25th Jul 2009 Airdrie United 0 Partick Thistle 1 (Challenge Cup 1st Round)

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matches:2009-10: ← 03game 0405 →

Match Information

			Kenny Black		Ian McCall			44y, 9m, 25d
					Jonny Tuffey; Ian Maxwell
					Craig Hinchliffe; Martyn Corrigan
					Liam Buchanan (1-0, 51 mins)
Frank Lagana
Alan Trouten (Scott Gemmill, 68 mins); Paul Keegan (Kevin Watt, 68 mins); Paul Lovering (Ricky Waddell, 73 mins)					Kris Doolan (Chris Erskine, HT); Bryan Hodge (Paul Cairney, 71 mins); Stephen McKeown (Jim Hamilton, 76 mins)
			Stephen Robertson		Jonny Tuffey			22y, 6m, 5d
			Darren Smith		Paul Paton			22y, 3m, 7d
			Paul Lovering		Patrick Boyle			22y, 4m, 5d
			Kevin McDonald		Ian Maxwell			34y, 2m, 23d
			Bobby Donnelly		John A. Robertson			33y, 3m, 27d
			David Nixon		Alan Archibald			31y, 7m, 12d
			Alan Trouten		Stephen McKeown			28y, 0m, 8d
			Scott McLaughlin		David Rowson			32y, 10m, 11d
			former Jag Paul Keegan		Liam Buchanan			24y, 3m, 28d
			future Jag John Baird		Kris Doolan			22y, 7m, 14d
			Frank Lagana		Bryan Hodge			21y, 10m, 2d
								26y, 10m, 26d
			Lee Hollis		Craig Hinchliffe			37y, 2m, 20d
			former Jag Ricky Waddell		Jim Hamilton			33y, 5m, 16d
			Kevin Watt		Paul Cairney			21y, 10m, 26d
			Scott Gemmill		Martyn Corrigan			32y, 0m, 11d
			Patrick McCabe		Chris Erskine			22y, 5m, 17d

Match Report

TTA report

Buchanan went close twice but Thistle, who had all the play but never looked that dangerous, went in goalless. In the second half Buchanan found the corner of the net with a Rowson pass (51). Airdrie perked up towards the end playing 2-4-4 and almost equalised but Thistle saw out a nervy last ten mins.

Media report

25-Jul-2009, ptfc.co.uk

For the first competitive fixture of the new season manager Ian McCall fielded a starting eleven that in Patrick Boyle and Bryan Hodge included two debutantes. There were a further four new faces on the bench where sub keeper Craig Hinchliffe was joined by Jim Hamilton, Paul Cairney,

Chris Erskine and Martyn Corrigan.

A decent sized Thistle support, which must have outnumbered the home support, saw the game's first half chance come Airdrie's way in the third minute. A Baird Cross was able to find David Nixon at the back post but Nixon was always stretching to reach the ball with the result that has header went harmlessly over the bar. Thistle threatened for the first time themselves in the 9th minute. A Patrick Boyle long throw was cleared for a Thistle corner and from Paton's corner that followed Kris Doolan was able to stretch for the ball but couldn't quite direct his shot on target. In a game that was taking a little time to warm up there was frustration when after turning an Airdrie United defender at the edge of the box Liam Buchanan didn't win Thistle a free kick in what would have been a highly promising position. Paul Paton was a feature of most of Thistle's promising moves and in the 24th minute his through ball picked out Liam Buchanan. Buchanan was able to get to the ball in front of Robertson in the Airdrie goal but he found the angle just a little too tight to squeeze the ball home. He was, however, able to win Thistle a corner kick but Maxwell's header from Paton's corner didn't threaten the Airdrie United goal. In the 39th minute we came the closest yet to seeing a goal. Bryan Hodge was able to thread through a pass to Liam Buchanan but Buchanan, from an angle, was only able to drag his shot wide of the far post albeit by no more than a matter of inches. With half-time nearing Thistle were beginning to dominate and when a Paul Paton cross took a deflection Robertson in the Airdrie United goal was forced to tip the ball over the bar for an unproductive Thistle corner kick. A first half in which Thistle had rarely looked like either scoring or conceding ended a few minutes later with the hope that the second 45 minutes would show a marked improvement.

Ian McCall made his first change of the game at the interval with Chris Erskine coming on in place of Kris Doolan. As it had in the first half the first half chance of the second half came the way of the home side. John Baird spotted that Jonny Tuffey had strayed from his line a little but his long range effort cleared the Thistle crossbar with some comfort. In the 51st minute Thistle opened their account for the season with a simple yet well-constructed goal. An excellent David Rowson through ball spotted Liam Buchanan who found the corner of the net with a cool finish. Thistle were playing with confidence and purpose at this point but Paul Keegan was able to turn at the edge of the Thistle box but his shot was straight at Jonny Tuffey. Play quickly moved to the other end and Liam Buchanan burst into the Airdrie box only to smack a shot off the legs of Airdrie keeper Robertson. In the 61st minute Thistle were close to a second goal. Chris Erskine had impressed since coming on at the break and further enterprising play from the Thistle new boy gave Stephen McKeown a chance. McKeown, however, was unable to get any real power behind his shot with the result that Robertson was able to get down and complete a save. The scores were almost tied at 1-1 in the 67th minute when Airdrie, almost out of the blue, were a whisker away from an equalising goal. Frank Lagana twisted and turned at the edge of the Thistle box before seeing his shot clip the outside of Jonny Tuffey's right hand post. In the 70th minute Thistle made their second change of the game with Paul Cairney replacing Bryan Hodge. Lagana wa s prominent for Airdrie again in the 72nd minute. His well-placed pass looked like providing McLaughlin a scoring chance only for a well times Paul Paton tackle to deny him the opportunity. With 15 minutes remaining Jim Hamilton became the fifth player to make his Thistle debut when he came on for Stephen McKeown. It was Airdrie that were pressing at this stage and in the 78th minute there was anxiety in the Thistle ranks when Mclaughlin was able to pick out the run of substitute Gemmill.

Gemmill though when left with just Tuffey to beat sent his shot over the bar. With 8 minutes remaining of what was becoming a nervy game Paul Cairney sent a shot wide of goal following neat play involving Liam Buchanan and Chris Erskine. Anxiety levels in the Thistle ranks rose again in the 88th minute. It took a great defensive header from David Rowson to clear a cross for a corner that Thistle eventually manage to scramble clear.

Video Highlights

(credit: Camallain )

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Stats Watch

● Thistle play their 25th match in the Challenge Cup.

ongoing sequences:

● 38 consecutive competitive appearances for David Rowson, 30th Aug 2008 to date. (Longest run since: Simon Storey - 40 games, 1st Dec 2007 to 24th Sep 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.

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