Match Preview
What better alternative is there to cold turkey leftovers, endless Christmas Specials of third rate television reports or worse still watching the old firm game than heading along to Firhill?
Tomorrow we are hoping for a larger than normal crowd for our fixture with Ross County as we aim to keep hard on the heels of league leaders St Johnstone. With three fixtures in the space of a week, starting with tomorrow's game with Ross County, we are clearly entering an important stage of the season and earlier this morning Thistle manager Ian McCall was able to provide www.ptfc.co.uk with the latest news from inside the Thistle camp.
"On Wednesday we thought that we were going to be without as many as six players but after a really good training session on Christmas Day the situation looks a lot brighter. It looks as if only Ian Maxwell and Damon Gray will miss tomorrow's game. Craig Hinchcliffe, Willie Kinniburgh, Alan Archibald and Stephen McKeown should all be fit for tomorrow."
"Right now I'm not sure if I will risk playing Alan Archibald from the start. With a game again on Tuesday it might better to keep Alan on the bench tomorrow afternoon. Similarly although it is a huge boost to have Stephen McKeown available again it might be just a little too early for him to be able to play a full 90 minutes. Stephen's injury was a problem with his groin and he has been doing a lot of strengthening exercises to try and combat that problem recurring."
"With three games in the space of seven days we are entering a really important stage of the season. I think we showed in our last game at Dundee that we are more than capable of playing well away from home but all our efforts are presently concentrated on tomorrow's game with Ross County. We are very proud of our record at home and we are desperate for that record to continue to tomorrow."
"I would love to see the Thistle fans really turn up in big numbers tomorrow. We have a lot of really exciting young players at Firhill at present who are well worth watching and deserve your support."
Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
3 1 1 7 5
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
Dundee 0, Partick Thistle 0
Ross County Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
2 1 2 7 &nbs p; 9
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Steven Craig 8
Sean Higgins 7
Dyron Daal 5
Richard Hart 4
Richard Brittain 3
Andy Dowie 2
Alex Keddie 2
Mark McCulloch 2
Scott Morrison 2
Own Goals 2
David Winters 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Morton 2, Ross County 1
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Tuesday November 25th 2008
Ross County 1, Partick Thistle 0
Teams
Ross County: Bulloch, McCulloch, Keddie, Dowie, Boyd, Watt, Scott (Hart) Brittain, Daal, Higgins (Gardyne), Strachan (Morrison)
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, McKinlay, Storey, Kinniburgh, Maxwell, McKeown (Chaplain), Rowson (McStay), Buchanan, Donnelly (Roberts), Harkins
Scorer
Ross County: Dyron Daal (68)
Crowd: 1,625
Match Details
Partick Thistle v Ross County
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults £15
OAPs/Students/16-21: £10
Under 16s: Free
Programme: £2.50
Ross County supporters have been allocated a section of the North End of the Jackie Husband Stand. Entry through turnstile 40.
Match Officials
Referee: Stephen Finnie
Assistant Referees: John Gilmour and Alan Hogg
