Match Preview
Undefeated in the league so far in 2009 Thistle make the short trip to face an Airdrie United side very much in form at the moment, even though they remain bottom of what is, as usual, a highly competitive First Division.
Airdrie United too are undefeated in league fixtures in 2009, with a Scottish Cup win against Spartans added to that list. Indeed you need to go back to December 16th when they were defeated by Clyde for their last loss.
Clearly then Saturday's fixture is going to be an extremely difficult one for Thistle. One in which we will need to be at our best if we hope to record our third win of the season against Airdrie United.
Ahead of Saturday's game manager Ian McCall was able to provide www.ptfc.co.uk with all the latest team news.
"We will be without both John Robertson and Ian Maxwell although we are hopeful that with no fixture the following weekend that they will both be available for the game with Dunfermline Athletic on February 14th."
"It's a similar story with Lucas Akins. Lucas injured his groin during Monday's reserve game with Stenhousemuir and as a result he will miss Saturday's game. That is a blow to us and we really could do with a wee beak in terms of injuries. The break next week though should mean that his absence is kept down to the very minimum."
"As he did last week Liam Buchanan was having treatment away from Firhill in the first part of the week and he returned to train with us today. We will need to take a look at Liam's situation a bit closer to the game before deciding whether to start with him, put him on the bench or rest him altogether."
"Elsewhere we are just waiting to see whether both Ryan McStay and Mark Roberts will move before the transfer window closes. There have been enquires for both players and we will see what develops over the next few days. If they don't move and remain at Firhill until the end of the season then that wouldn't be a problem."
"Saturday's game will be a very, very difficult one for us. Airdrie United are in good form at the moment and have won three out of their last four games which serves only to underline just how tough a proposition the game will be. That said we haven't done too badly in our last two away league games winning four point from a possible six and it should be a cracking game with hopefully a big Thistle support present."
Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 2 2 6 9
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Gary Harkins 8
Stephen McKeown 7
Liam Buchanan 4
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
Queen of the South 2, Partick Thistle 2
Airdrie United Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D &n bsp; L F A
3 2 0 5 2
Scorers Season 2008/2009
Simon Lynch 11
Paul Di Giacomo 9
Joe Cardle 3
Scott McLaughlin 3
David Nixon 2
Stuart Noble 2
Stephen Mcguire 1
Stephen McKenna 1
Darren Smith 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Airdrie United 1, Dundee 0
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday December 13th 2008
Partick Thistle 2, Airdrie United 1
Teams:
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, McKinlay, Storey, Kinniburgh, Maxwell (Archibald), Turner (Twaddle), Rowson, Buchanan, Roberts (Donnelly), Harkins.
Airdrie United: Robertson, Smyth, Hazley (Noble), McDonald (Brown), Donnelly, McKenna, McDougall, McLaughlin, Di Giacomo, Lynch, Cardle .
Scorers:
Thistle: Harkins (18), McLaughlin Own Goal (62)
Airdrie United: Lynch (13)
Crowd: 2,296
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday January 31st 2009
Airdrie United v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults £15
OAPs £10
Concessions £7
Car Parking £2
The Thistle fans will be housed in the traditional away end (East Stand) with entry through turnstiles 13-18.
