Match Preview
With the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals taking place on Sunday there is just one other First Division fixture taking place tomorrow afternoon and were Thistle to defeat Airdrie United tomorrow and Queen of the South fail to defeat Morton then we would sit top of the First Division at 4:45pm tomorrow. Although it remains very early in the season and little significance should be taken from league tables at this point in the campaign the fact that we can go top tomorrow should provide a little extra incentive, should any be required, to collect three points tomorrow.
Following on from our excellent win at Inverness last weekend there is no shortage of confidence and belief inside the Thistle camp and with Airdrie United presently sitting bottom of the league without a win to their name many people will be putting this fixture down as a home banker.
That's not a view held by anyone inside Firhill, however, not least because Airdrie United twice recorded 1-0 wins here at Firhill last season. They have been far from the division's whipping boys this season either despite the fact they haven't recorded a victory yet. Commendable draws have been recorded against both Dundee and Inverness and their first three point haul of the season is surely just around the corner. Though not, we hope, tomorrow afternoon.
As ever www.ptfc.co.uk caught up with manager Ian McCall ahead of the weekend's fixture and he was able to provide a little insight into his thinking for the game and an update on the virus that impacted so severely on the squad last weekend.
"To try and eradicate the virus completely we shut the place down for a couple of days but at present we still have a number of players suffering from the virus. Craig Hinchcliffe, John Robertson, Paul Cairney and Simon Donnelly have all not trained so far this week but we are hopeful that by kick-off they will be fit to play. Although after being ill for the best part of a week you have to wonder whether they will be able to play the game at their normal tempo."
"In addition to those players that are unwell we still have Martyn Corrigan and Stephen McKeown on the injured list with both players still a couple of weeks from now away from coming back into the fold. "
"We will also be missing our physio Kenny Crichton this afternoon. Of all the people that were unwell last weekend Kenny was by far the worst and actually spent a bit of time in hospital this week. We wish Kenny well and tomorrow Alyson Hendry, who has worked with us in the past, will step in to assist us."
"Tomorrow's game is one of these really slippery type of games. We are expected to win the game but we know from past experience that we never get an easy time from Airdrie United when they come to Firhill. Indeed they twice won 1-0 here last season. "
"We have been looking very solid so far this season and if everyone is fully fit I really don't think that we have anyone to fear in the division. It's one thing though saying that. The players have to go out on the pitch and produce their best form week in week out."
Tomorrow the Thistle players will be sporting the much talked about new away kit for the very first time. In addition to being on sale in the Thistle shops at Firhill tomorrow it can also be purchased from the Greaves outlets in the Glasgow City Centre and online at Greaves Sports - Partick Thistle
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
3 2 0 12 4
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Liam Buchanan 8
Simon Donnelly 4
Paul Cairney 3
Kris Doolan 2
Mark Corcoran 2
Chris Erskine 2
Jim Hamilton 2
Alan Archibald 1
Bryan Hodge 1
David Rowson 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday September 26th 2009
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2, Partick Thistle 3
Airdrie United Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
0 3 2 3 6
Scorers Season 2009/2010
John Baird 2
Bobby Donnelly 1
Scott Gemmill 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday September 26th 2009
Morton 1, Airdrie United 0
Last Meeting
ALBA Challenge Cup First Round
Saturday July 25th 2009
Airdrie United 0, Partick Thistle 1
Teams
Airdrie United: Robertson, Smith, Lovering (Waddell), McDonald, Donnelly, Nixon, Trouten (Watt), McLaughlin, Keegan (Gemmill), Baird, Lagana.
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Boyle, Maxwell, Robertson, Archibald, McKeown (Hamilton), Rowson, Buchanan, Doolan (Erskine), Hodge (Cairney).
Scorer
Thistle: Buchanan (51)
Crowd: 1,325
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday October 3rd 2009
Partick Thistle v Airdrie United
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults: £16
OAP/Full time Education/16-21: £11
Under 16s: FREE
Programme: £2.50
Other First Division Fixture
Queen of the South v Morton
Match Officials
Referee: Alan Muir
Assistant Referees: Gary Sweeney and Mark McHendry
