27th Dec 2004 Ross County 2 Partick Thistle 1 (SFL First Division - game 20)

matches:2004-05: ← 30game 3132 →

Match Information

			Alex Smith		John Lambie			63y, 9m, 25d
					Andy Wilkinson; Jamie Mitchell
					Ian Ross; Andy McLaren
Don Cowie (0-1, 10 mins); Martin Canning (0-2, 52 mins)					Juan Ramón (1-2, 77 mins)
					Derek Fleming; Juan Ramón
Gary McSwegan (David Winters, 73 mins); Jamie McCunnie (Sean Kilgannon, 84 mins); Alex Burke (Steven McGarry, 85 mins)					Andy Wilkinson (Steve Fulton, 53 mins); Jamie Mitchell (Andy McLaren, 60 mins); Andy Dowie (Armand Oné, 73 mins)
			future Jag Colin Stewart		Kenny Arthur			26y, 0m, 20d
			former Jag Mark McCulloch		Grant Murray			29y, 3m, 28d
			Jim Lauchlan		Adrian Madaschi			22y, 5m, 16d
			Martin Canning		Andy Wilkinson			20y, 4m, 21d
			future Jag John A. Robertson		Andy Dowie			21y, 9m, 2d
			John Rankin		Derek Fleming			31y, 0m, 22d
			Jamie McCunnie		Jamie Mitchell			28y, 1m, 21d
			Don Cowie		Billy Gibson			23y, 4m, 26d
			Fergus Tiernan		Juan Ramón			28y, 0m, 25d
			Gary McSwegan		Leigh Hinds			26y, 4m, 10d
			Alex Burke		Kenny Milne			25y, 4m, 1d
								25y, 8m, 1d
			Stuart Garden		Neil Bennett			24y, 1m, 28d
			Stuart Malcolm		Adam Strachan			17y, 10m, 3d
			future Jag Sean Kilgannon		Steve Fulton			34y, 4m, 17d
			David Winters		Andy McLaren			31y, 6m, 22d
			Steven McGarry		Armand Oné			21y, 9m, 12d

Match Report

TTA report

Britton/Whyte were sacked. Lambie interim manager. Thistle were sliced open with ease and the scorer picked his spot (11). County hit the post and Thistle were lucky it was only 1-0 at half-time. It was 2-0 (header from a corner, 52) but Escalas scored from close in (77). Thistle threw bodies forward but couldn't find a leveller.

Media report

28-Jul-2004, Daily Record

THIS TEAM COULDN'T TURN OVER A PANCAKE; Caretaker Boss Lambie Slaughters Jags as Ross Wreck His Dream Return. A NUMBER of memorable put-downs aimed at Partick's struggling players rolled off the tongue of John Lambie yesterday. The Firhill legend and caretaker boss had just witnessed Ross County's eight-game winless run end at the expense of Thistle who slipped five points behind their hosts in the relegation battle as a result. It was classic Lambie but sadly for Firhill followers, a very pale imitation of the Jags of yesteryear. His team were variously labelled brainless, lazy and incapable of turning over a pancake. Still, in another breath Lambie could assert “we're all in it together”. It was entertaining stuff. More than anything, though, the stand-in manager left Dingwall alarmed at the perilous state of his beloved club. Lambie said: “A lot of boys better realise they have jobs just now, because the way it's going there will be none at the end of May if they don't start working. There were too many minuses, not enough plusses. I just think that we are short of ability and the team has to be strengthened. I'm just trying to get into their brains but if you get into someone and the brain is not there, where do you start? A lot of the problem is psychological, a lot of it is down to laziness and we don't have enough pace about the team. We need two or three players. They used to call me two players short Lambie but we're shorter than that. It is the first game back though and Rome wasn't built in a day.We are all in it together. We need to go on a run but you need players to do that.” Lambie can envisage the transfer window slamming shut without signings, given the lack of a new manager.But he called for the board to show patience. He said: “It would be nice to do it quickly but more importantly it must be the the right man. I feel they need an experienced head but they still have Gerry Britton and Derek Whyte to settle up with. All I'm trying to do is lift things. In football, you can be down one minute then turn a team over. But from what I saw today we couldn't turn a pancake over.” Lambie's good lady may claim life without football, with only those famous doos to fret over, is worse for her husband's health than the strain of management. But given the stakes, the veteran boss wasted no time in resuming the kind of stressed-out histrionics he thought he'd abandoned 18 months ago.

While results had brought down the Whyte and Britton act, Alex Smith was equally anxious for his first win in nine games against one of only two sides berthed beneath his. Though Partick started brightly with Leigh Hinds striking the side-netting, soon their hosts firmly held the upper hand. John Rankin found Don Cowie on the right but Alex Burke took an air-swipe at his cross. The Dingwall side took the lead after 10 minutes however, when Gary McSwegan's ball from the right was missed by the Partick defence and Cowie had time 10 yards out to pick his spot. County took a grip on the game and should have grabbed a crucial second after 32 minutes. Jamie McCunnie released Rankin who raced in on goal and although he beat keeper Kenny Arthur with his shot the ball smacked the outside of the post. Partick enjoyed a retaliatory flurry before the break and Jamie Mitchell just failed to connect with a dramatic flying header. Hinds also had to over-stretch for a header in front of goal a few minutes later, to no avail.

County's confidence grew further after the break with some slick, attacking play leading up to a McSwegan effort stopped by the legs of Arthur. But Partick fell two behind in 53 minutes with a goal that was simplicity itself. Rankin's corner from the right found defender Martin Canning rising to head home from six yards. County have bemoaned an absence of luck in recent weeks, but there was a healthy dose as Juan Escalas sent a delightful lob against the outside of the post. Stevie Fulton's introduction initially drew a better spell for Partick but it was John Robertson, at the other end, who drew a low, fingertip save from the excellent Arthur after the hour. The tension was growing in the final 15 minutes, and Partick finally retaliated. Under pressure in his own area, Robertson skewed a header and Escalas, close-in, scored with a neat flick. Partick only cranked up the pressure from there and panic followed in the County area as a Derek Fleming drive was turned into the side-netting. From the corner, County twice made desperate blocks as Armand One and Escalas tried in vain to score. With seconds remaining, John Rankin's lightning break led to McGarry twisting inside his man in front of the box but his strike flew just over.

County boss Smith at last enjoyed the breaks he had been craving. He said: “I felt we played very well and this victory is important. It can give our players confidence to go on through a busy spell of games and begin to move away from the bottom area of the table. Don Cowie, who scored our first goal, was outstanding as he has been this season but there were a lot of very good displays. Partick still hold prestige, despite their own troubles, and it is a pleasing victory.”

Stats Watch

● The first of John Lambie's 3 games in charge as caretaker (fourth spell).

ongoing sequences:

● 8 away League games without a win; 11th Sep 2004 to date. (Longest run since: 17 games; 16th Aug 2003 to 17th Apr 2004. Club-record: 26 games; 20th Mar 1935 to 29th Aug 1936.)

● 8 competitive games without a win, 13th Nov 2004 to date. (Longest run since: 9 games, 14th Feb 2004 to 3rd Apr 2004. Club-record: 26 games, 28th Nov 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 8 League games without a win; 13th Nov 2004 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games; 14th Feb 2004 to 3rd Apr 2004. Club-record: 26 games; 28th Nov 1908 to 2nd Oct 1909.)

● 10 competitive away games without a win; 11th Sep 2004 to date. (Longest run since: 12 games; 19th Apr 1997 to 29th Nov 1997. Club-record: 25 games; 20th Apr 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 34 consecutive competitive appearances for Derek Fleming, 27th Mar 2004 to date. (Longest run since: Alex Burns - 48 games, 27th Mar 2002 to 24th May 2003. 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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