13th Dec 1997 Partick Thistle 1 Raith Rovers 3 (SFL First Division - game 17)

matches:1997-98: ← 21game 2223 →

Match Information

40y, 10m, 18d			John McVeigh		Jimmy Nicholl
no changes
no changes
Alan Morgan (1-3, pen 80 mins)					Paul Browne (0-1, 36 mins); Keith Wright (0-2, 70 mins); Keith Wright (0-3, 71 mins)
Kevin Gaughan; David Farrell					Craig Dargo
					Paul Hartley (@ 0-2, 79 mins)
Gareth Evans (Alex Martin, 64 mins); Jimmy Boyle (Iain Nicolson, 69 mins)					Craig Dargo (Lee Dair, 78 mins); Kevin Twaddle (Greig McCulloch, 86 mins)
19y, 0m, 6d			Kenny Arthur		Guido Van De Kamp
27y, 2m, 22d			Gregg Watson		Kevin Fotheringham
31y, 1m, 24d			Andy Lyons		Craig McEwan
20y, 0m, 0d			Alan Archibald		Paul Browne
19y, 9m, 7d			Kevin Gaughan		Scott Thomson
28y, 1m, 14d			David Farrell		John Millar
30y, 9m, 24d			Jimmy Boyle		Danny Lennon future Jag
17y, 0m, 14d			Jamie McKenzie		Paul Hartley
30y, 10m, 29d			Gareth Evans		Craig Dargo future Jag
28y, 10m, 5d			Nicky Henderson		Keith Wright
23y, 0m, 3d			Alan Morgan		Kevin Twaddle
25y, 0m, 29d
21y, 2m, 0d			Iain Nicolson		Greig McCulloch
18y, 3m, 25d			Alex Martin		Lee Dair future Jag
21y, 2m, 0d			Jered Stirling		Derek McGill

notes

The OH quotes two scorers for this one goal; Alan Morgan and Nicky Henderson. Our press cutting (possibly GH) says it was Alan Morton! Lawdy. Boldly, we have concluded that it must be Alan Morgan.

Match Report

TTA report

Boyle fired a pen wide (15) when Thistle were on top. Rovers scored with a header (possibly og, 36). Thistle chased the game but 2 quick goals (header, 72 and lob, 73) killed them off. Morgan scored with a dubious penalty (80) and Rovers went down to 10 men (dissent, 81). They went 2nd top, Thistle went bottom.

Media report

15-Dec-1997, The Mirror

Raith Rovers boss Jimmy Nicholl was raging after seeing Paul Hartley blow a fuse at the ref and then being given his marching orders. Nicholl vowed his midfielder will be stung in the pocket for protesting at referee John Fleming's controversial decision to give Thistle a penalty 11 minutes from time. He said: “Paul said something and he will be fined for definite. You just can't get away with that type of thing.” It was the only dark cloud for Rovers after they went second in the table with a superbly poised victory over the Jags. The points were wrapped up in the second-half by two goals in a minute by Keith Wright, who's hoping the strikes will keep him in the side. He said: “Hopefully I've done enough to keep my place. I've been working hard in training and it's always disappointing not to get a game.” His first was an exquisitely placed header from an inch perfect Craig McEwan cross and the second was a neat lob after a defensive error left him clear. But it was Paul Browne's header in the first-half that put Rovers on the road to victory. Browne said: “It's my first goal at senior level and I've been getting pelters from the lads in the dressing-room. So I didn't have a celebration planned, I just ran around with my hands in the air.”

Opinion was divided between the camps over the award of Partick's second penalty, which seemed harsh on Rovers after Guido Van De Kamp appeared to save cleanly at the feet of sub Iain Nicolson. Alan Morgan blasted the spot-kick into the roof of the net for a consolation goal. But everyone seemed to agree that the game's turning point was Thistle's penalty awarded after just 17 minutes - stroked past the post by Jimmy Boyle. Firhill boss John McVeigh, said: “The lad will learn with experience but he's got to say to himself that he needs to hit the target. I can't believe we lost 3-1. I was not that impressed with Rovers for all the money they have spent. The only difference with them was they had a bit of guile about them. We need to try to make our boys into men.”

Stats Watch

● 28-year-old David Farrell plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 19 consecutive competitive appearances for Jimmy Boyle, 2nd Aug 1997 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Charlie Adams - 22 games, 12th Apr 1997 to 29th Nov 1997. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

Stats Watch adheres to our stated definitions of League, League Max, Major Competitive, Competitive or All Games. Where there is no written qualification, you should presume that the Stat in question is compiled from the All Games criteria.

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