7th Jan 2006 Stirling Albion 0 Partick Thistle 1 (Scottish Cup 3rd Round)

matches:2005-06: ← 32game 3334 →

Match Information

			former Jag Allan Moore		Dick Campbell			52y, 1m, 16d
					Adam Strachan
					Ricky Gillies
					Paul Ritchie (1-0, 11 mins)
Ross Forsyth; Mark McNally; Chris Aitken; Steven Bell; John Fraser					Darren Brady; Billy Gibson; Ricky Gillies; Will Snowdon
Paul Hay (Dougie Wilson, HT); Robert Dunn (David O'Brien, 53 mins); John Fraser (Chris Hay, 79 mins)					Marc Smyth (Ricky Gillies, 17 mins); Darren Brady (Will Snowdon, 50 mins); Stephen McConalogue (Mark Roberts, 65 mins)
			Myles Hogarth		Kenny Arthur			27y, 1m, 0d
			Paul Nugent		Grant Murray			30y, 4m, 9d
			Ross Forsyth		Scott McCulloch			30y, 1m, 9d
			Andy Graham		Darren Brady			24y, 8m, 27d
			former Jag Mark McNally		Marc Smyth			23y, 0m, 11d
			Chris Aitken		David Craig			36y, 6m, 27d
			future Jag Steven Bell		James Gibson			25y, 10m, 19d
			Paul Hay		Billy Gibson			24y, 5m, 6d
			John Fraser		Paul Ritchie			36y, 11m, 13d
			former Jag Robert Dunn		Stephen McConalogue			24y, 6m, 22d
			Paddy Connolly		Adam Strachan			18y, 10m, 14d
								27y, 6m, 4d
			Scott Christie		Colin Stewart			25y, 11m, 28d
			David O'Brien		Mark Roberts			30y, 2m, 9d
			Sean Roycroft		Will Snowdon			23y, 0m, 0d
			Chris Hay		Mark Stewart			17y, 6m, 16d
			Dougie Wilson		Ricky Gillies			29y, 4m, 14d

Match Report

TTA report

A far better performance than on Boxing Day. A corner was headed down by Craig and Ritchie bundled it in from close range (11). Arthur had some good saves before half-time. Most chances went Thistle's way although McCulloch cleared a header off the line. Late corners frayed the nerves but Thistle held on.

Media report

09-Jan-2006, Daily Record

BOTTOMS UP AS ADAM SURVIVES JAGS PAIN GAME. NOT even the pain of a jag in the bum could dent Adam Strachan's joy after Partick Thistle landed the knockout blow in a blood and guts battle at Forthbank. Paul Ritchie's 12th-minute strike brought Stirling's 10-game unbeaten run shuddering to a halt and earned the Jags a fourth-round trip to Inverness Caley Thistle or Ayr United. But the real talking point was how no red cards were flashed in a foul-tempered Cup clash that was littered with wild tackles. Referee Craig MacKay did dish out nine bookings as he struggled to keep a lid on the game. A 16-man scuffle followed Stirling full-back Ross Forsyth's vicious two-footed lunge on Thistle winger Strachan but the red-faced 18-year-old, making his first start of the season, insisted heavy bruising was the least of his worries. He said: “The tackle was really sore but what was worse was that I had to get a jag in my a**e because of it. The tackle left me with some bruising right across the bridge of my foot. It was a right blood and snotters cup-tie and the ref dished out a lot of yellows. They were all deserved because there were some really bad tackles out there. I was surprised no one got sent off.”

Thistle were fired up right from the start as they went out seeking revenge for their humiliating 3-0 Boxing Day defeat by the Binos at Firhill. Strachan admitted he and his team-mates were delighted to see the mission accomplished. He said: “We were keen to get revenge because their win was hard to take with it being in front of our own fans. And the injection was well worth it just to get a place in the next round.”

This tie started brightly and grabbed an early lead. Strachan's corner from the left was knocked down by David Craig for veteran poacher Ritchie to sneak the ball home under keeper Myles Hogarth. But Stirling will feel hard done by not to have levelled inside two minutes. A driving run from Steven Bell split the Jags defence in two and he was able to find top scorer Paddy Connolly at the back post for a tap-in. But, as the former Dundee United hitman wheeled away to celebrate, linesman Rodney Marshall signalled for offside. Stirling boss Allan Moore had no complaint about the decision but couldn't say the same for MacKay's handling of the rest of the contest. Moore said: “The ref stopped the game far too much. There were times when we had the advantage after a foul but he blew his whistle. Then Andy Graham was knocked out cold after a head clash and he allowed play to continue - that was annoying. It was a cup-tie and you expect tackles to fly in. I tried to explain that to him later but he didn't listen.”

Thistle had chances to wrap up the victory early but manager Dick Campbell will be relieved Stirling's build-up play was every bit as poor as his strikers'second-half finishing. He said: “I asked my players to pay back the fans for Boxing Day and I don't think anyone can doubt their commitment to me or Partick Thistle after that battling performance. Since the final whistle that day I've been an angry man and I think I'll stay angry for the rest of the season. I didn't think there were so many bookings in the game. I've said before that if I played these days I'd have been sent off in the warm-up because you can't put tackles in any more. It was an old-fashioned cup-tie - not much quality but a lot of effort and endeavour.”

Scrapbook

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PTFC Website, 7th January, 2006

The Sun, 9th January, 2006

Stats Watch

● Paul Ritchie scores his first goal for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 28 consecutive competitive appearances for Grant Murray & Ricky Gillies (a new personal best), 30th Jul 2005 to date. (Longest run since: Kenny Arthur - 31 games, 4th Sep 2004 to 2nd Apr 2005. 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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