31st Jul 1999 Partick Thistle 0 Alloa Athletic 2 (League Cup 1st Round)

matches:1999-00: ← 03game 0405 →

Match Information

58y, 4m, 29d			John Lambie		Terry Christie
Scott Miller; Isaac English
Stevie Dallas; Eddie McGuinness
					Gregor McKechnie 0-1, (77 mins); Gregor McKechnie (0-2, 80 mins)
					Gregor McKechnie
Isaac English (Stevie Dallas, 66 mins); Eric Paton (Richie Newall, 75 mins)					David Menelaws (Gregor McKechnie, 30 mins); Mark Donaghy (Mark Nelson, 66 mins)
20y, 7m, 24d			Kenny Arthur		Mark Cairns former Jag
25y, 11m, 24d			Gavin Duncan		Craig Valentine
29y, 6m, 13d			Des McKeown		Paul McAneny
38y, 3m, 14d			Ray Montgomerie		Davie Beaton
34y, 1m, 23d			Kenny Brannigan		Derek Clark
21y, 7m, 18d			Alan Archibald		Jimmy Boyle former Jag
20y, 11m, 30d			Eric Paton		Mark Wilson
37y, 6m, 28d			Albert Craig		Mark Donaghy former Jag
24y, 2m, 27d			Scott Miller		Willie Irvine
23y, 5m, 13d			Stephen Docherty		Martin Cameron future Jag
27y, 8m, 19d			Isaac English		David Menelaws
27y, 7m, 26d
21y, 4m, 2d			Richie Newall		Ray Sharp
24y, 8m, 29d			Stevie Dallas		Mark Nelson
28y, 5m, 10d			Tom McAllister		Gregor McKechnie

Match Report

TTA report

A shocker of a defeat in the 1st round. Thistle were on top for most of the match with Archibald, Docherty and Craig all missing chances, Alloa scored twice (a harmless effort through Arthur's hands, 77 and from a tight angle off Arthur's legs, 80) to s(t)eal the win. “We were lethargic, stale and a little bit dead” (Lambie).

Media report

02-Aug-1999, Daily Record

LAMBIE'S LAMENT AS JAGS SHIP OUT. IF John Lambie fancies a trip to Greenock in the near future, he'd better join the crowds flocking to the Tall Ships Race.

The manager certainly won't be taking Partick to Cappielow for a crack at Morton in the second round of the CIS Cup. That prize was snatched by Alloa with two goals in four minutes from Gregor McKechnie. The double sucker punch ended almost 80 minutes of domination by Thistle - and Lambie was fuming. He reckons he has enough quality players at Firhill to drag the club out of the Second Division this season but insists that any more performances like Saturday's won't be tolerated, particularly the manner in which they lost the second goal. Lambie said: “Somebody's got to win and somebody's got to lose and it just so happened that we lost the game through a crazy goal. Our goalkeeper, Kenny Arthur, said it took a bad bounce but I think I would have saved that ball. Overall I was extremely disappointed because we had shown a crispness before this game and it just wasn't there today. That's the thing that upsets me most. Even so, I am quietly confident that we can get out of this league. But if the players don't perform then it's John Lambie's head and that's as it should be. I've brought these players to the club so I have to take responsibility.”

An inspired substitution by Alloa manager Terry Christie - McKechnie for David Menelaws - sparked new life into his side. The Partick defence blundered in 79 minutes, allowing the sub too much time and space in front of goal, and he took advantage by ramming in a ball that Arthur failed to smother properly. The Jags fans screamed for offside four minutes later when the striker burst through on the left but the linesman's flag stayed down, allowing McKechnie to playfully round Arthur and flick the ball home. The excitement proved too much for manager Christie who reportedly left before the final whistle so he missed seeing man of the match Derek Clark showing off his prize. The midfielder said: “I was awarded a man of the match at the end of last season against Arbroath so it's nice to get another, especially at the start of the season. It boosts your confidence. It's going to be a hard game against Morton but we did well in the pre- season. They are a full-time club as well but we seem to be getting fitter with each game so we'll just carry that on into the next game.”

Stats Watch

● 24-year-old Scott Miller makes his Thistle debut.

● Thistle's joint-record margin of defeat against Alloa Athletic.

● Thistle's 54th League Cup campaign begins and ends on the same day, for the ninth time.

ongoing sequences:

● 4 consecutive competitive appearances for Alan Archibald, 8th May 1999 to date. (Longest run since: Kenny Arthur - 24 games, 28th Nov 1998 to 17th Jul 1999. 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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