11th Sep 2010 Partick Thistle 1 Stirling Albion 2 (SFL First Division - game 5)

matches:2010-11: ← 12game 1314 →

Match Information

45y, 11m, 12d			Ian McCall		John O'Neill
Ian Maxwell; Paul Cairney
John A. Robertson; Bryan Hodge
Kris Doolan (1-0, 49 mins)					Andy S. Gibson (1-1, 54 mins); Gordon Smith (1-2, 74 mins)
Ian Maxwell; David Rowson					Scott Buist; Ross Forsyth
Conrad Balatoni (Chris Erskine, HT); Liam Buchanan (Simon Donnelly, HT); Kris Doolan (Martin Grehan, 73 mins)					Ryan Borris (Nathan Taggart, 70 mins); Jérôme Heekeng (John Kane, 77 mins); Gordon Smith (Michael Mullen, 89 mins)
29y, 11m, 10d			Bryn Halliwell		Callum Reidford
23y, 4m, 24d			Paul Paton		Jonathan Brown
23y, 5m, 22d			Patrick Boyle		Ross Forsyth
36y, 10m, 18d			Jackie McNamara		Martyn Corrigan former Jag
19y, 7m, 15d			Conrad Balatoni		Scott Buist
35y, 4m, 9d			Ian Maxwell		Scott Robertson future Jag
23y, 0m, 13d			Paul Cairney		Andy S. Gibson former Jag
33y, 11m, 28d			David Rowson		Chris Aitken
25y, 5m, 15d			Liam Buchanan		Gordon Smith
23y, 9m, 0d			Kris Doolan		Jérôme Heekeng
17y, 11m, 25d			Stuart Bannigan		Ryan Borris
26y, 7m, 16d
38y, 4m, 6d			Craig Hinchliffe		Murray Jackson
22y, 11m, 19d			Bryan Hodge		Michael Mullen
35y, 9m, 10d			Simon Donnelly		Mathis Yohan
23y, 7m, 3d			Chris Erskine		Nathan Taggart
25y, 11m, 2d			Martin Grehan		John Kane former Jag

Match Report

TTA report

Thistle fell to bottom position after this defeat. They failed to use the bulk of the play in the first half. Doolan pounced on a rebounded shot and opened the scoring (49) but poor defending let in Albion (favourites for relegation) to equalise soon after. Cairney hit the post then the winner came (74) from 18 yards.

Media report

11-Sep-2010, ptfc.co.uk

Manager Ian McCall made two changes from the side that defeated Ayr United in the Challenge Cup. The injured John Robertson being replaced by Ian Maxwell while Paul Cairney returned in place of Bryan Hodge.

Thistle had scored early against Ayr United in the previous fixture and they had a half chance to repeat that against Stirling. David Rowson worked the ball into the path of Paul Paton but Paton was slow to react and when he did reach the ball and shoot he could only scoop the ball harmlessly over the bar. And if the truth be told that was it for the first quarter of the game. Thistle enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession, as they did for the whole of the first half, but struggled to do anything meaningful with it. Indeed the best chance of the opening twenty minutes came for the away side. Stirling won a free kick right on the edge of the Thistle box almost right on the goal line and when the free kick was whipped across the six yard box Thistle were grateful that there was no one to apply a touch to the ball. It took Thistle until the 33rd minute to create even a half chance and even then Paul Cairney’s cut back was behind both Liam Buchanan and Kris Doolan with, as a result, neither player able to get a shot on goal. The game’s first shot on target came in the 39th minute. Kris Doolan touched the ball to Stuart Bannigan but Reidford was able to get down and save his shot. That prompted a flurry of activity in and around the Stirling goal with both Paul Cairney and Jackie McNamara both had shots on goal but required no more than routine saves from the Stirling keeper.

Clearly unhappy with what he had witnessed in an uninspired first half showing, manager McCall made two switches at the break bringing on Simon Donnelly and Chris Erskine for Liam Buchanan and Conrad Balatoni. It took just four second half minutes for Thistle’s change in formation to bring a reward. A neat interchange of passed finished with Reidfird saving but not holding Paul Cairney’s shot and Kris Doolan is unlikely to get an easier chance to score. Thistle’s continued habit of conceding so soon after scoring though has been causing great concern and this time five minutes elapsed between Doolan’s goal and the opposition scoring. Bryan Hallwell was able to deny Chris Aitken but like Kris Doolan just a few minutes before him, Andy Gibson was left with the easy task of knocking the ball home from close range. Thistle were close to restoring their lead after 61 minutes. Paul Cairney laid the ball into the path of Simon Donnelly to his left and Donnelly saw his shot well saved by the Stirling keeper. Thistle were even closer to a second goal in the 65th minute. Chris Erskine squared the ball to Paul Cairney and his shot agonisingly struck the base of the post. With the game starting to open up Stirling nearly caught Thistle on the break but Halliwell was well placed to deny Heekeng. A goal was looking more and more likely and it finally came, for Stirling, in the 74th minute. Thistle were caught on the break and from the edge of the box Gordon Smith, on loan from Hearts, thumped the ball home. Disappointingly Thistle didn’t look like scoring after having fallen behind although Chris Erskine did see a deflected shot just clear the bar for an unproductive, short, corner. The boos that rang out from the Jackie Husband Stand and Thistle dropped to the bottom of the league told their own story.

Video Highlights

(credit: Partick Thistle Television )

advertisement

the ultimate destination for the best and latest Thistle multimedia content, from live audio commentary to the latest video interviews and tactical analysis…

…only £7.99 per month

Stats Watch

● 35-year-old Ian Maxwell plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 24 consecutive competitive appearances for Simon Donnelly, 13th Feb 2010 to date. (Longest run since: John A. Robertson - 36 games, 10th Oct 2009 to 24th Aug 2010. 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