Match Preview
Tomorrow afternoon are in action at Firhill for only the second time in 2009 with an eagerly anticipated fixture against Dunfermline Athletic.
It is a game that manager Ian McCall is clearly looking forward to. Speaking to www.ptfc.co.uk the manager commented;
"It will be great to get back in action at Firhill again. It seems ages since we last had a home game. Not only is it good to get back to playing at Firhill it is great to come back to such an attractive fixture. One that we are all hoping will attract and large and noisy Thistle support."
"There have been signs in our last couple of away matches that we have started to get things sorted out away from Firhill while our home record has, for the most part, been good this season. Hopefully that is something that we can maintain in the weeks to come as I firmly believe that we are entering a vital stage of the season. The next four games could well decide whether we care capable of staging a real challenge for promotion this season or not."
"Three of those four games are at home with the away fixture against Livingston. There is no doubt that all four of those games are winnable but as we all know in this division they can just as easily be lost. There is no denying though that a good run of results over the course of the next month or so would set things up nicely for a very interesting finish to the season."
We are fairly well placed in terms of injuries at the moment with the week break helping to clear up a few things. Ian Maxwell trained on Thursday and he is back in the squad for the Dunfermline game. Ian was an important player to us in the first half of the season and his return from injury is a big boost. As too would be the return of John Robertson. We will though have to wait a little longer for John's return to action although we feel that he will be back sooner rather than later. John is due to get a scan on his injury on Saturday."
"It's been frustrating too for us and the player that Lucas Akins picked up an injury so quickly after joining us on loan from Hamilton Accies. While Lucas isn't quite ready to play against Dunfermline tomorrow he is probably only another week away from being able to return to action."
"Liam Buchanan isn't quite 100% yet and I think that the player himself realises that the chances are that he won't be fully 100% fit again until the start of next season. That said he trained with us on Thursday and he is determined to play this afternoon. Even at perhaps only 75 - 80% fit Liam has demonstrated just how important a player that he is. Since coming back into the team after his long lay off he has scored five times, his most recent goal earning us a vital three points at Airdrie United, and has won us four penalties."
"Our matches this season with Dunfermline have both been really close affairs and the chances are it will be much the same again this afternoon. As I said at the top of the page we are hoping for a big turn out of Thistle fans today. Your support really can make a difference so I would urge you all to get right behind us from the first to last whistle this afternoon."
Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 2 1 7 5
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Gary Harkins 8
Stephen McKeown 7
Liam Buchanan 5
Scott Chaplain 4
Damon Gray 4
Ian Maxwell 4
Simon Donnelly 2
Paul Paton 2
Kris Doolan 1
Kevin McKinlay 1
Mark Roberts 1
John Robertson 1
Chris Turner 1
Marc Twaddle 1
Own Goals 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 31st 2009
Airdrie United 0, Partick Thistle 1
Dunfermline Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 1 2 4 4
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Andy Kirk 11
Nick Phinn 7
Graham Bayne 5
Iain Williamson 2
Steven Bell 1
Alex Burke 1
Ross Campbell 1
Stephen Glass 1
Kevin Harper 1
Rory Loy 1
Greg Shields 1
Scott Thomson 1
Simon Wiles 1
Scott Wilson 1
Last Match
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday 31st January 2009
Dunfermline Athletic 0, Queen of the South 2
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday October 18th 2008
Dunfermline Athletic 1, Partick Thistle 0
Teams:
Dunfermline: Gallacher, Ross, Woods, Phinn, Shields, McCann, Harper (Wilies), Glass, Bayne (Williamson), Kirk, Burke
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Twaddle, Storey, Robertson, Maxwell, Chaplain (Buchanan) Rowson, McKinlay, Donnelly (McKeown), Harkins (Lennon)
Scorer
Dunfermline: Kirk (36)
Crowd: 3,242
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday February 14th 2009
Partick Thistle v Dunfermline Athletic
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults: £15
OAPs/Students:16-21 £10
Under 16s: FREE
Saturday's Other First Division Fixtures
Clyde v Morton
Queen of the South v Airdrie United
Ross County v Dundee
St Johnstone v Livingston
Match Officials
Referee: William Collum
Assistant Referees: George Drummond & John McCrossan
