2nd Jul 2011 Blyth Spartans 2 Partick Thistle 0 (Friendly)

matches:2011-12: ← 49game 0102 →

Match Information

			Steve Cuggy		Jackie McNamara			37y, 8m, 8d
					Aaron Taylor-Sinclair; Willie Kinniburgh; Jack Boyle; Martin Grehan
					Patrick Boyle; Conrad Balatoni; David Rowson; Kris Doolan
Shaun Vipond (0-1, 53 mins); Phil Cave (0-2, pen 83 mins)
Jake Cunningham (Matty Hunter); Dylan Purvis (Richie Slaughter); Wayne Buchanan (Douglas); Smith (Phil Cave); Shaun Vipond (Greg Pearson); Chris Emms (Adam Forster); Graeme Armstrong (Josh Gray); Lee Mason (John Alexander)					Ryan Scully (Scott Fox, HT); Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (Kieran Brennan, HT); Paul Cairney (Kyle Lochhead, HT); Willie Kinniburgh (Johnny Lindsay, HT); Alan Archibald (Ryan MacBeth, HT); Jack Boyle (Ian Cameron [ii], HT); Chris Erskine (Stuart Bannigan, HT); Tommy Stewart (Kieran Burns, HT); Martin Grehan (Shaun Fraser, HT); Iain Flannigan (Chris Erskine, 65 mins)
			Jake Cunningham		Ryan Scully			18y, 8m, 3d
			Dylan Purvis		Jamie Campbell			19y, 3m, 8d
			Carl Jones		Aaron Taylor-Sinclair			20y, 2m, 24d
			Wayne Buchanan		Paul Cairney			23y, 10m, 3d
			Liam Atkin		Willie Kinniburgh			26y, 9m, 24d
			Smith		Alan Archibald			33y, 6m, 19d
			Neal Hooks		Jack Boyle			20y, 11m, 23d
			Shaun Vipond		Chris Erskine			24y, 4m, 24d
			Chris Emms		Tommy Stewart			24y, 7m, 20d
			Graeme Armstrong		Iain Flannigan			23y, 5m, 17d
			Lee Mason		Martin Grehan			26y, 8m, 23d
								23y, 10m, 13d
			Matty Hunter		Scott Fox			24y, 0m, 4d
			Richie Slaughter		Johnny Lindsay			18y, 8m, 16d
			Douglas		Shaun Fraser			18y, 0m, 2d
			Phil Cave		Stuart Bannigan			18y, 9m, 15d
			Greg Pearson		Kieran Burns			19y, 3m, 8d
			Adam Forster		Ryan MacBeth			20y, 2m, 3d
			Josh Gray		Kyle Lochhead			18y, 9m, 11d
			John Alexander		Kieran Brennan			19y, 2m, 18d
					Ian Cameron [ii]			23y, 1m, 9d

notes

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, Jack Boyle, Kieran Brennan and Ian Cameron [ii] played as a trialists.

Match Report

TTA report

McNamara confirmed as manager 12 May. On a pitch with long grass and too much sand, Thistle almost used 2 complete line-ups. The first half was disjointed and goalless. Numerous changes at half-time saw mainly reserves playing. A cracking strike (53) and a penalty (83) deservedly won it. Blyth hit the post 3 times.

Media report

02-Jul-2011, ptfc.co.uk

It was a disappointing return to action or Thistle this afternoon at Blyth Spartans with the home side fully meriting their 2-0 victory. Indeed had Blyth not struck the frame of the Thistle goal on no fewer than three occasions during the course of the second half their winning margin could have been even greater. It is important, of course, not to place too much emphasis on results in pre-season matches and the fact that Thistle made no fewer than 9 changes at half-time did contribute to what was at times a disjointed second half display. Even in acknowledging that fact manager Jackie McNamara wasn’t doing a good job in hiding his frustration when he spoke to ptfc.co.uk after the game; “We’ve only just started and we saw today a big difference between the first half and the second half when the kids came into the team. We looked really disjoined in the second half and there is much to work on. Yes, it was hot today and the pitch wasn’t in great condition but it was exactly the same for Blyth and I’m a wee bit angry at the manner in which we lost the goals in the second half and at simple things that we did wrong. You don’t gain much from simply breezing through pre-season but equally it is important to try and start well and build morale and we didn’t do that today.”

Perhaps surprisingly given that Blyth fully deserved their win, it was Thistle that actually started this game the better, winning a corner inside the first 60 seconds before Tommy Stewart, after being set up by strike partner Martin Grehan, tested the home keeper at his near post. Thistle could, and perhaps should, have been in front in the 7th minute. The Blyth keeper could only half save a Chris Erskine shot but no Thistle player was alert, or sharp enough, to bundle the loose ball into the back of the net. That was in truth Thistle’s best chance of the first 45 minutes. Indeed it was Spartans that had best two chances to open the scoring in the first half. Ryan Scully saving well at the feet of a Blyth striker and Iain Flannigan being forced to clear a net bound shot off the line.

Wholesale changes were made at the break and after Blyth had struck the post just four minutes after the restart the home side did finally take the lead in the 53rd minute through a well struck shot from outside the box from Vipond. Blyth struck the frame of the Thistle goal again in the 66th minute when a header hit the bar before Thistle came close to levelling the scores through Kieran Burns. Burns, who missed virtually all of last season through injury, did well to control a cross field pass and was unlucky to see his shot turned round the post for a corner kick. That was very much an isolated raid on the Blyth goal though and the hosts again struck the Thistle bar in the 73rd minute. It was Thistle’s turn to hit woodwork 7 minutes later when Shaun Fraser’s effort thumped off the post and bounced clear. It would have been debatable if Thistle would have deserved to draw level at this point and with 7 minutes of the game remaining Blyth secured their deserved win. Phil Cave converting a penalty following an infringement inside the box from Johnny Lindsay.

The more observant among you will have noticed the absence of Kris Doolan and David Rowson from the team list and the manager was able to provide us with an update on the reason for their absence; “David’s toe nail has come off and Kris went over on his ankle the other day but neither injury is too bad.”

Finally, it would be remiss of us not to pay tribute to the quite magnificent travelling support this afternoon who made up a sizeable proportion of the 590 crowd. Equally we must take time out to thank all associated with Blyth Spartans Football Club for the warmth of the welcome they gave us. We wish them well and look forward to renewing our friendship with them in the future.

Video Highlights

(credit: ridskwerr )

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Stats Watch

● The opening game of the 137th season of Partick Thistle F.C.

● 18-year-old Johnny Lindsay makes his Thistle debut.

● 19-year-old Kieran Brennan plays his one and only game for Thistle.

● 20-year-old Aaron Taylor-Sinclair makes his Thistle debut.

● 20-year-old Jack Boyle makes his Thistle debut.

● 18-year-old Kyle Lochhead plays his last game for Thistle.

● 20-year-old Ryan MacBeth plays his last game for Thistle.

● Jack Boyle becomes the first Jersian to play for Thistle.

● Jersey becomes the 31st country/territory to birth a Jag.

● 23-year-old Ian Cameron [ii] plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 35 consecutive competitive appearances for Chris Erskine, 25th Sep 2010 to date, a new personal best. (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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