22nd Mar 2014 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1 Partick Thistle 0 (SPFL Premiership - game 30)

matches:2013-14: ← 39game 4041 →

Match Information

			John Hughes		Alan Archibald			36y, 8m, 9d
					Gabriel Piccolo; Stuart Bannigan
					Conrad Balatoni; Prince Buaben
Billy McKay (0-1, 62 mins)
Ross Draper (0-1, 62 mins)
David Raven; Greg Tansey; Richie Foran					Kallum Higginbotham
Danny Williams (Nick Ross, 71 mins); Richie Foran (Ryan Christie, 80 mins); James Vincent (Marley Watkins, 82 mins)					Gary Fraser (Prince Buaben, 72 mins); Chris Erskine (Steven Lawless, 76 mins); Lyle Taylor (George Moncur, 80 mins)
			Dean Brill		Paul Gallacher			34y, 7m, 6d
			David Raven		Stephen O'Donnell			21y, 10m, 11d
			Graeme Shinnie		Aaron Taylor-Sinclair			22y, 11m, 14d
			James Vincent		Gabriel Piccolo			24y, 5m, 7d
			Gary Warren		Lee Mair			33y, 3m, 13d
			Josh Meekings		Stuart Bannigan			21y, 6m, 5d
			Billy McKay		Gary Fraser			19y, 8m, 20d
			Ross Draper		Chris Erskine			27y, 1m, 14d
			Richie Foran		Kris Doolan			27y, 3m, 11d
			Greg Tansey		Lyle Taylor			23y, 11m, 21d
			Danny Williams		Kallum Higginbotham			24y, 9m, 7d
								25y, 7m, 3d
			Ryan Esson		Scott Fox			26y, 8m, 22d
			Nick Ross		James Craigen			22y, 11m, 22d
			future Jag Danny Devine		Steven Lawless			22y, 11m, 10d
			Marley Watkins		Christie Elliott			22y, 9m, 24d
			Carl Tremarco		Prince Buaben			25y, 10m, 27d
			Liam Polworth		Jordan McMillan			25y, 5m, 6d
			Ryan Christie		George Moncur			20y, 7m, 4d

Match Report

TTA report

Had Thistle taken their first half chances it could have been a win. Taylor had several good chances and was either unlucky or was foiled by good saves. In the second half the other Thistle enjoyed more possession and a header from a free-kick to the back post set up the winner from 2 yards (62).

Media report

22-Mar-2014, bbc.com

Billy McKay ended Inverness's barren run in front of goal, and put a stop to Partick Thistle's recent good form. In a nervous early performance from John Hughes' men, Partick dominated the first-half with Lyle Taylor denied numerous times by keeper Dean Brill. After the break it was a different home side, and Greg Tansey should have scored when he was through on goal. However, after 524 minutes without a goal for the Highlanders, McKay finally hit the net with a back-post header. win was vital for Inverness, with all the sides above them picking up three points this weekend, and their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League remain alive. For the visitors, a point would have gone a long way to helping secure their Scottish Premiership status, however they could not take advantage of their rivals slipping up.

With the hosts still feeling the effects of a dispiriting week in which they had lost the Scottish League Cup final on penalties followed by defeat at Motherwell, it was Alan Archibald's men that started on the front foot. Taylor fired straight at the goalkeeper when he was played through, which would not be the last time he was denied by Brill over the 90 minutes. In the aftermath, Kallum Higginbotham was booked for diving after a challenge by Josh Meekings, despite picking up a bloody nose for his troubles. Taylor again tested Brill after playing a neat one-two with Chris Erskine, but once more he could not find a way past the Englishman. As the game wore on, Inverness began to come more into it. Tansey fired a long-range effort just wide of the post, then after the break the midfielder really should have broken the deadlock. McKay played him through, sending Tansey one-on-one with Paul Gallagher. With just the goalkeeper to beat he lobbed it over both Gallagher and the bar.

McKay put another chance over the bar, before Taylor thought he had scored for Partick but it was flagged for offside. Finally, after a long wait, Inverness hit the back of the net for the first time since 22 February. Graeme Shinnie's free-kick was met by the head of Ross Draper who found McKay on the left hand side of the six-yard box, and he headed into the bottom right-hand corner. Tansey had two further efforts for the hosts - his first spinning wide and the second blocked - while Kris Doolan hit a late chance wide for the visitors, but Inverness hung on for all three points.

Scrapbook

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Daily Record, 24th March, 2014

Gallery

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Video Highlights

(credit: SPFL YouTube )

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Stats Watch

● 20-year-old George Moncur makes his Thistle debut.

ongoing sequences:

● 32 consecutive competitive appearances for Kallum Higginbotham, 10th Aug 2013 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Aaron Taylor-Sinclair - 55 games; 27th Oct 2012 to 18th Jan 2014. 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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