Match Preview
Tomorrow we make our first trip to Stark's Park for over three years. Our last trip to Kirkcaldy was a Second Division fixture played in front of paltry crowd. Much has changed at both clubs in the intervening period. Both clubs were on a low ebb three and a half years ago but not only is tomorrow's match a First Division fixture the home side, thanks to an unbeaten start to the league campaign, actually top the division.
There is little doubt, therefore, that we will face a not inconsiderable task in collecting maximum points but it is a game that manager Ian McCall was clearly relishing when www.ptfc.co.uk caught up with him.
"Saturday's game is a really big one for us and with a large Thistle support sure to make the trip to Fife it is a match that we are really looking forward to. Raith Rovers have made an excellent start to the season but a victory for us against them would take us above them in the league table."
"Our last league game saw us beat Morton 5-0 and we want to try and build of the momentum that that result gave us. We had a game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle last Sunday and I felt we took the momentum from the Morton match into that game. Although we eventually lost on penalties I thought, the first 25 minutes aside which I was disappointed about, that we played well and against a side that are thought of as one of the favourites I thought we were much the better side. Their manager Terry Butcher said as much to the press after the match. Their goalkeeper was inspired during the game as he was also in the penalty shoot out. I was happy too with the way Craig Hinchcliffe played in that match."
"As disappointed as we were to lose that match it wasn't the end of the world and it was, as I have previously said, a continuation of the good form that we had showed against Morton. I don't think that we have done too much wrong so far this season but with Liam Buchanan back we have an added cutting edge to our play."
To finish up Ian was able to provide us with the latest team news and an update on the virus that affected the club earlier in the week.
"Stephen McKeown will miss out again this weekend while Paddy Boyle, Willie Kinniburgh. Liam Buchanan, Mark Corcoran and Ricky Little all missed training in the first part of the week as they were suffering from a virus. Coco (Mark Corcoran) was the first to pick it up and it spread around a bit. The good news though is that all the affected players reported for training on Thursday and after getting a good sweat on during training will hopefully have had a good night's sleep and are well on the road to recovery. We anticipate that they would all be fine to play on Saturday."
Thistle Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Liam Buchanan 6
Simon Donnelly 3
Paul Cairney 2
Mark Corcoran 2
Chris Erskine 2
Jim Hamilton 2
Kris Doolan 1
Bryan Hodge 1
David Rowson 1
Last Game
ALBA Challenge Cup Quarter-Final
Partick Thistle 1, Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1
Inverness won 4-3 on penalties
Raith Rovers Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Allan Walker 3
Iain Wiliamson 3
Damian Casalinuovo 1
Laurie Ellis 1
Dougie Hill 1
Grant Murray 1
Gregory Tade 1
Last Game
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday August 29th 2009
Dunfermline Athletic 0, Raith Rovers 2
Last Meeting
Scottish League Second Division
Tuesday March 21st 2006
Raith Rovers 1, Partick Thistle 2
Teams
Raith Rovers: Brown, Lyle, McLeod, Bonar, Campbell, Lumsden, Fairbairn, McManus, Clarke (Jablonski), Davidson, Ellis (Adam)
Thistle: Arthur, Murray, McCulloch, B Gibson, Boyd (Snowdon), Hodge, J Gibson, Gillies, Ritchie (Strachan), Roberts, Nicholas.
Scorers
Raith Rovers: Lumsden (85)
Thistle: Hodge (48), J Gibson (90)
Crowd: 1,112
Match Details
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday September 12th 2009
Raith Rovers v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Thistle supporters will be located in the McDermid Stand (North Stand).
Prices are as follows:
Adults: £16.00
Under 16s and over 60s: £8
Parent & Child: £19.00
Disabled persons, wheelchair and ambulant, are admitted at half price with their carer free of charge at the Disabled gate.
Students: £12
Tickets can be purchased from the Ticket office adjacent to the Main Stand with a valid Matriculation card
Jobseekers: £8
Tickets can be purchased from the Ticket office adjacent to the Main Stand with a valid Jobseekers Booklet
Travel
By Supporters Bus
Jordanhill Bus
Bus for Raith Rovers leaves Woodend Tennis Club at 11.30 and in addition pick up at Jordanhill Station 5 minutes later. We aim to be there around 1.00 for lunch at Kirkcaldy Rugby Club.
Could everyone (including members) please book seats in advance.
To book seats contact Elainne on 07876 755609 (evenings - before 9pm) or text / email lainnys@hotmail.com during daytime, non-members welcome.
If you would like to see your bus details included here then please e-mail mail@ptfc.co.uk
By Car
Car parking is available in the Esplanade, which is on the south side of the ground and in Beveridge Park, which is on the north side of the ground.
By Bus
The main bus station in Kirkcaldy is also within l5 minutes walking distance of the ground, but the Edinburgh, Dunfermline and Leven services pass close by the park.
By Train
Kirkcaldy Railway Station is served by trains from Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow (via Edinburgh) and the ground is within 10-15 minutes walking distance of the station.
Other First Division Fixtures
Ayr United v Airdrie United
Dundee v Dunfermline Athletic
Morton v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Ross County v Queen of the South
Match Officials
Referee: Frank McDermott
Assistant Referees: Steven Craven and Steven McFaulds
