4th Nov 2000 Partick Thistle 2 Queen's Park 1 (SFL Second Division - game 13)

matches:2000-01: ← 18game 1920 →

59y, 8m, 2d	John Lambie	John McCormack former Jag

no changes
no changes

Martin Hardie (1-0, 11 mins); Scott McLean (2-1, 36 mins)		Mark Gallagher (1-1, 24 mins)


Scott McLean (Derek Lyle, 67 mins); David McCallum (Sandy Stewart, 76 mins); Peter Lindau (Ian Cameron [i], 80 mins)		Frankie Carrol (Ryan Scobie, 51 mins); Graham Connell (Stewart Orr, 88 mins)

21y, 10m, 28d	Kenny Arthur	Gordon Bruce
23y, 1m, 28d	David McCallum	Danny Ferry
22y, 10m, 22d	Alan Archibald	Mark Travers
24y, 0m, 6d	Stephen Craigan	Denis Connaghan future Jag
22y, 3m, 24d	Jamie Smith	Stephen Marshall
29y, 7m, 25d	Mark McNally	Graham Duncan
35y, 10m, 10d	Allan Moore	Kevin Finlayson
31y, 6m, 29d	Danny Lennon	Graham Connell former Jag
24y, 4m, 18d	Scott McLean	Mark Gallagher
24y, 6m, 13d	Martin Hardie	Greg Miller
27y, 10m, 26d	Peter Lindau	Frankie Carrol

26y, 2m, 14d

20y, 11m, 28d	Michael Brown	Allan Smith
35y, 0m, 21d	Sandy Stewart	Willie Martin
19y, 8m, 22d	Derek Lyle	Ryan Scobie
34y, 2m, 11d	Ian Cameron [i]	Stewart Orr
30y, 9m, 17d	Des McKeown	Colin Fisher

TTA report

What 1st v 2nd lacked in skill, it made up for in effort and excitement. McLean held the ball up and touched it to Hardie to smash home (11). Queens sent a 25-yarder just over then they almost scored an og. A shot from the edge of the box (24) made it 1-1 but Mclean knocked in mishit shot/pass by Moore (36).

Media report

06-Nov-2000, Daily Record

LAMBIE TOP GUNS DO THEIR WORST. JOHN LAMBIE insisted he was delighted to see his Jags stretch their lead at the top of the table - but admitted the performance had been the worst of the season. Manager Lambie again deployed the three-at-the-back system which has seen Thistle collect 13 out of a possible 15 points in their last five games. And first-half goals by Martin Hardie and Scott McLean saw them consolidate their position as Division Two leaders. But speaking to the newly-crowned Bell's Manager of the Month after the match, you'd have thought his defence had just leaked a barrowload of goals. He said “That's the worst we've played all season. Queen's Park deserve credit because they worked hard and we had to grind out a result. We sat back too deep but it's not a bad day when you can play like that and go further in front at the top of the league.” Lambie revealed that match-winner McLean made the starting line-up only after passing a late fitness test. He said: “He played when he maybe shouldn't have because he was carrying a calf injury. Mark McNally was superb. It's working better at the back and we've signed Mark until the end of the season. I still feel we're not right and I need two or three more players. I'm a guy who keeps at directors and I'll be looking at a couple of foreigners this week. I've been looking at players over the past fortnight and I know who I want to bring in. We need a big pool because I'm a great believer in rest - there's no point in flogging a dead horse.”

The victory also capped a marvellous week for Player of the Month McLean. His strike took his goal tally to an incredible nine in eight games. Not since the days of Mo Johnston have the Jags fans awarded cult hero status to a striker. His nickname, Trigger, has even prompted calls for the teams to come on to the park to the Only Fools and Horses theme. McLean said: “The fans have been brilliant and I'm really enjoying playing for Thistle. To have scored 11 goals already feels pretty good but puts the pressure on me to keep it up. But I didn't really enjoy today's game - it was murder. I injured a calf in training on Thursday night and the physio was giving me treatment right up until kick-off. I had to come off in 66 minutes as a precautionary measure.”

Playing in front of a 4035 crowd, both sides were keen to prove there's more to life in Glasgow than the Old Firm. And Thistle couldn't have asked for a better start after only 11 minutes. Allan Moore's throw-in was collected by Peter Lindau and as Hardie and McLean waited in the box, Hardie reacted quickest to the Swede's throughball to stab it in from six yards. The Spiders equalised 13 minutes later but referee Cammy Melville's decision to award the goal was shrouded in controversy. Thistle's defence stood static expecting to hear the whistle for Mark Gallagher's foul on Alan Archibald. But Melville waved play on and Gallagher latched on to the loose ball to fire a low shot past Kenny Arthur into the corner of the net. That brought furious protests from Danny Lennon but the former Northern Ireland international replied by creating his side's winner in 36 minutes. He burst down the left flank and his deep cross saw Moore's wayward shot finished by poacher supreme McLean. Indeed, with Lennon pulling the strings in midfield, McNally solid at the back and McLean scoring goals for fun, Thistle are now playing with an organised shape and discipline which will surely see them there or thereabouts come May.

But make no mistake, Queen's matched them all the way and manager John McCormack said: “We never gave up and there's a lot of disappointed players in the dressing room. The goals we lost were annoying but Scott McLean will always score if balls are coming into the box. My players don't have years to develop, they have to do it now. I can't swap players, I have to find them in the juveniles, such as St Mungo's and Knightswood. Our amateur status means we can't pay players and it's funny because before the game one of the boys' mobile phones went off and I said that we couldn't even fine him the pounds 4 expenses he gets. We're still smiling though.”

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