26th Feb 2011 Ross County 0 Partick Thistle 0 (SFL First Division - game 22)

matches:2010-11: ← 34game 3536 →

Match Information

			Jimmy Calderwood		Ian McCall			46y, 4m, 27d
					John A. Robertson; Jackie McNamara; Simon Donnelly
					Patrick Boyle; Paul Cairney; Chris Erskine
Stuart Kettlewell					Iain Flannigan
Paul Di Giacomo (Mark Corcoran, 63 mins); Garry Wood (Andy Barrowman, 81 mins); Paul Lawson (Jason Marr, 83 mins)					Willie Kinniburgh (Chris Erskine, 30 mins); Jackie McNamara (Paul Cairney, 61 mins); Simon Donnelly (Martin Grehan, 72 mins)
			Michael McGovern		Scott Fox			23y, 7m, 29d
			future Jag Gary Miller		Paul Paton			23y, 10m, 8d
			Scott Morrison		Bryan Hodge			23y, 5m, 3d
			Paul Lawson		John A. Robertson			34y, 10m, 29d
			former Jag Scott Boyd		Willie Kinniburgh			26y, 5m, 18d
			Johnny Flynn		Alan Archibald			33y, 2m, 13d
			Steven Milne		Jackie McNamara			37y, 4m, 2d
			Stuart Kettlewell		David Rowson			34y, 5m, 12d
			Garry Wood		Kris Doolan			24y, 2m, 15d
			Richard Brittain		Simon Donnelly			36y, 2m, 25d
			former Jag Paul Di Giacomo		Iain Flannigan			23y, 1m, 11d
								29y, 2m, 3d
			Joe Malin		Graeme Shepherd			18y, 11m, 12d
			Andy Barrowman		Ryan McGowan			21y, 6m, 11d
			Michael Gardyne		Chris Erskine			24y, 0m, 18d
			former Jag Mark Corcoran		Paul Cairney			23y, 5m, 28d
			Jason Marr		Martin Grehan			26y, 4m, 17d

Match Report

TTA report

Thistle enjoyed lots of possession in this game but early corners came to nothing. They were comfortable for most of the first half. The second half was much the same although County were thwarted by Fox at close range late on (the best chance of the game). Neither team had enough quality in front of goal.

Media report

26-Feb-2011, ptfc.co.uk

Thistle returned to Glasgow with a point and the end of a hard fought but ultimately goalless draw with Ross County. Thistle’s plans for this match were upset even before the team bus set out for Dingwall. A knock picked up in Friday’s training by previously ever present Paddy Boyle had flared up overnight to the degree that it was affecting his mobility so he didn’t make the trip north. The absence of Boyle meant an enforced change but manager Ian McCall also kept his promise to make changes to the side that had disappointed in losing to Morton in midweek with John Robertson, Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly all coming into the side.

At a venue at which Thistle had recorded their only away league win of the season, the visitors made a positive start to this fixture winning a couple of corners in the game’s opening skirmishes and David Rowson saw a shot blocked close to the County goal line. It took the home side, searching for their first win under new manager Jimmy Calderwood, until the 15th minute to threaten the Thistle goal and even then Paul Di Giacomo’s shot went tamely wide of goal. The Thistle goal, however, was under more serious threat two minutes later. Scott Morrison was able to evade a couple of challenges inside the box with Thistle grateful to scramble his cut back away to safety, After been hit with an injury blow before the game Thistle suffered a further injury set back midway through the first half when Willie Kinniburgh who had picked up a knock a few minutes earlier, was forced to make a premature departure for the game with Chris Erskine coming on in his place. Perhaps as a result of the disruption to the Thistle defence that Kinniburgh’s injury caused, County dominated the remainder of the first half although they were restricted to just one clear opportunity. There was a suspicion of offside when Garry Wood was able to get his head to a cross from the right flank but even though there was no raised flag, Scott Fox was able to keep out Wood’s header low down at his right hand post. Thistle too had one opportunity to take a lead into the dressing room at half-time. The first 45 minutes had been all but completed when Iain Flannigan collected a pass from Simon Donnelly before shooting across goal and only narrowly wide of the far post.

The first chance of the second half was Thistle’s as well. In the 50th minute Kris Doolan’s clever flick set up David Rowson who was unfortunate to see his well struck shot from the edge of the County box go just the wrong side of the post. Although Rowson didn’t manage to force McGovern into making a save, at the other end Scott Fox had to make an excellent close range save to deny Garry Wood a goal. If truth be told that would be the closest that either side would come to goal though Thistle did begin to get the scent of a goal with the game inside the last 15 minutes. Second half substitute Martin Grehan was able to cut across the edge of the County box before sending a shot only narrowly over the bar in the 76th minute. Grehan was again involved two minutes later. He did well to win the ball in the air and when his header found Paul Cairney in space inside the County box, Cairney elected not to shoot when he had the chance and the opportunity was lost. There was plenty of effort and endeavour from both teams throughout the 90 minutes but neither displayed the sufficient quality in front of goal to win the game with the draw the right result.

Stats Watch

ongoing sequences:

● 7 away League games without a win; 23rd Oct 2010 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games; 17th Aug 2008 to 30th Dec 2008. Club-record: 26 games; 20th Mar 1935 to 29th Aug 1936.)

● 7 competitive away games without a win; 14th Dec 2010 to date. (Longest run since: 11 games; 24th Feb 2007 to 6th Oct 2007. Club-record: 25 games; 20th Apr 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 32 consecutive competitive appearances for Paul Paton, 24th Jul 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.

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