Match Preview
We are, across the course of the next few days, going to become very familiar with Queen of the South. This coming Tuesday we will face them at Firhill in the Co-Operative Insurance Cup but first of all tomorrow we take the trip down to Palmerston Park with league points up for grabs.
Both sides have started the league season with two draws and naturally both teams are desperate to collect their first three points tomorrow afternoon. Thistle's chances of doing just that are enhanced by the fact that manager Ian McCall has a full squad to select from. A fact that he revealed to www.ptfc.co.uk shortly before training this morning.
"We had five or six players doubtful after Tuesday's game with Forfar Athletic but all are fine which leaves me with a full squad to pick from which must be the first time I've been in that position since I became manager of Partick Thistle."
"Jonny Tuffey and Alan Archibald picked up knocks against Forfar but are fine as is David Rowson who took a really sore one on his shoulder on Tuesday night. Stephen McKeown is available again following his period of suspension and Liam Buchanan is back in the fold as well."
"Liam will be involved in the 16 but it could be that he will make an impact coming off the bench rather than by starting the game. We have had a problem this week, with it being so wet, in finding suitable grass pitches for training. That's nobody's fault, they've just all been waterlogged. We want to try and avoid Liam and Alan Archibald from training on Astroturf surfaces and without access to a grass surface today we've had to split training. As such Liam hasn't had the opportunity to train with the rest of the squad before tomorrow's game."
"The plan is though for him to be involved tomorrow and then train both Sunday and Monday and be ready to start on Tuesday night."
"I was impressed anyway with the performances of both Kris Doolan and Jim Hamilton on Tuesday at Forfar and the fact that, unlike the tail end of last season, we have options up front means that we don't have to rush Liam back into action. Kris Doolan we feel is a real goal scorer and after scoring regularly during pre-season and again on Tuesday night he deserves his chance."
Queens meantime will be without the injured Gerry McLaughlin and Craig Barr while Neil Scally is awaiting the result of a scan. Stewart Kean and Barry Wilson, who have scored five goals between them thus far this season, are expected to play.
Thistle Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Liam Buchanan 3
Simon Donnelly 2
Chris Erskine 2
Jim Hamilton 2
Paul Cairney 1
Kris Doolan 1
Bryan Hodge 1
Last Match
ALBA Challenge Cup Second Round
Tuesday August 18th 2009
Forfar Athletic 1, Partick Thistle 6
Queen of the South Stats
Scorers Season 2009/2010
Barry Wilson 3
Stewart Kean 2
Paul Burns 1
Derek Holmes 1
Rocco Quinn 1
Steven Tosh 1
Last Match
ALBA Challenge Cup Second Round
Tuesday August 18th 2009
Dunfermline Athletic 1, Queen of the South 2
Last Meeting
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday April 11th 2009
Partick Thistle 0, Queen of the South 2
Teams
Thistle: Tuffey, Storey, Twaddle, Paton, Robertson, Archibald, McKinlay (Akins), Rowson (Maxwell), Doolan, Donnelly (Chaplain), Harkins.
Queen of the South: Robinson, Reid, Harris, McFarlane, Lancaster (Barr), Thomson (McQuilken), Wilson, Scally, O'Connor (Tosh), Dobbie, Burns.
Scorers
Queen of the South: Dobbie (12), Tosh (53)
Crowd: 2,830
Match Det ails
Irn-Bru Scottish League First Division
Saturday August 22nd 2009
Queen of the South v Partick Thistle
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Prices
Adults : £15
Over 65's and Students: £6
Under 17s: £3
(Prices as per official Queen of the South website.)
Travel
By Supporters Bus
City Centre Bus: 11:30 Station Park. Call Duncan Murray on 07979 496 154 for seats.
Jordanhill Bus: Woodend Tennis Club: 12:30, Jordanhill Station 12:35. For seats, members and non members, please call Elainne on 07876 755 609 (evenings - before 9pm).
By Car
The car park may be reached from Portland Drive or King Street and has a capacity for approximately 174 cars. Please note that the car park is closed 30 minutes prior to kick-off.
By Bus
Buses from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayr and Stranraer all pass within a short distance of the park.
By Train
There is a reasonable service to Dumfries Station from Glasgow on Saturdays, but the service is more limited in midweek. The station is about 3/4 mile from the ground.
Starting from 22/08/09 trains will terminate at Kilmarnock with a connecting bus service to Dumfries.
Match Officials
Referee: Charlie Richmond
Assistant Referees: Stephen Mitchell and John McCrossan
