19th Mar 2008 Rangers 1 Partick Thistle 1 (Scottish Cup Quarter Final)

matches:2007-08: ← 44game 4546 →

Match Information

			Walter Smith		Ian McCall			43y, 5m, 18d
					Simon Donnelly; Gary Harkins
					Willie Kinniburgh; Stephen McKeown
Kris Boyd (1-1, 69 mins)					Damon Gray (1-0, 67 mins)
Kirk Broadfoot					Mark Roberts
Charlie Adam (Chris Burke, 58 mins); Steven Naismith (Lee McCulloch, 72 mins)					Simon Donnelly (Kevin McKinlay, 70 mins); Damon Gray (Stevie Murray, 84 mins); Scott Chaplain (Ryan McStay, 90 mins)
			Allan McGregor		Jonny Tuffey			21y, 1m, 28d
			Kirk Broadfoot		Simon Storey			25y, 9m, 14d
			Carlos Cuellar		Marc Twaddle			21y, 6m, 21d
			Steven Whittaker		Simon Donnelly			33y, 3m, 18d
			Christian Dailly		John A. Robertson			31y, 11m, 20d
			Steven Naismith		Alan Archibald			30y, 3m, 6d
			Steve Davis		Scott Chaplain			24y, 6m, 9d
			Charlie Adam		David Rowson			31y, 6m, 5d
			Kevin Thomson		Damon Gray			19y, 8m, 8d
			Nacho Novo		Mark Roberts			32y, 4m, 19d
			Kris Boyd		Gary Harkins			23y, 2m, 17d
								26y, 10m, 6d
			Neil Alexander		Craig Hinchliffe			35y, 10m, 14d
			Steven Smith		Willie Kinniburgh			23y, 6m, 11d
			Chris Burke		Kevin McKinlay			22y, 0m, 20d
			Lee McCulloch		Stevie Murray			24y, 11m, 1d
			Dean Furman		Ryan McStay			22y, 3m, 15d

Match Report

TTA report

A goal by Gray (67) when he latched on to a Harkins pass (then disappeared into the fans) was the abiding memory of this match. A min later Tuffey made a marvellous save to avoid a Robertson OG but Boyd scored with the rebound from an inch. A richly deserved 2nd bite at the cherry.

Media report

19-Mar-2008, bbc.com

First Division side Partick Thistle will face Rangers in a quarter-final replay after coming close to causing another Scottish Cup upset. Thistle appeared unfazed to be playing the SPL leaders and gave their more illustrious opponents little room in the first-half at Ibrox. Damon Gray triggered wild celebrations in the Thistle end with a composed finish in the 67th minute. But their joy was shortlived when Kris Boyd equalised two minutes later. CIS Cup final hero Boyd was rewarded for his scoring exploits with a place in Rangers' starting line-up against Partick. Rangers manager Walter Smith made six changes to the side which started at Hampden with Charlie Adam, Steven Whittaker, Kevin Thomson, Steven Naismith and Nacho Novo all given starts. Barry Ferguson missed out with an ankle problem, while David Weir, Sasa Papac, Brahim Hemdani, Chris Burke and Lee McCulloch were all rested. Partick made two changes from their goalless draw with Morton. In came Simon Donnelly and Gary Harkins, out went Willie Kinniburgh and Stephen McKeown.

Rangers were sluggish early on as the visitors looked to add to a week of Scottish Cup upsets. Mark Roberts sent Gray clear with a defence-splitting pass and his effort was palmed away for a corner by McGregor. Adam spurned a great chance just before the half-hour mark when he fired wide after a quick counter-attack and good work by Novo. Jonny Tuffey saved well from a Cuellar header in the 42nd minute when he rose powerfully to meet Adam's corner.

Naismith struck the bar with a header after he connected with Davis' cross after 56 minutes. Partick stunned the Ibrox crowd when they took the lead in the 67th minute. Harkins played a clever ball down the right-hand side of the box with the Rangers players claiming for offside, but Gray timed his run perfectly before clipping the ball over the advancing McGregor. The visiting fans were still celebrating when Rangers scored a scrappy equaliser. Burke's shot was blocked and, with the Thistle defence unable to clear their lines, the predatory Boyd was on hand to force the ball home from close-range. Rangers pressed for a winner but Thistle held on to ensure a replay at Firhill.

Scrapbook

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BBC, 19th March, 2008

Video Highlights

(credit: BBC Scotland )

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Who put the ball in the Rangers net?

Damon featured at #17 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

DAMON GRAY

19.03.2008 Rangers [a] D1-1 (Scottish Cup Quarter Final)
Damon Gray (1-0, 67 mins)

With Walter Smith’s all-conquering side gunning for an unprecedented quadruple, Thistle’s run in the 2007-08 Scottish Cup looked set to end at the Quarter Final stage when we were drawn to play at Ibrox. On the night of Wednesday, 19th March, 2008 Ian McCall’s side proved to be stubborn opponents, eventually being disappointed in only coming away with a 1-1 draw and a replay. For a brief moment midway through the second half, a dream run to Hampden seemed like a very real possibility, courtesy of our tricky wee on-loan Geordie from Hibernian. Just 11 months earlier, he had made his Hibs debut in a Scottish Cup semi-final tie against Dunfermline at Hampden Park, and he did his utmost to make it a memorable double…

With the deadlock unbroken in the 67th minute, Gary Harkins played a clever ball down the right-hand side of the box, and a perfectly-timed run by Damon Gray gave him a one-on-one opportunity against Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal. With vison and skill, Damon lifted the ball from a tight angle in precisely the right way to evade the best efforts of the advancing ‘keeper, and the ball nestled in the back of the Rangers net, sparking wild scenes of celebration amongst the huge Thistle contingent behind the goal, matched equally by virtually the entire Thistle team who moved in, themselves ecstatic to be received in a mass of red n yellow adulation.

Referee Iain Brines also got into the spirit by waving a yellow card at Damon in celebration. What a guy.

From that night onwards, every Thistle fan can instantly visualise the “Damon Gray end” in conversations relating to Ibrox.

Unforgettable!

Stats Watch

● Thistle appear in their 31st Scottish Cup Quarter Final. It's the fifth of these to go to a replay.

ongoing sequences:

● 7 competitive games without defeat, 12th Feb 2008 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games, 7th Apr 2007 to 18th Aug 2007. Joint club-record: 16 games, 15th Nov 1975 to 21st Feb 1976 & 30th Sep 2000 to 13th Jan 2001.)

● 38 consecutive competitive appearances for David Rowson, 4th Aug 2007 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Scott Boyd - 44 games, 10th May 2006 to 28th Apr 2007. 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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