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

matches:2004-05: ← 30game 3132 →

	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

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.”

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