26th Mar 2011 Dunfermline Athletic 0 Partick Thistle 0 (SFL First Division - game 28)

matches:2010-11: ← 40game 4142 →

Match Information

			Jim McIntyre		Ian McCall			46y, 5m, 24d
					Ryan McGowan
					Jackie McNamara
Alex Keddie
David Graham (Pat Clarke, 66 mins)					Martin Grehan (Simon Donnelly, HT); Chris Erskine (Jamie Campbell, 70 mins)
			Chris Smith		Scott Fox			23y, 8m, 26d
			Callum Woods		John A. Robertson			34y, 11m, 26d
			Austin McCann		Patrick Boyle			24y, 0m, 6d
			Gary Mason		Ryan McGowan			21y, 7m, 11d
			Kevin Rutkiewicz		Conrad Balatoni			20y, 1m, 27d
			Alex Keddie		Alan Archibald			33y, 3m, 13d
			Steven McDougall		Iain Flannigan			23y, 2m, 11d
			Alex Burke		David Rowson			34y, 6m, 12d
			former Jag Liam Buchanan		Kris Doolan			24y, 3m, 15d
			former Jag Martin Hardie		Martin Grehan			26y, 5m, 17d
			David Graham		Chris Erskine			24y, 1m, 18d
								26y, 4m, 25d
			Greg Paterson		Ryan Scully			18y, 4m, 25d
			Pat Clarke		Simon Donnelly			36y, 3m, 25d
			former Jag Andy Dowie		Tommy Stewart			24y, 4m, 14d
			Chris Higgins		Jamie Campbell			19y, 0m, 2d
			John McDonald		Willie Kinniburgh			26y, 6m, 18d

Match Report

TTA report

The game started at a fast and furious pace. Chances were missed at both ends, Doolan hit the post, Fox had a fine save. There were fewer chances in the second half but it was always an entertaining game. A win would have taken Dunfermline to the top but a draw was the least Thistle deserved.

Media report

26-Mar-2011, ptfc.co.uk

With Jackie McNamara ruled out with injury, manager Ian McCall made just one change to the side that recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Stirling Albion midweek. Ryan McGowan, who missed the midweek game as he was away at a training camp with Australia, was the player drafted in to replace McNamara though that also meant a change in shape, with Thistle electing to go with a 4-4-2 formation.

There was no lack of commitment from either side and the action came at a furious rate in a highly entertaining first half. The game’s first chance came as early as the third minute and would have produced a Dunfermline goal had it not been for an excellent Scott Fox save. Fox proving his was fully alert right from the start as he clawed away a Hardie header from a Callum Woods cross. The home side were clearly in determined mood but Thistle were close themselves in the 8th minute. Martin Grehan’s excellent knock down was collected by Kris Doolan who in turn pushed the ball to Chris Erskine. Erskine’s effort, however, was too high. Three minutes later Thistle again had the Dunfermline defence flying distress signals. Ryan McGowan’s long throw from the right caused panic in the Pars defence but when the ball broke into the path of Kris Doolan he could only shoot wide of goal although it did look to have taken a deflection despite Thistle not receiving a corner. In the 13th minute it was the frame of the Dunfermline goal that prevented Thistle from taking the lead. Paddy Boyle’s mishit shot was gathered by Martin Grehan who crossed for Kris Doolan who saw his header smack off the post. Martin Hardie’s aerial ability was proving to be a threat and he was able to meet a McCann cross in the 20th minute but Paddy Boyle’s presence alone was enough to prevent Hardie getting any power to his header and Scott Fox was able to make a comfortable save. Fox’s next save was anything but comfortable. David Graham had an alarming amount of space on the right and he picked out Liam Buchanan with his cross. Buchanan hitherto quiet up to this point must have thought that he had scored against his former club, but Fox was able to turn his shot round the post for a corner. Play quickly moved to the other end and in the 32nd minute it was the Dunfermline keeper’s turn to save when Smith dived low to his right to cling onto a Kris Doolan shot. He was struggling in the 41st minute when Ryan McGowan’s effort took a deflection but the ball bounced, for Thistle, just the wrong side of the post. A thoroughly entertaining first half finished with Alex Keddie’s late run into the box allowing him to meet a McDougall corner but his header was off target.

The second half didn’t produce the same amount of goalmouth action as the first had but it remained an entertaining affair with both sides pushing hard for a winning goal. With news filtering through that Dunfermline’s main title rivals Raith Rovers were losing, their efforts became more and more desperate as they sought the goal that would take them to the top of the league. The clear cut opportunities that they had though were few and far between. In the 56th minute Scott Fox managed to get an important touch to a corner from the left which meant that a stretching Martin Hardie was unable to direct his header downwards. Four minutes later McDougall shot narrowly wide but that was pretty much it in terms of chances for Dunfermline. The better chances came Thistle’s way. Simon Donnelly, on as a half-time substitute for Martin Grehan, and Kris Doolan combined well at the edge of the box in the 73rd minute but the latter’s shot was too straight to truly trouble Chris Smith. Three minutes later Ryan McGowan, impressive in the centre of the Thistle midfield, was able to set up Simon Donnelly. Donnelly though was unable to get the ball from under his feet and wasn’t able to manage a shot. He was, however, able to get the ball back to Jamie Campbell and the youngster’s shot was just about a foot wide of goal. A Donnelly free kick struck the Dunfermline wall and a Ryan McGowan header drifted wide of goal as the game entered the final ten minutes with Thistle pushing hard to try and take three points back to Glasgow.

Stats Watch

● 21-year-old Ryan McGowan plays his last game for Thistle.

● 36-year-old Simon Donnelly plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 4 consecutive clean-sheets in away League games; 26th Feb 2011 to date. (Longest run since the club-record: 5 games; 19th Nov 1991 to 1st Jan 1992.)

● 4 consecutive clean-sheets in competitive away games; 26th Feb 2011 to date. (Longest run since: 5 games; 19th Nov 1991 to 1st Jan 1992. Club-record: 6 games; 22nd Jan 1983 to 5th Mar 1983.)

● 27 consecutive competitive appearances for Chris Erskine, 25th Sep 2010 to date. (Longest run since: Paul Paton - 36 games, 24th Jul 2010 to 19th Mar 2011. 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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