23rd Apr 1994 Aberdeen 2 Partick Thistle 0 (SFL Premier Division - game 40)

matches:1993-94: ← 47game 4849 →

	Willie Miller	John Lambie	53y, 1m, 21d

		no changes
		no changes

Eoin Jess (0-1, 84 mins); Eoin Jess (0-2, 89 mins)

Scott Booth (Mixu Paatelainen, 67 mins); Stephen Wright (Lee Richardson, 79 mins)		Alex Taylor (Callum Milne, HT)

	Theo Snelders	Craig Nelson	22y, 10m, 26d
	Stewart McKimmie	Bobby Law	28y, 3m, 30d
	Stephen Wright	David Byrne	33y, 1m, 18d
	Paul Kane	Gregg Watson	23y, 7m, 2d
	Gary Smith	Willie Jamieson	30y, 11m, 27d
	Brian Irvine	Alex Taylor	31y, 10m, 10d
	Eoin Jess	Ian Cameron [i]	27y, 7m, 30d
	Brian Grant	Albert Craig	32y, 3m, 20d
	Scott Booth	Roddy Grant	27y, 7m, 7d
	Duncan Shearer	Isaac English	22y, 5m, 11d
	Ray McKinnon	Chic Charnley	30y, 10m, 12d

			28y, 4m, 1d

	Derek Stillie	Andy Murdoch	25y, 9m, 3d
	Mixu Paatelainen	Grant Tierney	32y, 6m, 12d
	Lee Richardson	Callum Milne	28y, 7m, 27d

TTA report

1-0 might just have been fair enough but 2-0 was harsh on unchanged Thistle who matched 3rd top Aberdeen for long spells. They seldom looked dangerous until they hit the post the post then scored twice (84 and 89), both begun while Thistle were attacking. They won the points they scarcely deserved on play.

Media report

25-Apr-1994, The Scotsman

PARTICK Thistle manager John Lambie admits to suffering from insomnia at the prospect of seeing the side relegated this season. The sleepless nights will continue for some time yet after this defeat. At least he now knows it was his players, and not the magical properties of a lucky suit, that were responsible for the points the Firhill side gathered recently. “I don’t want to say any more as I am just too sick at the moment,” were the words Lambie used to end the post-match press conference at Pittodrie. The look on his face showed he was not indulging in hyperbole. The irony was that Thistle were just five minutes away from feeling over the moon. Theo Snelders produced two superb saves, and Isaac English missed two marvellous chances, as Aberdeen’s diminishing reputation saw the visitors counter-attack effectively. That good work was undone by two moments of brilliance from Eoin Jess, who scored one goal and created the other to produce a result which flattered Aberdeen.

Lambie remained painfully realistic in his assessment. “It was a nightmare losing those two goals in the last five minutes. At half -time I warned the players that you get punished if you don’t take your chances, and that’s what happened. “Craig Nelson hardly had a save to make, but a couple of players lost concentration and it cost us dearly.” It will cost the club dearly whether they stay up or not, as the Firhill board approved special bonuses for reaching the 36-point mark. This had seemed certain to be the safety barrier earlier in the season, but is now at least four points short of guaranteeing a place in the top ten. Thistle could achieve that this week as they face home games against relegated duo Dundee and Raith Rovers. They should, all the same, beware of complacency, as Hearts last weekend, and Kilmarnock on Saturday, learned that those two clubs are not about to surrender games just because they have surrendered their Prmier places. Nonetheless, striker Roddy Grant believes his manager will be able to look forward to a good night’s sleep next weekend. Grant insisted: “We are still placed ahead of some of our rivals in the relegation battle and we have three of our four games to play at home. We also have the players who have proved they can handle the pressure in the past. If we win our games against relegated clubs this week I’m sure it will be good enough to keep us up.//”

Aberdeen now look good enough to go on and clinch a UEFA Cup place following their first win in seven matches. The opening goal from Jess brought a transformation in the players’ confidence which they will hope to sustain at Tynecastle in midweek. It was also a case of cancelling out another superstition, as Stewart McKimmie finally won a game as Aberdeen captain at the seventh attempt. He admitted: “That felt as good as winning a cup final as I had been taking a lot of stick and could have gone down as the only person never to have captained Aberdeen to victory.”

match hubs

match

The Thistle Archive

Partick Thistle stats and stories 1876 to date