6th Apr 2002 Airdrieonians 1 Partick Thistle 1 (SFL First Division - game 33)

matches:2001-02: ← 48game 4950 →

Match Information

			former Jag / future man. Ian McCall		John Lambie			61y, 1m, 4d
					Gerry Britton
					Scott McLean
Owen Coyle (0-1, 60 mins)					Alex Burns (1-1, 81 mins)
Allan McManus
Mark Roberts (Lee Gardner, 86 mins)					Paddy Kelly (Mark McCulloch, 56 mins); Martin Hardie (Stephen McAnespie, 68 mins); Gerry Britton (Paul Walker, 80 mins)
			Allan Ferguson		Kevin Budinauckas			27y, 6m, 21d
			Kevin James		Paddy Kelly			23y, 11m, 11d
			Tony Smith		Alan Archibald			24y, 3m, 24d
			Allan McManus		Stephen Craigan			25y, 5m, 8d
			Craig McPherson		Scott Paterson			29y, 10m, 24d
			Paul Armstrong		Paul Deas			30y, 1m, 15d
			future Jag Stuart Taylor		Martin Cameron			23y, 9m, 21d
			former Jag Stephen Docherty		Danny Lennon			33y, 0m, 0d
			Jerome Vareille		Gerry Britton			31y, 5m, 17d
			Owen Coyle		Martin Hardie			25y, 11m, 15d
			future Jag Mark Roberts		Alex Burns			28y, 8m, 2d
								27y, 7m, 25d
			future Jag Neil Bennett		Kenny Arthur			23y, 3m, 30d
			Lee Gardner		Mark McCulloch			26y, 10m, 18d
			Stuart MacDonald		Paul Walker			24y, 7m, 17d
					Stephen McAnespie			30y, 2m, 5d
					Derek Fleming			28y, 4m, 1d

notes

Airdrie filled only 3 of their 5 allocated bench slots.

Match Report

TTA report

2nd v 1st. After a scrappy first half O Coyle gave Airdrie the lead (bundled in a flick-on, 60) but Burns swept in a Cameron knock down from a long throw-in to level (81). Celebrations were merely postponed. No wins away to Airdrie in 24 attempts showed how hard opponents they proved to be. “Diamonds hard to cut” (GH).

Media report

08-Apr-2002, Daily Record

JAGS WON'T WORRY JUST YET - THEY'VE GOT TO PARTY FIRST. THEY say the best things in life are worth waiting for. If so, life in the SPL is going to be very, very good for Partick Thistle's fans. Their team is keeping them on tenterhooks as they stagger to the finishing line like a marathon runner whose legs are working from memory.

More than 4000 Thistle fans travelled to Airdrie on Saturday praying for a party. They ended up praying merely for an equaliser and Alex Burns provided one nine minutes from the end. The strike was the most vital of his career. Had his 15-yard shot crept the other side of the post, Airdrie would be sitting four points behind the Jags with three games left. But Burns' drive, which cancelled out Owen Coyle's 59th minute poke home from a Mark Roberts corner, main-tained their seven-point lead.

Partick need one more win and will try to put the whole thing to bed at Love Street next week. Then their fans will party. Roger Mitchell might not have put it too diplomatically but his belief that Thistle will face a struggle in the SPL was obvious on Saturday. They need strengthened in every department but don't have cash to do a Livingston. They'll go into the season without the £750,000 Livi had from this term's TV deal - and must find another £250,000 to support the SPL TV station if it gets the go-ahead today. That's them £1m down before a ball is kicked but those worries are for another day. Right now they just want out of this division. Airdrie believe they'd be out of it already if they'd been playing on an even pitch.

On Saturday, manager Ian McCall could name only two outfield substitutes because of injuries and the inability to go out and buy a replacement. All season, they've operated on a shoestring and at 4.45pm on the last day of the season - April 27 - that will be cut as well when everyone's contract expires. Striker Coyle said: “The players and management have been nothing short of professional but some of things thrown at us this season have been unprofessional. We finish on April 27 - all our contracts are up at 4.45pm that day. It will be interesting to see what happens if the game goes to injury time…” They'll see it out, of course, but whether Airdrie's fans see their team play again remains to be seen. Partick's will but unless they can find cash from somewhere, they might be watching their favourites through splayed fingers for most of the season.

Scrapbook

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Sunday Post, 7th April, 2002

Video Highlights

Option 1: documentary highlights

(credit: BBC Scotland )

Option 2: regular highlights

(credit: Scottish Television )

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Stats Watch

● 30-year-old Stephen McAnespie plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 23 consecutive competitive appearances for Danny Lennon, 1st Dec 2001 to date. (Longest run since: Derek Fleming - 34 games, 25th Aug 2001 to 16th Mar 2002. 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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