11th Jan 2011 Falkirk 2 Partick Thistle 2 (Scottish Cup 4th Round)

matches:2010-11: ← 26game 2728 →

Match Information

			Stephen Pressley		Ian McCall			46y, 3m, 12d
					Liam Buchanan
					Chris Erskine
Mark Millar (1-1, 37 mins); Jack Compton (1-2, 73 mins)					Liam Buchanan (1-0, 7 mins); Kris Doolan (2-2, 85 mins)
Chris Mitchell; Mark Millar					Jackie McNamara
Kallum Higginbotham (Carl Finnigan, 56 mins); Chris Mitchell (Jack Compton, 65 mins)					Jackie McNamara (Chris Erskine, HT); Bryan Hodge (Kris Doolan, 76 mins); Liam Buchanan (Shaun Fraser, 85 mins)
			Robert Olejnik		Scott Fox			23y, 6m, 14d
			Kieran Duffie		Paul Paton			23y, 8m, 24d
			former Jag Marc Twaddle		Patrick Boyle			23y, 9m, 22d
			Brian McLean		Jackie McNamara			37y, 2m, 18d
			future Jag Tam Scobbie		Willie Kinniburgh			26y, 4m, 3d
			Burton O'Brien		Alan Archibald			33y, 0m, 29d
			former Jag Mark Stewart		Paul Cairney			23y, 4m, 13d
			Mark Millar		David Rowson			34y, 3m, 28d
			future Jag Kallum Higginbotham		Liam Buchanan			25y, 9m, 15d
			Ryan Flynn		Simon Donnelly			36y, 1m, 10d
			Chris Mitchell		Bryan Hodge			23y, 3m, 19d
								28y, 2m, 27d
			former Jag Jamie Barclay		Bryn Halliwell			30y, 3m, 10d
			Mehdi Khalis		Shaun Fraser			17y, 6m, 12d
			Carl Finnigan		Jamie Campbell			18y, 9m, 18d
			Jack Compton		Chris Erskine			23y, 11m, 3d
			Kenny Deuchar		Kris Doolan			24y, 1m, 0d

Match Report

TTA report

Buchanan turned in a Cairney corner for a deserved lead (7) then Fox saved smartly as Falkirk dominated and the deserved equaliser came (37). After the break Thistle had a good 20-min spell but paid for missed chances and poor defending (73) but Doolan scored from a Fraser cross (85) to earn a replay.

Media report

11-Jan-2011, ptfc.co.uk

With Hearts or St Johnstone awaiting the winners of this delayed Scottish Cup tie manager Ian McCall made just the one change to the side that had started Thistle’s last fixture, against Raith Rovers on Boxing Day. Liam Buchanan had impressed when coming off the bench in that match and he was given the nod to start this match ahead of Chris Erskine.

Thistle started this match in determined fashion and as early as the second minute they forced the game’s first corner but although Paddy Boyle was able to get his head to Bryan Hodge’s corner from the right it didn’t present Olejnik in the Falkirk goal with any real problems. It was a positive sign and Thistle were in front, and deservedly so, after 7 minutes. A Paddy Boyle shot had been blocked at the expense of a corner and when Paul Cairney’s corner came over, Liam Buchanan was on hand inside the Falkirk six yard box to turn the ball home. Four minutes later Thistle were nearly handed a second goal on a plate. Olejnik came a long way to gather a Paul Paton cross but when he wasn’t unable to hold onto the ball it broke away from the waiting Simon Donnelly who was unable to take advantage of the opportunity that had come Thistle’s way. It took Falkirk until the 16th minute to create anything worthwhile in front of the Thistle goal but when they did they were close to levelling the scores. Mark Stewart pushed the ball through to Kallum Higginbotham and Scott Fox had to produce a smart save at his near post. As the half wore on Falkirk began to dominate more and more in terms of possession and a great ball in from the left from Ryan Flynn in the 25th minute caused the Thistle defence problems but Mark Stewart was stretching backwards to reach the ball and his header as a consequence went wide of goal. The pressure was mounting, however, and in the 37th minute Falkirk were level. Mark Millar was both the creator and the finisher. The Falkirk player finishing confidently when he was left with just Scott Fox to beat. At this stage it was probably a deserved equaliser and after having levelled the scores the home side looked to push on and take a lead into the dressing room at half-time. And they were close to doing just that with half-time just three minutes away. Not for the first time it was a ball in from the left from Ryan Flynn that caused the problems and twice in rapid succession Thistle defenders had to throw their bodies in the way of Mark Millar shots.

After surrendering a lot of the possession in the first half Thistle made a change at the break with Chris Erskine coming on for Jackie McNamara, booked just before half-time. It was certainly a more positive looking Thistle side though the first chance of the half came the way of Falkirk. The chance came as Falkirk broke swiftly after a Thistle free kick had been cleared and Scott Fox was forced into a save low to his right. That chance aside the first 20 minutes or so of the second half belonged to Thistle. In the 59th minute Bryan Hodge was able to stab the ball forward inside the box but Simon Donnelly, inside the 6 yard box, wasn’t able to gather the ball. He was, however, able to gather a pass from Chris Erskine in the 61st minute before squaring to Paul Cairney who after turning saw his effort from close range smothered by Robert Olejnik. This signalled a passage of play in which Thistle won a number of corner in rapid succession but Thistle weren’t to be rewarded with the goal their play merited at this point. Thistle were made to pay for that when Falkirk nudged themselves in front after 73 minutes. The Thistle defence really should have made a better job of clearing a dangerous ball in the box and when the clearance went only as far as Jack Compton the Falkirk sub fired his side in front. There were five minutes of the game remaining when Ian McCall made his last roll of the dice sending on Shaun Fraser for his debut in place of Liam Buchanan. He could scarcely have made a more immediate or more positive impact. He first involvement in the game was to cross for other sub Kris Doolan to lift the ball into the net for his seventh goal of the season.

Scrapbook

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BBC, 11th January, 2011

Stats Watch

● 17-year-old Shaun Fraser makes his Thistle debut.

ongoing sequences:

● 6 competitive games without defeat, 13th Nov 2010 to date. (Longest run since: 10 games, 12th Feb 2008 to 1st Apr 2008. Joint club-record: 16 games, 15th Nov 1975 to 21st Feb 1976 & 30th Sep 2000 to 13th Jan 2001.)

● 24 consecutive competitive appearances for Paul Paton, Patrick Boyle (a new personal best) & Liam Buchanan, 24th Jul 2010 to date. (Longest run since: David Rowson - 24 games, 27th Feb 2010 to 25th Sep 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.

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