Match Preview
Tomorrow Firhill plays host to a fixture that could have a major baring on the final destination of this season's First Division title. Sadly, although this game takes place on our own home ground , it's our opponents, Dundee, and not ourselves that are involved in the promotion shake up as we fast approach the season's finale.
Dundee were heavy pre-season favourites for the First Division title and for much of the season all appeared to be going to plan. They didn't account, however, for a dip in form at an important stage of the season nor that Inverness would embark on a long unbeaten run. As a result Dundee have seen their lead eroded bit by bit and eventually wiped out altogether. They will arrive at Firhill tomorrow then trailing Inverness by 7 points, albeit with a game less played. They can ill afford another defeat tomorrow.
Our firm intention tomorrow is to inflict upon Dundee a defeat that may well prove fatal to the promotion hopes. Not because of any antipathy towards Dundee but because we are determined to try and finish the season on a positive note.
Said manager Ian McCall when he spoke to www.ptfc.co.uk
"While we are disappointed not to be involved at the top end of the league ourselves, tomorrow's game with Dundee is still one that we are very much looking forward to. It is without any doubt a massive game for them and because of that we fully expect there to be a large travelling support inside Firhill today. That should help create a good atmosphere inside the stadium and might help give today's game the kind of edge that maybe recent matches have been lacking. "
"As I have already said tomorrow's game is a vitally important game for Dundee but is still an important match for us as well even though we aren't challenging for the league title as they are. We really do want to try and finish the season on as positive a note as possible plus there are players that need to try and prove that they are worthy of inclusion in our squad for next season. There is, therefore, no little incentive to record a Thistle victory tomorrow."
"The game tomorrow will be our fourth meeting with them this season and we have yet to record a victory against them. I know that I will be cast in the role of villain in terms of looking for excuses but I don't see how anyone with any knowledge of football could look at those 3 previous matches and say that we didn't deserve to take more from them."
A victory on Saturday wouldn't, of course, erase those three defeats from the memory but it would go some small way to make up for them. Given how the three previous games went I think we take a little extra satisfaction from a victory tomorrow."
"We will basically be going into this game with the same squad that we had for last week's game at Airdrie United. Although Martyn Corrigan is once again nearing full fitness this game probably comes just a wee bit too soon for him. Elsewhere those players on the injured list last week remain injured this week. There will once again be places in the squad for Kieran Burns, who made his debut at Airdrie, and Ross McGeough. There will also be places in the squad for Kris Doolan and Paddy Boyle who returned from their loan spells at Clyde last week."
"A little earlier this week I spent a few days down in England looking at players and trying to sort out the kind of deals that would allow us to bring these players to Firhill without costing us too much. It proved to be a more than worthwhile exercise. I saw 2 or 3 players that would certainly be capable of doing a job for us and, more importantly, that we might be able to bring here. I'll certainly be making be making a similar trip in the near future."
Partick Thistle Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 0 4 2 6
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Liam Buchanan 14
Simon Donnelly 9
Paul Cairney 8
Mark Corcoran 4
Bryan Hodge 3
Chris Erskine 3
Steve Lovell 3
Jamie Adams 2
Kris Doolan 2
Jim Hamilton 2
Alan Archibald 1
Paul Paton 1
David Rowson 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 3rd 2010
Airdrie United 2, Partick Thistle 0
Dundee Stats
Current Form - Last Five Games
W D L F A
1 2 2 6 7
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Leigh Griffiths 19
Gary Harkins 17
Colin McMenamin 8
Sean Higgins 6
Craig Forsyth 6
Mickael Antoine-Curier 3
Ben Hutchinson 2
Eddie Malone 2
Colin Cameron 1
Pat Clarke 1
Brian Kerr 1
Gary MacKenzie 1
Eric Paton 1
Own Goal 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 3rd 2010
Dundee 3, Ayr United 0
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday February 20th 2010
Dundee 1, Partick Thistle 0
Teams
Dundee: Douglas, Paton, Malone, Klimpl, MacKenzie, Lauchlan, Forsyth, Kerr, Griffiths, Hutchinson (McMenamin), Harkins.
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Conroy, Shields, Robertson, Archibald, Cairney (McKeown), McNamara, Buchanan (Donnelly), Lovell, Hodge (Erskine).
Scorer
Dundee: Paton (6)
Crowd: 5,216
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 10th 2010
Partick Thistle v Dundee
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults: £16
OAP/Full time Education/16-21: £11
Under 16s: FREE
Other First Division Fixtures
Ayr United v Dunfermline Athletic
Queen of the South v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Match Officials
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly
Assistant Referees: Brian McGarry and John McCrossan
