10th Jul 2008 Ayr United 1 Partick Thistle 2 (Friendly)

matches:2008-09: ← 01game 0203 →

Match Information

			Brian Reid		Ian McCall			43y, 9m, 10d
					Craig Hinchcliffe; Simon Storey; Pedram Ardalany; Ryan McStay; Hervé Ebanda
					Jonny Tuffey; Ian Maxwell; Simon Donnelly; Gary Harkins; Scott Chaplain
Lloyd Murphy (2-1, 85 mins)					Mark Roberts (1-0, 12 mins); Kevin McKinlay (2-0, 25 mins)
David Bagan (Ryan Stevenson, 56 mins); Paul Weaver (Chris Aitken, 56 mins); Scott Agnew (Lloyd Murphy, 64 mins); Eddie Forrest (Scott Walker, 64 mins); Brian McEwan (Lloyd Kinnaird, 76 mins); Ally Woodburn (Jamie Dunbar, 76 mins)					Hervé Ebanda (Stephen McKeown, 62 mins)
			Steve Grindlay		Craig Hinchcliffe			36y, 2m, 5d
			Brian McEwan		Paul Paton			21y, 2m, 22d
			former Jag Eddie Forrest		Marc Twaddle			21y, 10m, 13d
			Murray Henderson		Simon Storey			26y, 1m, 5d
			Neil McGowan		John A. Robertson			32y, 3m, 12d
			Ally Woodburn		David Rowson			31y, 9m, 26d
			David Bagan		Pedram Ardalany			18y, 11m, 4d
			Paul Weaver		Ryan McStay			22y, 7m, 6d
			Scott Agnew		Hervé Ebanda			29y, 4m, 26d
			Bryan Prunty		Mark Roberts			32y, 8m, 11d
			Alex Williams		Kevin McKinlay			22y, 4m, 12d
								26y, 10m, 9d
			Fraser Stuart		Ryan Scully			15y, 8m, 11d
			future Jag Ryan Stevenson		Stephen McKeown			26y, 11m, 23d
			Chris Aitken		Ciaran McDermott			16y, 8m, 11d
			Lloyd Murphy
			Jamie Dunbar
			Scott Walker
			Lloyd Kinnaird

notes

Hervé Ebanda (no.9) played as a trialist for Thistle. Brian McEwan, David Bagan, Lloyd Murphy and Jamie Dunbar played as trialists for Ayr United. Thistle had a very light bench of three, the club's personnel being stretched to 2 games on the same evening.

Match Report

TTA report

An impressive first half performance won this game. Roberts got the 1st goal (12) from a knock-down by Trialist. McKinlay headed the 2nd from a Paton cross (25). Changes by Ayr at half-time and a more relaxed attitude by Thistle made the second half more even and Ayr scored 5 minutes from time.

Media report

Richard Hanning, ptfc.co.uk

Thistle had this game won with a strong first half performance full of good pace, movement, passing and two good goals. Ayr came back in the second half with a late consolation but Thistle came through fairly comfortably. Although the team featured a number of changes from the original squad, including Trialist No. 9, Thistle were quickly into their stride in a flexible 4-4-2. McKinlay & Storey were soon combining down the left, Rowson had the midfield fully under his control, Paton and Ardalany were making good runs down the right and Roberts was working well off the shoulder of the mobile No. 9. Thistles first goal on 12 minutes was a peach. The Trialist out-jumped the Ayr defence to knock down a Rowson ball. Roberts controlled the ball beautifully before knocking the ball home sweetly from 15 yds. Thistle dominance grew from there with the good midfield and forward play supported by solid defending. Nothing much was getting past the back 4 with Robertson in particular looking steadfast. In the next 10 minutes or so Thistle had good efforts from Storey, the Trialist and Roberts all shooting at goal. Twaddle had a powerful free kick saved. It was no surprise when Thistle scored again on 25 mins with a well worked effort. Roberts found Paton on the right from a nice McStay ball. Paton’s cross was headed in off the post by the high rising McKinlay. A minute later McKinlay was appealing for a penalty as he seemed to be pulled down in the box, but the ref waved play on. Storey and the Trialist then had good efforts saved. Rowson was next to have a go, shooting wide after good interplay between Ardalany and the Trialist. Roberts had the last effort of the first half firing over. For their part Ayr’s best chance of the half fell to the dangerous Williams being denied good opportunities by a tight offside after 10 mins and then a super double blocking tackle by Robertson on 30 mins.

The second half was a more balanced affair. Ayr improved making a raft of substitutions and some tactical switches. Thistle seemed to relax a little and lost some shape. Thistle, though, had chances to increase their lead. Of the best, Rowson’s charge on goal was halted by a robust keepers challenge, and a tasty Robertson header was cleared off the line by Eddie Forest. A drive by McKeown, who had replaced the tired Trialist on 65 mins, was just wide late on. Ayr’s consolation came on 85 from one of their Trialists after a period of pressure. Overall a well-deserved win for the Jags with strong performances all over the field particularly in the first 45. Thistles Trialist looked to receive good praise from Ian McCall after being subbed. It will be interesting to see if he appears again.

Scrapbook

magnifiable if deemed necessary by your browser

PTFC Match Programme, 26th July, 2008

Stats Watch

● 29-year-old Hervé Ebanda plays his one and only game for Thistle.

● One of two games played by Thistle today, and technically part of the joint club-record for the shortest gap between games, which stands today.

● One of two away games played by Thistle today, and technically part of the joint club-record for the shortest gap between away games, which stands today.

ongoing sequences:

● 27 consecutive competitive appearances for Simon Storey, 1st Dec 2007 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: David Rowson - 42 games, 4th Aug 2007 to 5th Apr 2008. 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.

.

match hubs