18th Jul 2015 Falkirk 0 Partick Thistle 0 (Friendly)

matches:2015-16: ← 01game 0203 →

Match Information

			Peter Houston		Alan Archibald			38y, 0m, 5d
					Ryan Scully; Durrell Berry; Jack W. Hendry; Gary Fraser; Kris Doolan; Ryan Stevenson; Declan McDaid
					Tomáš Černý; Gary Miller; Callum Booth; Liam Lindsay; James Alabi; Sean Welsh; Steven Lawless
Tom Taiwo (Mark Kerr, HT); Craig Sibbald (Blair Alston, HT); David Smith (Alex Cooper, 66 mins); Robert McHugh (Scott Shepherd, 71 mins); Alan Maybury (Mark Finlayson, 82 mins); John Baird (Kevin O'Hara, 83 mins); Will Vaulks (Thomas Grant, 88 mins)					David Amoo (Callum Booth, HT); Gary Fraser (Sean Welsh, HT); Ryan Stevenson (Steven Lawless, HT); Durrell Berry (Matthew McInally, 63 mins); Abdul Osman (David Wilson [ii], 67 mins); Stuart Bannigan (Jordan Leyden, 72 mins); Kris Doolan (Kevin Nisbet, 78 mins)
			Danny Rogers		Ryan Scully			22y, 8m, 19d
			Alan Maybury		Durrell Berry			23y, 1m, 21d
			Luke Leahy		Stuart Bannigan			22y, 10m, 1d
			Tom Taiwo		Jack W. Hendry			20y, 2m, 11d
			former Jag Aaron Muirhead		Freddy Frans			26y, 6m, 15d
			Peter Grant		Abdul Osman			28y, 4m, 21d
			David Smith		David Amoo			24y, 3m, 5d
			Will Vaulks		Gary Fraser			21y, 0m, 16d
			former Jag John Baird		Kris Doolan			28y, 7m, 7d
			Robert McHugh		Ryan Stevenson			30y, 10m, 24d
			Craig Sibbald		Declan McDaid			19y, 7m, 26d
								24y, 4m, 20d
			Graham Bowman		Tomáš Černý			30y, 3m, 8d
			former Jag Mark Kerr		Callum Booth			24y, 1m, 18d
			Liam Dick		Sean Welsh			25y, 4m, 3d
			Thomas Grant		David Wilson [ii]			20y, 10m, 12d
			Alex Cooper		Jordan Leyden			19y, 4m, 9d
			Ryan Blair		Steven Lawless			24y, 3m, 6d
			Scott Shepherd		James Penrice			16y, 6m, 26d
			Kevin O'Hara		Kevin Nisbet			18y, 4m, 10d
			Mark Finlayson		Matthew McInally			17y, 11m, 16d
			future Jag Blair Alston

Match Report

TTA report

A clean sheet but no goals. Falkirk were sharper in the first half but McDaid was prominent and Fraser went close with a free-kick. Thistle had more attacking options following 7 substitutions with players assuming their more familiar positions. Lawless went closest with a shot cleared off the line.

Media report

18-Jul-2015, ptfc.co.uk

Thistle returned to Scotland for a pre-season friendly against recent Scottish Cup finalists Falkirk. The trip to the Championship side represented the first time Thistle went to the stadium since winning the title in 2012/13. It would also represent a game on an artificial surface which would be good preparation for the surface at Hamilton in two weeks’ time. Manager Alan Archibald made seven changes to the side which defeated Eastleigh midweek with only Bannigan, Osman, Frans and Amoo retaining their places in the squad. There was a first start of the pre-season schedule for Ryan Stevenson and Jack W. Hendry came in as Frederic Frans.

Falkirk are only a week away from competitive action with the Petrofac Cup starting next week and their sharpness proved evident in the early stages as they pounced on poor Thistle ball retention to create a couple of good opportunities. Vaulks robbed Osman of the ball around 25 yards out, playing it in to former Jag John Baird. The strikers powerful shot was low but comfortable for Scully in goal. Falkirk were dangerous from corners but Thistle managed to scramble the ball away with a couple of last ditch clearances. Thistle’s one bright spark in the first half was Declan McDaid who showed fearlessness and determination to run at the Falkirk defence, winning a couple of promising free kicks, which Thistle couldn’t fully take advantage of. It was from one of his lengthy runs that Thistle won a free kick right on the edge of the box after he had slotted the ball inside to Stevenson. Gary Fraser piled the free kick right into the Falkirk wall as the first half concluded.

A raft of changes in the second half disrupted the flow of the rhythm but Thistle’s superior fitness caused them to take charge of the game, becoming a more potent threat in the final third. A through ball caused Falkirk’s goalkeeper, Rogers, to race from his goal, heading only to David Wilson. He played the ball wide to Booth who fired a dangerous cross into the box which Thistle attackers were unlucky to not get on the end of. Steven Lawless came off the bench at half time and was having a great impact on the right hand side with some jinking runs into the box. It was Lawless who came closest to scoring when he connected with McDaid’s low cross, finding his shot blocked by a defender on the line. Alan Archibald will take encouragement from the fact that no player sustained any injuries during the game, although he will be slightly disappointed in the performance. Next up for Thistle is a game at Firhill against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night. Kick-off is 7:30pm.

Gallery

We're looking for a reliable (and free) solution that will enable us to embed photo galleries from the image hosting site, Flickr, so please get in touch → if you can help. Meantime, you can check Donald Wilson's excellent gallery by clicking on the image below; visit Flickr directly for the full gallery

Video Highlights

(credit: Partick Thistle Television )

advertisement

the ultimate destination for the best and latest Thistle multimedia content, from live audio commentary to the latest video interviews and tactical analysis…

…only £7.99 per month

Stats Watch

A CLEAN-SHEET RETURN FOR SCULLY

● Ryan Scully, the longest serving player at Firhill, registers his first appearance since the 5-1 "red 'n' yellow day" victory against Dunfermline, 2¾ years ago. He registers his 4th clean sheet in 11 games for the Thistle first team.

● James Penrice appears on the team-sheet for the first time.

● 17-year-old Matthew McInally makes his Thistle debut.

● 18-year-old Kevin Nisbet makes his Thistle debut.

● 23-year-old Durrell Berry plays his one and only game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 29 consecutive competitive appearances for Stephen O'Donnell, 8th Nov 2014 to date. (Longest run since: Kallum Higginbotham - 33 games; 10th Aug 2013 to 26th Mar 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.

.

match hubs

advertisement

Partick Thistle: A People’s History celebrates 150 years of the club through the eyes of the fans. It will be a superb addition to your Thistle collection, expertly curated and edited by Kenny Pieper, a real heart and soul effort from the author and the contributors (the fans).

• The book is set to be published in August 2026, each of the first editions uniquely numbered.
• Pre-order your limited edition copy and add your own dedication or message (up to 500 words).
• A labour of love - all royalties to the club.

Buy now: £18.76 (genius pricing!) from ptfc.co.uk