28th Nov 2015 Kilmarnock 2 Partick Thistle 5 (SPFL Premiership - game 16)

matches:2015-16: ← 20game 2122 →

	Gary Locke	Alan Archibald	38y, 4m, 15d

		Robbie Muirhead; Stuart Bannigan
		David Amoo; Sean Welsh

Josh Magennis (2-1, 23 mins); Mark Connolly (4-2, 72 mins)		Kris Doolan (1-0, 7 mins); Kris Doolan (2-0, 15 mins); Gary Fraser (3-1, 52 mins); Robbie Muirhead (4-1, 63 mins); Robbie Muirhead (5-2, 75 mins)
Conrad Balatoni (2-1, 23 mins); Steven Smith (4-2, 72 mins)		Steven Lawless (1-0, 7 mins); Gary Fraser (2-0, 15 mins); Robbie Muirhead (3-1, 52 mins); Stuart Bannigan (4-1, 63 mins); Steven Lawless (5-2, 75 mins)
Mark Connolly; Kallum Higginbotham; Greg Kiltie		Stuart Bannigan; Robbie Muirhead

Tope Obadeyi (Kris Boyd, 55 mins); Kevin McHattie (Craig Slater, 55 mins); Kallum Higginbotham (Dale Carrick, 69 mins)		Robbie Muirhead (David Amoo, 79 mins); Stuart Bannigan (Sean Welsh, 84 mins); Kris Doolan (Mathias Pogba, 88 mins)

	Jamie MacDonald	Ryan Scully	23y, 0m, 30d
	Steven Smith	Mustapha Dumbuya	28y, 3m, 21d
	Mark Connolly	Callum Booth	24y, 5m, 29d
	future Jag Scott Robinson	Dan Seaborne	28y, 8m, 23d
	former Jag Kallum Higginbotham	Liam Lindsay	20y, 1m, 16d
	Mark O'Hara	Abdul Osman	28y, 9m, 1d
	Tope Obadeyi	Robbie Muirhead	19y, 8m, 20d
	Kevin McHattie	Stuart Bannigan	23y, 2m, 11d
	Greg Kiltie	Kris Doolan	28y, 11m, 17d
	former Jag Conrad Balatoni	Gary Fraser	21y, 4m, 26d
	Josh Magennis	Steven Lawless	24y, 7m, 16d

			24y, 8m, 2d

	future Jag Mark Ridgers	Tomáš Černý	30y, 7m, 18d
	Jamie Hamill	Sean Welsh	25y, 8m, 13d
	Kris Boyd	David Amoo	24y, 7m, 15d
	future Jag Craig Slater	Ryan Stevenson	31y, 3m, 4d
	Dale Carrick	Freddy Frans	26y, 10m, 25d
	Ross Barbour	Ryan Edwards	22y, 0m, 11d
	Stuart Findlay	Mathias Pogba	25y, 3m, 9d

TTA report

Doolan's double (shot inside the box, 7 and a back-post header, 15) put Thistle 2-up but it was 2-1 at half-time. Fraser (52) and a glorious Muirhead 30-yarder in the top corner (63) made it 4-1 before a looping header (72) for 4-2 but Muirhead (75) made it 5. Lindsay hit the post. Excellent. Deserved more goals.

Media report

28-Nov-2015, ptfc.co.uk

Thistle travelled to Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock high in confidence after last week’s last gasp win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Alan Archibald’s side knew that vitory over the Ayrshire side would allow the club to jump over the hosts into 9th spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership. There were difficult conditions to contend with at Rugby Park with a driving rain and a swirling wind causing no lack of disruption to the teams, as conditions worsened as the first half moved on. Alan Archibald made two changes to the side which had defeated Inverness, with Stuart Bannigan returning to the heart of the midfield with Sean Welsh dropping to the bench. David Amoo was also dropped to the bench with Robbie Muirhead restored to the starting line-up against his former side after making an impact in the late stages of last weekend’s game.

Thistle started the game in a positive fashion but Kilmarnock had the opening chance, when Balatoni skied a low corner from Higginbotham high over the crossbar.

Thistle were keen to make a quick start and after six minutes had the lead. A lovely scooped pass from Osman found Lawless on the touchline and he managed to work his way into space just outside the penalty area. He found Doolan with a lovely threaded pass and, despite appeals from offside by the home side, he was able to calmly slot the ball beyond McDonald in the Kilmarnock goal. Kilmarnock tried to get back into the game, with Steven Smith dragging a shot wide of goal with only Scully to beat but Thistle were rampant in their attacking ascendancy and soon doubled the lead. Steven Lawless was fouled as he cut inside from the left hand touchline. Gary Fraser whipped over a fantastic free kick which Doolan headed in at the backpost having evaded all markers inside the six yard box. Thistle were caught napping from the resulting kick off and Kiltie fired a shot just wide of goal as Kilmarnock sought their way back into the game. They did get a lifeline when Magennis was able to volley home on the turn, having escaped the clutches of Liam Lindsay inside the Thistle penalty area. As the conditions worsened Kilmarnock took control of the game, firmly pressing themselves on the ball and causing Thistle no end of bother, with a series of long ball to Magennis, with Higginbotham and Kiltie trying to pick up the scraps inside the Thistle half. Ryan Scully, in the Thistle goal, went into the half time interval without having made a save of note, but having plucked the ball out of his goal.

Kilmarnock came out with determination and vigour at the start of the second half and Magennis was looking the main threat to drag the Ayrshire side level. On two occasions Thistle had to be alert to the danger the striker posed as he seemed destined to bring the Rugby Park side level. It was, however, at the other end where the games fourth goal came. Robbie Muirhead fired a low cross into the box which found Fraser at the back post. He took a touch to compose himself before rifling the ball into the back of the unguarded net from close range. Thistle were passing the ball about with confidence and Fraser had another opportunity to trouble the scoresheet but took too long on the ball allowing the Kilmarnock defence to crowd the midfielder out. Kris Doolan was on the verge of a hat-trick and almost had it when he got the ball deep inside the box. He elected to, unselfishly, square the ball to Lawless but the pass was overhit for the midfielder. The ball was retrieved with Doolan firing a shot straight into the arms of Jamie MacDonald. Thistle did grab a fourth two minutes later, and what a goal it was. Robbie Muirhead picked the ball up 35 yards from goal, took two touches to drive into the centre of the pitch which flew past MacDonald into the top corner to mark his first Thistle goal. Kilmarnock dragged a goal back when Connolly looped a header over Scully from a free kick before Robbie Muirhead added another excellent goal to his collection when a Booth cross found its way to him at the back post. Liam Lindsay had an opportunity to add a sixth when his header from a corner kick crashed off the base of the Kilmarnock post but there was to be no further scoring as Thistle played out the game to a succession of ole's from the 717 Thistle fans at the game. Thistle started November in 11th place and will finish it in, at least, 9th place having picked up seven points from three games in what is a key run of matches for the side. Next up is another crucial game against Motherwell at Firhill next Saturday.

RUGBY PARK RECORD

● First time Jags have hit 5 away in the top-flight since the 5-2 win at Tynecastle in March 1996.

● Thistle score 5 at Rugby Park for the first time ever.

● Thistle match their all-time biggest competitive victory margin at Rugby Park, previously achieved 5 times between 1887 and 1972.

● Dools moves on to 80 competitive goals scored. He's now 17th in the all-time chart, with the very real prospect of moving up to 14th at some stage this term.

● The number nine is half-way towards becoming only the second man in Thistle history to go double figures in competitive action for 6 seasons-in-a-row. Jimmy Walker holds the record with 7 seasons-in-a-row.

● Kris is bang on course this term to equalling Willie Sharp's record of finishing as the club's top League scorer in 5 different seasons.

● Robbie Muirhead scores his only two goals for Thistle.

● Gary Fraser scores his last goal for Thistle.

● Gary and Robbie open their scoring accounts for the season, pushing Thistle's League goals spread up to 12 players which, considering the extremity of the goal drought at the beginning of the campaign, is pretty sensational by November. Only 1 player was on the board after the first 8 League games. 11 players have joined Doolan in just the last 8 games! The club's top-flight record is 17, set in 1957-58.

● Jags are now a massive 20 competitive games unbeaten in matches where we have scored the opener.

● And finally, Killie are back where they belong as Thistle's number one top-flight bitches, having now been conquered at this level on 66 occasions.

ongoing sequences:

● 20 competitive games without defeat when scoring the opening goal, 23rd Sep 2014 to date.

● 27 consecutive competitive appearances for Callum Booth, 14th Mar 2015 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Stephen O'Donnell - 29 games; 8th Nov 2014 to 23rd May 2015. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 54 competitive games without a penalty award, 19th Sep 2014 to date.

● 72 competitive games without a goal from a penalty, 22nd Feb 2014 to date.

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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