The Thistle Archive

Thistle’s first pre-season game of the season saw the side head to Cirencester to face local side Cirencester Town. It was to prove a successful evening’s work for the squad with each of the 19 players in the squad getting minutes in their legs. There were first public starts for new Thistle signings Daniel Devine and David Syme, while Chris Erskine marked his return from Dundee United with a typical swashbuckling performance. Lining up in 4-1-4-1 formation the game gave Jags fans the opportunity to see an attacking midfield combination of David Amoo, Steven Lawless, Ryan Edwards and Chris Erskine for the first time.

Thistle started the game with a high tempo keeping the ball for the first 60 seconds straight from kick off. There was a desire to release Amoo down the right hand side instantly and after a trademark run he won the sides first corner. Penrice sent over a good delivery which, after a scramble in the box, won a second corner in succession for the Jags. Another good delivery saw Devine send a header over the bar at the near post. Thistle were keeping the ball comfortably in the opening stages and more good work down the right won a third corner, this time Devine found his header blocked by a defender. Having had a no joy from their first three corners, Thistle tried something different with their fourth and the short corner routine forced the first save from goalkeeper Rivers. Steven Lawless had the low effort which was comfortable for the keeper at his near post. Thistle were continuing to have the majority of possession and when a deep Penrice cross found Syme, he was able to pick out Erskine at the edge of the box. His effort took a deflection leading to an easy save for the goalkeeper. Thistle were knocking on the door and on the 12th minute took a deserved lead. David Amoo’s arching cross was missed by Erskine’s initial leap but Lawless was able to collect the loose ball. He managed to cut the ball back to Erskine who finished high into the net from 12 yards out. Thistle were buoyed by the goal and started to fire more efforts on the home goal. Steven Lawless took aim from 30 yards with a fierce effort. The ball spun past the diving goalkeeper but smashed off the crossbar before bouncing over the bar. Cirencester were struggling to make an impact in front of the Thistle goal but Scully had to be alert to clear when Griffin had the first effort from the home side. Seconds later they fizzed a deep free kick just beyond Scully’s goal as the game became more of a midfield battle for a spell. With 10 minutes to go until half time, Erskine and Lawless showed interplay which echoed the connection the dynamic duo experienced when previously in the same team. With Erskine through on goal, the foot of the goalkeeper denied him a second goal of the game. He wasn’t to be denied for long and on 38 minutes he bagged his second of the game. Doolan picked him out on the edge of the box before a tremendous feint took out three Cirencester defenders, before slotting the ball past the goalkeeper with his right foot. A two goal lead was soon three as Thistle continued to press forward with halftime approaching. Penrice was unlucky to see a curling volley smash off the woodwork before Lawless fired a right footed effort from the edge of the box high beyond the reach of Rivers.

Half time brought with it the traditional high number of substitutes with the home side making eight changes to the original starting line-up. Alan Archibald resisted the temptation to tinker with his squad too much making only three half time changes with Conor Cullen getting a run out in goals for the second half. The young goalkeeper showed some assured handling during his 45 minutes on the pitch and grabbed crosses that were fired into the box with confidence. David Wilson, another half time substitute, was showing plenty of energy and played a variety of good passes in the early stages of the half as the game dipped slightly into a typical pre-season affair. With 63 minutes on the clock Thistle bagged a fourth. Pogba sent a fizzing effort towards goal which the goalkeeper flapped at touching the ball onto the bar. Ryan Edwards was in the right place at the right time to head home from a few yards out. Thistle continued to make changes, disrupting the flow of the game slightly but there was only one side on the ascendancy. McMullin swung over a cross which seemed comfortable for Langley in the home goal. He spilled the ball around six yards out which Mathias Pogba, under pressure from a recovering defender slotted into the empty net. Kris Doolan was having a good game and, although he didn’t get on the scoresheet himself, he did play an influential part in setting up a number of goals. He was heavily involved in the sixth and final goal of the game, playing in youngster Kevin Nisbet. With Mathias Pogba screaming for the square pass, the confident youngster finished home at the near post with his shot taking a slight nick off the near post. It was to finish six-nil to Thistle in a game that was an encouraging fitness exercise for Alan Archibald’s side. Ryan Edwards and Kris Doolan managed full 90 minutes on a heavy pitch and the gaffer will be pleased to see the goals spread amongst five different scorers. He’ll also be encouraged by the clean sheet kept by the side after a number of defensive switches throughout the game. Thistle return to the University of Bath for the rest of their training camp and will be focussing on the visit to Twerton Park on Saturday.

ptfc.co.uk

AN ASSISTS HAT-TRICK FOR DOOLAN

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