we are simply relying far too much at present on our captain Alan Archibald."
"Elsewhere Damon Gray remains injured and we can also add Kevin McKinlay to the list of injured players. Kevin came off at half-time on Tuesday feeling an injury and he hasn't recovered in time to feature against Clyde. Again that is a blow to us as Kevin is a player that has been doing really well for us."
"Despite recent setbacks we are approaching this fixture in a positive frame of mind and are determined to start 2009 with an overdue victory."
Just who will represent Clyde tomorrow is unclear. The home side presently have a fairly lengthy injury list but they have also made additions to their squad since the January transfer window opened. Former East Fife striker Craig O'Reilly has joined Clyde on a six month deal while Hamilton's Tony Stevenson has joined Clyde on loan until the end of the season.
At this time of the year it is not unusual for the weather to upset plans. At present Clyde are optimistic that following milder weather yesterday that tomorrow's fixture will go ahead as planned. Covers were placed on the Broadwood pitch yesterday afternoon and will remain in place until Saturday morning. www.ptfc.co.uk will endeavour to keep Thistle fans fully appraised of any developments on Saturday but supporters are also advised to check the Clyde official website www.clydefc.co.uk for updates.
Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 1 2 5 7
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Gary Harkins 7
Stephen McKeown 7
Damon Gray 4
Ian Maxwell 4
Liam Buchanan 3
Scott Chaplain 3
Simon Donnelly 1
Kevin McKinlay 1
Paul Paton 1
Mark Roberts 1
John Robertson 1
Chris Turner 1
Marc Twaddle 1
Own Goals 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Morton 2, Partick Thistle 0
Clyde Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W &n bsp; D L F A
3 1 1 8 5
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Pat Clarke 11
Alan Trouten 5
Gary McSwegan 3
Billy Gibson 2
Dave McKay 2
Ruari MacLennan 2
Ricky Waddell 2
Mark Brown 1
Scott Gemmill 1
Chris Higgins 1
Roddy MacLennan 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
St Johnstone 1, Clyde 0
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday November 8th 2008
Partick Thistle 2, Clyde 0
Teams
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, McKinlay, Robertson, Kinniburgh, Maxwell, McKeown, Rowson, Buchanan (Chaplain), Donnelly (Gray), Harkins (McStay).
Clyde: Hutton, Wilson (McKay), Waddell, Higgins, Gibson, Kettlewell, Brown, Ruari MacLennan, Clarke, Gemmill (Trouten), McLaren
Scorers
Thistle: Buchanan (9), McKeown (73)
Crowd: 3,003
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Wednesday January 3rd 2009
Clyde v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Tomorrow's Other First Division Fixtures
Dundee v Dunfermline Athletic
Livingston v Airdrie United
Morton v Queen of the South
Ross County v St Johnstone
Prices
Gate Q - Cash £15 (Adult)
Gate R - Cash £5 (Concession)
Gate S - Cash £5 (Under-16)
Gate T - Cash £17 (Parent & Child)
Match Officials
Referee: Mike Tumilty
Assistant Referees: Stuart Macaulay & Rodney Marshall
