10th May 2003 Aberdeen 2 Partick Thistle 1 (Scottish Premier League - game 36)

matches:2002-03: ← 45game 4647 →

	Steve Paterson	John Lambie	62y, 2m, 8d

		Jamie Buchan
		Martin Hardie

Leigh Hinds (1-1, 46 mins); Phil McGuire (1-2, 60 mins)		Alex Burns (1-0, pen 17 mins)
Phil McGuire; Steve Tosh

Russell Anderson (Stephen Payne, 15 mins); Darren Mackie (Richard Foster, 82 mins)		Gerry Britton (Martin Hardie, 69 mins); David Rowson (Derek Fleming, 73 mins); Ian Ross (Ricky Waddell, 79 mins)

	Peter Kjaer	Kenny Arthur	24y, 5m, 3d
	Russell Anderson	David Lilley	25y, 6m, 9d
	Eric Deloumeaux	Alan Archibald	25y, 4m, 27d
	Scott Morrison	Stephen Craigan	26y, 6m, 11d
	Phil McGuire	Derek Whyte	34y, 8m, 9d
	Kevin McNaughton	Jamie Buchan	26y, 1m, 7d
	Fergus Tiernan	Jamie Mitchell	26y, 6m, 4d
	Steve Tosh	David Rowson	26y, 7m, 26d
	Paul Sheerin	Alex Burns	29y, 9m, 6d
	Darren MacKie	Gerry Britton	32y, 6m, 20d
	future Jag Leigh Hinds	Ian Ross	28y, 8m, 13d

			27y, 10m, 22d

	David Preece	Kevin Budinauckas	28y, 7m, 24d
	Stephen Payne	Derek Fleming	29y, 5m, 5d
	future Jag Richard Foster	Martin Hardie	27y, 0m, 18d
	Chris Clark	Andy S. Gibson	21y, 2m, 8d
	Kevin Souter	Ricky Waddell	22y, 3m, 6d

TTA report

Aberdeen seldom posed any problems in the first half and when Mitchell was pulled down, Burns scored from the spot (17) for 1-0 at half-time. A blocked clearance spun loose and Arthur ran out 25 yards but the ball spun past him leaving an open goal (46) then he parried a driven cross straight at the scorer of the 2nd goal (60).

Media report

10-May-2003, bbc.com

DONS EDGE OUT THISTLE. Aberdeen came from behind to beat Partick Thistle and denied John Lambie a clean sweep against the Dons in his final season in charge of the Jags. Thistle had beaten the Dons three times already this season and were in a good position to make it four after Alex Burns game them the lead from the penalty spot. But Scotland squad goalkeeper Kenny Arthur made a serious mistake and allowed Leigh Hinds to steal the ball off his toe and score the equaliser. Aberdeen then added a second when Phil McGuire was on hand to bundle the ball into the net from six yards after Paul Sheerin's shot was blocked.

The Jags stunned their hosts in the 17th minute, despite rarely threatening in the first quarter hour, when they were awarded a penalty kick by referee Craig Thomson. McGuire misjudged a header inside the area and the ball broke free towards Burns, who managed to steal a yard on Steve Tosh. The former St Johnstone man was unable to reach the ball in time and appeared to knock Burns to the floor, leaving the referee no option but to point to the spot. Burns himself took the spot kick, sending Peter Kjaer the wrong way before delicately knocking the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. Both goalkeepers were virtually untroubled in the opening 45 minutes, save for a 25-yard Hinds shot that skimmed off the turf to cause Arthur some concern for a moment before it spun wide.

The second half started with more vigour and the Dons found themselves back level after only 60 seconds of play thanks to a horrendous error by Arthur. Alan Archibald's attempt to clear his lines was chased down by Darren Mackie. But the ball rolled towards the goalkeeper, who appeared to have the simple task of firing the ball to safety. In an attempt to get to the ball before Hinds, he ran past it and allowed the striker to steal it off his toe and advance a few paces before gratefully knocking it into the empty net. The Dons doubled their advantage 13 minutes later, when McGuire intelligently followed in after a Sheerin shot from the edge of the area and was able to bundle the ball over the line after it came to a stop inside the six-yard box.

match hubs

match

The Thistle Archive

Partick Thistle stats and stories 1876 to date