Match Preview
Tonight we once again turn our attention towards cup football as we take on Third Division Forfar Athletic in an ALBA Challenge Cup Second Round tie.
There are more than a few familiar faces in and around Station Park. On the playing side of things former Jags Darren Brady and Graham Gibson are part of the Station Park set up and the Forfar manager is, of course, former Thistle gaffer Dick Campbell. In addition to the two aforementioned players Campbell has a wealth of experience in his squad including the likes of Chris Templeman and Andy Tod and he was recently able to acquire the services, on loan from Dundee, of Bryan Deasley.
Forfar are among the favourites to win this season's Third Division title and with four points from the opening two games it would seem that Forfar have every right to view the remainder of this season with some optimism.
Despite Thistle sitting two division's above Forfar our first trip to Station Park in over three years is unlikely to be anything other than very difficult indeed a fact that Thistle manager Ian McCall was quick to emphasis when www.ptfc.co.uk caught up with him earlier this morning.
"Tonight's game with Forfar is going to be a really tough one. That's not just because they are managed by Dick Campbell but because you rarely, if ever, get an easy game at Station Park. They have a good squad of players and we will need to produce a good performance to make it through to the next round."
"At the moment the Challenge Cup may not seem like the most important tournament but that will all change as the competition progresses. If, for example, we were to reach the final and play Dundee in front of about 6,000 Jags fans it would seem like an important competition then. There's no question, therefore, that we will be travelling to Station Park determined to make it through to the next round."
"We want to produce a good performance after Saturday's game against Ross County. That was a poor performance but you really need to have two teams trying to win the game to have a decent match."
"We will be without Stephen McKeown this evening as his red card on Saturday means that he sits this game out rather than our next league game. I'm also going to rest Ian Maxwell and there are one or two other changes that I plan to make and not just because we were poor against Ross County."
"The game will come just a little too early though for Liam Buchanan but the physio still thinks that he should be fine to play against Queen of the South. With the exception then of Liam, Ian Maxwell and Stephen McKeown the full squad will be travelling up to Station Park for this game."
Thistle Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Liam Buchanan 3
Chris Erskine 2
Simon Donnelly
Bryan Hodge 1
Last Match
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday August 15th 2009
Partick Thistle 0, Ross County 0
Forfar Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Martyn Fotheringham 3
Ross Campbell 2
Ian Campbell 1
Bryan Deasley 1
Kevin Fotheringham 1
Last Match
Irn-Bru Scottish League Third Division
Saturday August 15th 2009
Forfar Athletic 1, Stranraer 0
Last Meeting
Co-Operative Insurance Cup First Round
August 5th 2008
Partick Thistle 4, Forfar Athletic 3
Teams
Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Storey, Robertson, Twaddle, Rowson, McStay (Harkins), McKeown (Chaplain), McKinlay (Maxwell), Gray, Donnelly.
Forfar: Brown, McNally, Tulloch, Dunn, Ferguson, McLeish, Brady (Fraser), Fotheringham, Smith, Lilley (Duell), Winter.
Scorers
Thistle: McKeown (39), Gray (70 & 97), Chaplain (112)
Forfar: Fotheringham (13), Lilley (65), Smith (103)
Crowd: 1,192
Match Details
ALBA Challenge Cup Second Round
Tuesday August 18th 2009
Forfar Athletic v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Prices
Adults £10
Concessions £6
Travel
By Supporters' Buses
City Centre
5pm: Station Bar
For seats contact Duncan Murray on 07979 496154
Jordanhill (Sharing with North West Bus):
4:45pm: Milngavie Station
5:00pm: Esquire House
5:15pm: Maryhill CC Halls
£16 adults, £8 concessions
Members and non members please book seats by calling Elainne on 07876 755609 or e-mail lainnys@hotmail.com
By Car
There are car parking facilities in adjacent streets to the ground and also in the Market Muir car park.
By Bus
There is a regular service of buses departing from Dundee City Centre into Forfar. The bus station in the town is about half a mile from the ground. There is also a local service.
By Train
The nearest railway station is Dundee (14 miles away) and fans who travel to here should then board a bus for Forfar from the city centre. Arbroath station is also about 14 miles away.
Match Officials
Referee: David Somers
Assistant Referees: Gordon Middleton and Kevin Graham
