Sat 29 July, 2017
Betfred Cup 
Firhill StadiumBetfred Cup
Sat 29 July, 2017. Kick Off: - 15:00
Firhill Stadium
Fixture details:
Admission Prices:
Adults – £10
Concessions – £5
A concession qualifies as a person aged under 16, 65 or over or disabled.
Thistle season ticket holders can watch this game absolutely FREE
PlayerZone:
There is no PlayerZone at this fixture. Junior Jags can meet the first team squad at Sunday’s Open Day.
Aitken Suite:
Opens to all supporters at 12:00
Blast from the Past
24th April 1971
Half Time Legend performing 50/50 draw:
Robert Dunn
Programme:
Available around Firhill for only £2.
The Betfred Cup group stages have proven to be a tricky test for Alan Archibald’s side as they gear up for the Ladbrokes Premiership campaign beginning next Saturday at Easter Road.
The Jags can clinch a slot in the last 16 of the competition with victory against Stranraer at Firhill tomorrow afternoon.
Manager Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk after training concluded on Friday afternoon with the squad ready for a tough final test in Group H.
“We’re ready to take on Stranraer tomorrow and the players know that if we win we’ll be in the next round of the competition. There will be no nervous waiting for other results to creep through, we know that if we win, we’re in which is the position we want to be in.
“Ideally, we’d have won the group but credit to Livingston, they won all three of their group games after beating us on penalties to finish as group winners. We know that we can qualify as best runners up tomorrow, although that means we won’t be seeded. We won all four group games last season and were seeded but drew Dundee United so it shows you the tough ties you can get on both sides of the draw.”
Stranraer haven’t picked up a point in the Betfred Cup so far but Archie knows the squad will be fired up ahead of the trip to face Premiership opposition. A strong start will be needed to stop any nerves creeping around the stadium.
“Stranraer haven’t had the results they wanted so far in the group but they won’t need any motivation for tomorrow’s game. They have a number of players who have played at a higher level and will want to show that they can still perform against a high quality of opponent.
“It’s an opportunity for them to showcase what they can do. They’ll come and play without any fear to give it a go at Firhill. We’ll have to be strong and focussed on the task in hand to give ourselves the best chance to do what we want to achieve.
Abdul Osman returns from suspension and the gaffer admits that it is likely to be more of the same from the squad on Saturday.
“Abdul comes back into contention after his suspension but the squad is the same as the one that took on Airdrie on Tuesday. We were hoping to use this group to give some of the youngsters more game time but we’ve been in a position where we’ve had to win every game. We need to get the games won before we bring on young player.
“James Penrice started against Airdrie on Tuesday and did really well in what was a tough battle. He hasn’t done his chances any harm and he is the example for the other young players in how they can give me good selection headaches.”
More exclusive preview interviews with Abdul Osman as well as Jags gaffer Alan Archibald are now available to Jagzone subscribers. Log in now to see them. Jagzone members will also be able to watch highlights of the game.
Can’t make it to Firhill? Jagzone members can listen to live audio commentary of the match. JagZoneLIVE begins at 2:30
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Alan has committed, will you join him? 2017/18 season tickets are still on sale.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
After procuring just a single point from their opening Betfred Cup fixture of the season, Partick Thistle have bounced back impressively. A 5-0 win over St. Mirren and a narrow 2-1 victory against Airdrieonians meant that all the Maryhill men needed from today’s clash with Stranraer to ensure progression, despite being unable to top the group, was a win. Stranraer came into the fixture off the back of three losses in three games so far in the competition meaning they had absolutely no chance of getting through to the next round regardless of their result today.
Alan Archibald made three changes to the side who won at the Excelsior in midweek. James Penrice, Ryan Edwards and Kris Doolan all dropped to the bench while Abdul Osman, Stuart Bannigan and Kevin Nisbet came into the starting XI. Kevin Nisbet was started to give the young striker the chance to impress from the start while Doolan was rested. Niall Keown was fit enough to make the bench after training for a couple of days since the Airdrie clash but wasn’t quite ready to go in from kick-off.
The Jags got things underway but were given an early warning sign when Stephen Okoh got in behind Adam Barton and shot a low effort across goal. Tomas Cerny had it covered, though, and held at the first attempt.
Despite dominating possession, Thistle were struggling to create many opportunities and saw their goal under threat once again in the 11th minute. A Stranraer corner was whipped in from the Blues’ right and it was flicked on at the front post. Stephen Okoh was the man looking to get on the end of it but the number 14 couldn’t reach the ball after getting away from his man.
Thistle continued to command control of the ball without creating much as they seemed to miss the guile and in-box movement of Kris Doolan. They did finally create their first good chance in the 35th minute through Christie Elliott. The ex-Whitley Bay player was fed the ball by Chris Erskine after which he decided to strike the ball on the bounce. His shot was powerful and dipping but looped just over the Stranraer goal.
The Jags would have one more opportunity to score before the break as Steven Lawless picked the ball up in the defensive half and drove forward. He threatened to offload the ball a few times but continued forward with the ball himself before unleashing a shot. He rather cut across the ball and saw his shot curl the wrong way and wide of the post just before the half time whistle.
The score was 0-0 at half time and it was a frustrating half for the Thistle players and fans alike. A compact Stranraer side were making it very difficult to create anything but with players like Kris Doolan and Ryan Edwards on the Jags’ bench Alan Archibald had plenty of scope for change in the second 45 and just eight minutes of the second period gone, that change came as Doolan replaced Kevin Nisbet.
Doolan almost made an instant impact as well as just a minute after coming on he had a chance to open the scoring. A Blair Spittal cross was headed partially clear by a Stranraer defender but the clearance fell straight to Doolan, eight yards out. He took a touch and shot but his shot was blocked at close range.
The substitution improved the team tenfold and Thistle suddenly looked much more dangerous with the ball. An example of this amplified danger in possession came in the 58th minute when Blair Spittal was able to take down a long ball from the back and hold it up as he waited for support. The former Queen’s Park man then laid it off for Chris Erskine but the number ten then blazed a left-footed effort well over the bar from 20 yards.
Chris Erskine had another opportunity in the 65th minute. Steven Lawless expertly found Callum Booth with an incisive ball towards the by-line which the left-back latched onto the pass and cut the ball back towards Chris Erskine with a first time cross. Erskine then attempted an acrobatic shot but he missed the ball and it ricocheted off his body, going out for a goal kick.
As the final whistle got closer, Alan Archibald made two further substitutions in an attempt to give his attack some more variance and energy. Neil McLaughlin and Ryan Edwards came on for Stuart Bannigan and Steven Lawless.
With the minutes slowly dwindling away, it was looking as if the game might have to go to penalties which would mean Thistle would be relying on other results to get through. Late attempts from Ryan Edwards and Neil McLaughlin missed the target and it felt as if the goal wasn’t going to come, however, in the 87th minute the Jags got their goal.
Neil McLaughlin picked up the ball at the corner of the box and lifted a ball into the six-yard area. Under pressure, Stranraer ‘keeper Max Currie failed to claim the cross and the ball fell to Christie Elliott. The right-back then stroked home at the near post to bag his first goal since November 2014 and netting the winner that would see Thistle into the last 16 of the Betfred Cup.
The cheers at the final whistle were more of relief than of joy but the team had won nonetheless and are now in tomorrow night’s draw for the next round of the Betfred Cup with just two games between the team and Hampden.
Thistle now put their cup aspirations on the backburner as they look towards their league opener against Hibs next weekend at Easter Road. Kick-off is at 15:00 on Saturday.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
With the final Betfred Cup game of the group stages today, Partick Thistle knew their position going into the fixture. After a disappointing draw with Livingston followed by a penalty shootout defeat by the Lions, it was imperative that the Jags bounced back and that they did. A 5-0 win over St. Mirren and a slightly tighter affair against Airdrie where the Firhill side came out 2-1 victors meant that it was clear what was needed from their clash with Stranraer.
Livingston had topped the group, confirmed with a midweek win, however three points for Thistle would undoubtedly be enough to see them through as one of four best runners up from the group stages. The match was a nervy one in which the Blues defended well but a late Christie Elliott strike saw the Jags through. Thistle boss Alan Archibald spoke to ptfc.co.uk following the tense encounter.
Despite a less than ideal performance from his team, Archie knows that the most important thing coming out of the game was the win.
“We’re glad to be through. At the end of the day, we got the job done and won the game. We made heavy work of it but we’ve seen a few big teams lose games you’d expect them to win so I’m glad that we got over the line in the end.”
Alan’s side struggled to break down a resolute Stranraer team but the gaffer knew that the Blues were going to play in a reserved manner and believes his team can’t use that as an excuse for their lack of incision.
“It was down to us to break them down and we weren’t good enough in the final third. Stranraer deserve plenty of credit because they were very well-organised and made it difficult for us. I was disappointed that we didn’t cause them as many problems as I’d hoped we could. I thought our movement of the ball was very pedestrian in the first half and every player seemed to take a touch too many which let them recover whenever we did create some space.”
After that lacklustre first half performance, Archie spoke to his players during the break and was pleased to see some improvement for the second 45.
“I thought we played at a higher tempo in the second half and our full-backs were getting much further up the park but, frustratingly, we still weren’t hurting the Stranraer defence enough. Thankfully, we did get that goal in the end and I was pleased to see that young Neil McLaughlin was involved as I thought his play was very good when he came on.”
After getting a taste of a cup run last season in the Scottish Cup, Alan is keen to take his side even further this year as he hasn’t got a great record in the domestic cups.
“We got a wee taste of it last year when we got a fairly kind draw against Formartine and then put in a great performance against St. Johnstone before Aberdeen put us out. We want to go on in this competition too although we aren’t seeded but that isn’t the be all and end all as we were seeded last year and went out in the first round after the group stages.”
The Jags boss said that although Stuart Bannigan took a bang to the knee and was later subbed off, there is nothing to worry about from an injury point of view.
“He took a hit to his knee but it was just a collision and it was his other knee so there’s no cause for concern there though I know that some of the fans might have been worried when they saw him holding that part of his leg. We took him off because we didn’t want him to pull a muscle as later in the game, Stranraer were trying to hit us on the counter and Stuart was chasing everything so we just wanted to take him off so he didn’t push himself that bit too far.”
Arguably, Thistle’s most impressive summer signing was that of Niall Keown. The central-defender re-joined on a permanent deal, penning a two-year contract. An injury has meant he’s yet to appear for Thistle this season but Archie says that he isn’t far from making his second debut.
“Niall isn’t too far away. He’s been training for the last couple of days and the plan was to bring him on if we were in a comfortable position but it wasn’t to be because we had to bring attacking players on.”
Alan now turns his attention to the opening game of the Ladbrokes Premiership season as he must prepare his side for an opening day trip to Easter Road to take on Hibs. Kick-off is 15:00 next Saturday.
A more in depth video interview with Alan Archibald is available now to Jagzone subscribers and will be followed by reaction from Christie Elliott and Stuart Bannigan. Log in now to see it as soon as it is available.
Jagzone subscribers can rewatch the full 90 minutes at 10pm.
Highlights will be added at midnight and will be free for Jagzone subscribers.
For a full list of all the great content you can access from just £5.99 per month as a Jagzone member, click here.
Alan has committed, will you join him? 2017/18 season tickets remain on sale.
Article Copyright © 2017. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to ptfc.co.uk.
