21st Apr 2001 Partick Thistle 0 Arbroath 1 (SFL Second Division - game 34)

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matches:2000-01: ← 41game 4243 →

60y, 1m, 19d	John Lambie	Stevie Kirk

Michael Brown; Stephen Docherty; Mark McNally; Peter Lindau; Paul McGrillen
Kenny Arthur; David McCallum; Jamie Smith; Scott McLean; Willie Howie

		Colin McKinnon (0-1, 48 mins)
Stephen Docherty		Stevie Mallan; Jim Mercer

Brian Hamilton (David McCallum, 57 mins); Peter Lindau (Allan Moore, 68 mins); Paul McGrillen (George Shaw, 83 mins)		Stevie Mallan (Kevin Steele, 51 mins); John Cusick (John McAulay, 57 mins); Kevin Heenan (Roddy Maughan, 90 mins)

21y, 5m, 14d	Michael Brown	Craig Hinchliffe future Jag
25y, 2m, 3d	Stephen Docherty	George Rowe
23y, 4m, 8d	Alan Archibald	John Cusick
24y, 5m, 23d	Stephen Craigan	Jon Crawford
35y, 6m, 7d	Sandy Stewart	Jim Thomson
30y, 1m, 11d	Mark McNally	John McGlashan
28y, 4m, 12d	Peter Lindau	Steve Florence
32y, 0m, 15d	Danny Lennon	Colin McKinnon
33y, 8m, 16d	Brian Hamilton	Jim Mercer
22y, 5m, 28d	Barry Elliot	Kevin Heenan
29y, 8m, 2d	Paul McGrillen	Stevie Mallan

27y, 10m, 6d

22y, 4m, 14d	Kenny Arthur	Craig Wight
32y, 2m, 11d	George Shaw	John McAulay
23y, 7m, 14d	David McCallum	Roddy Maughan
36y, 3m, 27d	Allan Moore	Colin McGlashan former Jag
22y, 9m, 10d	Jamie Smith	Kevin Steele

TTA report

More party poopers. A defensive mix up between Stewart and Brown allowed Arbroath (sitting in 2nd place) score the only goal of the game with a tap in just after half-time. Arbroath were the only team Thistle didn't beat this season.

Media report

23-Apr-2001, Daily Record

MAC'S IMPACT. COLIN McKINNON is fast becoming the man Partick Thistle fans love to hate. McKinnon scored when his old club Stenhousemuir twice beat the Jags earlier in the season and he was at it again to keep Arbroath in the promotion race. McKinnon has become such a thorn in Thistle's side that there have even been Jags fans on the club's website begging John Lambie to snap him up. And the player reckons his goal for Arbroath was the most important of the three. He said: “That's three times I've scored against Thistle this season so I've been very lucky. I can't really remember what happened. I think it was a long ball from Jim Thomson and when the goalie came out I simply knocked it over him. It was a game we really had to win. After going a club record 15 matches unbeaten we lost twice so we had to get back on track. Partick didn't create many chances and although they had a makeshift side and have already won the league, it's easy to look at those factors after the game. We've now got two big games coming up and I'm confident we'll be in the First Division next season.”

It was far from a classic. With next season in mind, Jags boss John Lambie made several changes in a bid to examine his playing staff. But with virtually all of his championship-winning squad out of contract in the summer, I doubt if this 90 minutes made him feel any better. Danny Lennon had a snap-shot well saved at the near post by Arbroath keeper Craig Hinchliffe after five minutes. Then Paul McGrillen capitalised on a mistake by Jon Crawford only to see his drive again pushed for a corner by Hinchliffe. With 15 minutes gone Jags defender Sandy Stewart was forced to clear off his line after keeper Michael Brown failed to gather the ball. Two minutes later Thistle scorned a golden chance to go in front. Peter Lindau fed Alan Archibald down the left flank and when his cross came in, McGrillen somehow managed to miss the target with his header from six yards. Arbroath should have taken the lead midway through the first half when McKinnon won possession from Brian Hamilton to put John McGlashan clean through but his shot swerved wide of the post. The visitors finally took the lead three minutes after the break. Thomson's long ball forced Brown off his line and following a mix up with Stewart, McKinnon coolly lobbed the ball into the empty net. Thistle nearly snatched a last-gasp equaliser but David McCallum's corner saw Hinchliffe produce another outstanding save to deny Barry Elliot's header.

Lambie said: “Loads of players had a nightmare. The urgency went right out of our game and that's not good enough. We changed things about and although the conditions were bad and the pitch was bumpy, we never played. We were lackadaisical. It was a chance for some players to show us they are worth it and to see if they'll have a job next season but I'll be clearing out myself after seeing that. I don't know how Peter Lindau got man of the match because Barry Elliot was the best player on the park. I want players who are going to show the same determination as him. The players have done the job in this division but I need them to do the job in a higher league.”

Delighted Arbroath boss John Brownlie was happy to hit back at the critics. He said: “Everybody thought our bubble had burst and that we didn't want to go up but we dug out a result today. It was the hardest game on paper all season and although it wasn't a classic, it makes it quite an exciting ending. We've got as good a chance as anybody else of getting promotion.”

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