Match Preview
Just three games of the season remain and while few would have thought it possible at the start of the season we find ourselves challenging for the league title.
Our hopes looked to have ended when Queen of the South left Firhill with a deserved three points at the end of our last home game but our win last Saturday coupled with St Johnstone's defeat at the hands of the self same Queen of the South 24 hours later we find ourselves once more in the mix.
As always manager Ian McCall was able to give www.ptfc.co.uk all the very latest team news.
"In addition to the suspended Gary Harkins we will be missing Stephen McKeown on Saturday who hasn't, as yet, recovered from his injury. We also have a decision to make with regard to Liam Buchanan. Liam trained with the rest of the squad on Tuesday and he could be ready to take up a position on the bench. Before making any decision we will speak to Liam because although he could take a place on the bench we need to consider whether we want to rush him back."
"Elsewhere there are a few players with a few niggles. Alan Archibald, Marc Twaddle and Kevin McKinlay all didn't train in the first portion of the week but we don't really anticipate there being any problems with regards to the availability for Saturday's game."
"Saturday's game marks the end of Lucas Akins' loan spell with the club. Lucas was signed as an Emergency Loan, the maximum duration of which is 93 days. Those 93 days end on Saturday. We will all be hoping, therefore, that Lucas signs off with a bang against Livingston. He is a bit raw but he has proved to a positive player for us particularly in the matches away from home against Ross County, Dunfermline Athletic and Morton where he made not insignificant contributions."
As it has been for some time then it's going to be a case of all hands to the pumps between now and the end of the season. We have probably surprised ourselves to find us challenging this late stage in the season. St Johnstone with a 4 point gap obviously remain big favourites to win the league but they face a very difficult away match with Dundee on Saturday. A St Johnstone defeat though would only prove significant were we to defeat Livingston. Our away form since the turn of the year has been fantastic but in our last four home games we have won just once, drawn once and lost twice. We simply have to improve upon that record on Saturday and keep our promotion prospects alive down to the penultimate game of the season at least. "
Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 2 1 4 4
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Gary Harkins 12
Stephen McKeown 7
Liam Buchanan 6
Kris Doolan 5
Scott Chaplain 4
Damon Gray 4
Ian Maxwell 4
Paul Paton 3
Simon Donnelly 2
Kevin McKinlay 2
Lucas Akins 1
Mark Roberts 1
John Robertson 1
David Rowson 1
Chris Turner 1
Marc Twaddle 1
Own Goals 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 18th 2009
Morton 0, Partick Thistle 1
Livingston Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 1 2 4 6
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Leigh Griffiths 19
Calum Elliot 11
Murray Davidson 6
Anthony McParland 4
Dave MacKay 3
Armand One 3
Liam Fox 2
Joe Hamill 2
James McPake 2
David Winters 2
Jean-Jose Cuenca 1
Chris Innes 1
Raffaele De Vita 1
Danny Griffin 1
Rocco Quinn 1
Gordon Smith 1
Jason Talbot 1
Own Goals 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Livingston 0, Dundee 1
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday February 28th 2009
Livingston 2, Partick Thistle 4
Teams
Livi: McKenzie, Miller, Talbot, Griffin, MacKay, Torrance (Winters), McParland, Hamill, Griffiths, De Vita (One), Halliday.
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Twaddle, Storey, Robertson (Maxwell), Archibald, McKeown, Rowson, Buchanan (Donnelly), Doolan (McKinlay), Harkins.
Scorers
Livi: Griffiths (52 & 73)
Thistle: Harkins (18 & 90), Paton (34), Rowson (47)
Crowd: 2,876
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 25th 2009
Partick Thistle v Livingston
Prices
Adults: £15
OAPs/Students:16-21 £10
Under 16s: FREE
Programme: £2.50
Other First Division Fixtures
Airdrie United v Ross County
Dundee v St Johnstone
Queen of the South v Clyde
Match Officials
Referee: Scott MacDonald
Assistant Referees: Francis Andrews and Jeff Banks
