28th Nov 1998 Partick Thistle 1 Livingston 3 (SFL Second Division - game 17)

matches:1998-99: ← 22game 2324 →

Match Information

38y, 10m, 1d			Tommy Bryce		Ray Stewart
Kenny Arthur; David Kennedy; Kevin Gaughan; Jamie McKenzie; Robert Dunn
Stevie Ross; Steven Bonar; Lee Dair; Tommy Callaghan; Willie Callaghan
Robert Dunn (1-2, 77 mins)					Derek Fleming (0-1, 38 mins); Jim Sherry (0-2, 59 mins); John Robertson (1-3, 85 mins)
Paul McDonald (Craig Flannigan, 64 mins); Jamie McKenzie (Sammy Johnston, 79 mins); Paul Tosh (Tommy Bryce, 87 mins)					Brian McPhee (Mark McCormick, 70 mins); Derek Fleming (Ian Little, 78 mins)
19y, 11m, 21d			Kenny Arthur		Neil Alexander
32y, 1m, 21d			David Kennedy		Gregg Watson former Jag
28y, 10m, 10d			Des McKeown		Paul Deas future Jag
20y, 11m, 15d			Alan Archibald		Allan McManus
35y, 7m, 1d			Willie Jamieson		John Millar
20y, 8m, 22d			Kevin Gaughan		Jimmy Boyle former Jag
24y, 0m, 28d			Graham Connell		Charlie King
17y, 11m, 30d			Jamie McKenzie		Derek Fleming future Jag
25y, 1m, 10d			Paul Tosh		Jim Sherry
19y, 5m, 0d			Robert Dunn		John Robertson
30y, 7m, 8d			Paul McDonald		Brian McPhee
25y, 0m, 14d
25y, 9m, 17d			Craig Flannigan		Frank Conway
38y, 10m, 1d			Tommy Bryce		Ian Little
31y, 7m, 15d			Sammy Johnston		Mark McCormick

Match Report

TTA report

7 straight defeats. Ominously for Bryce, the chairman made it clear that 10 of the starters at Arbroath were his signings. Thistle started brightly and Jamieson saw his header well saved but top of the table Livingston went 2-up just after half-time. Dunn pulled 1 back (77) but it finished 3-1. Down to 6th, 18 points adrift.

Media report

20-Nov-1998, Daily Record

FLEE CIRCUS; Jags Boss Runs Foul of the Fans. Troubled Tommy Bryce was given a vote of confidence after Partick Thistle's seventh defeat in a row. But chairman Brown McMaster's message of support sounded like a judge sentencing a luckless man to a long stretch in jail. You can't help feeling sorry for Bryce. What a thankless task it must be to boss this dinosaur of Scottish football. Having to bear the burden of decades of financial mismanagement by a football club that is still dear to many people is not an easy task. And this thumping by leaders Livingston will figure near the top of Bryce's list of hated Saturday afternoons.

Halfway through the match Partick's disgruntled fans in the 2341 crowd began chanting ‘Bryce must go’ - but that was not the worst scenario of a wretched day for him. Before the match had even started, McMaster begged the supporters to note that the manager had spent all his agreed budget of pounds 300,000 and it was now up to him to prove himself. Later in the game Bryce was also subjected to the dubious distinction of actually being booed ONTO the park when he chose to put himself on with four minutes left. And afterwards he'd obviously had enough, bolting red-faced past waiting media, out the back door of the archaic ground and halfway up the road like a rat jumping a sinking ship. If only. Bryce will have to take the flak again next Saturday and the next one until fans realise that his deficiencies are just the tip of a very big iceberg.

Partick failed to invest when at the peak of their power and sadly there is not much one mere mortal will be able to do to arrest the alarming slide of this once famous football club. At the end of the game McMaster said: “The budget is spent. Tommy is quite happy with that. There is no animosity. The manager's job is not in doubt. This year was always going to be difficult for us. I don't think people actually realise how bad the crisis was for us last year. If we were any other business we would no longer be alive.”

Partick fans will now meet the board on December 1 for what promises to be a stormy affair. They'll be stung by the choir of Livingston fans who sang ‘You are going down with the Forfar’. Sadly, that is now a realistic scenario for a team who were in the Premier League only a few years ago. The ultimate irony was that Livingston, a side now paying some of the highest wages outwith the Premier League, almost went bust last season too. They appear to have turned thing around and are certainly doing the business well enough on the park.

Livingston took the lead in 38 minutes when Derek Fleming, their new signing from Dundee, ripped a beautiful left-foot drive across the goal and into the far corner. In 59 minutes another former top flight player, John Millar, hit a post and had another shot cleared before outstanding skipper Jim Sherry rattled in the second. Partick's Robert Dunn hauled one back after breaking through the static Livvy defence. But then former Scotland international John Robertson was presented with a chance in the 85th minute after a mistake by Willie Jamieson. Robbo, who Livvy landed after offering more that Hibs for his services, calmly stroked the ball beyond the keeper with his customary ease.

Former Celtic director Dominic Keane came into the ailing West Lothian club last summer, invested, made plans, bought players and set Premier League ambitions. Oh, how Partick need someone as keen as Keane and with equally deep pockets. Defender Gregg Watson was snapped up by Livingston in the summer from Partick after five years at Firhill. He shared the frustrations of his former team, despite cherishing his new life at Almondvale. Watson said: “When I was in the Premier League with Partick, I don't think anyone envisaged such a dramatic decline for the club. It must be disappointing for the supporters. Last season we had to fight to survive. Now, even if someone came in with money to invest, there is no guarantees that they will flourish again.”

Livvy boss Ray Stewart was delighted to keep things going at the top. He said: “We expected Partick to make it tough because we are the team that everyone wants to beat in this league. But we earned the three points.”

Stats Watch

ongoing sequences:

● 7 competitive games without a win, 17th Oct 1998 to date. (Longest run since: 10 games, 24th Jan 1998 to 28th Mar 1998. Club-record: 26 games, 28th Nov 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 7 consecutive competitive defeats, 17th Oct 1998 to date. (Longest run since: 8 defeats, 9th Jan 1990 to 3rd Mar 1990. Club-record: 14 defeats, 3rd Jan 1898 to 15th Oct 1898.)

● 7 consecutive League defeats; 17th Oct 1998 to date. (Longest run since: 7 defeats; 9th Jan 1990 to 3rd Mar 1990. Club-record: 12 defeats; 27th Feb 1909 to 25th Aug 1909.)

● 7 League games without a win; 17th Oct 1998 to date. (Longest run since: 9 games; 31st Jan 1998 to 28th Mar 1998. Club-record: 26 games; 28th Nov 1908 to 2nd Oct 1909.)

● 18 consecutive competitive appearances for Graham Connell, 1st Aug 1998 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Martin Lauchlan - 19 games, 21st Mar 1998 to 11th Oct 1998. 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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