26th Jul 2016 Stenhousemuir 1 Partick Thistle 4 (League Cup Group E - game 3)

matches:2016-17: ← 06game 0708 →

	former Jag Brown Ferguson	Alan Archibald	39y, 0m, 13d

		David Syme; Ryan Edwards; Kris Doolan; Mathias Pogba
		Danny Devine; David Wilson [ii]; Ade Azeez; Chris Erskine

Liam McCroary (2-1, 73 mins)		Mathias Pogba (1-0, 20 mins); Sean Welsh (2-0, pen 22 mins); David Amoo (3-1, 85 mins); Ade Azeez (4-1, 86 mins)
none (2-1, 73 mins)		Callum Booth (1-0, 20 mins); none (2-0, pen 22 mins); none (3-1, 85 mins); Kris Doolan (4-1, 86 mins)


Liam McMaster (Jack Smith, 84 mins); Liam McCroary (Paul Nash, 88 mins)		Steven Lawless (Kevin Nisbet, 60 mins); Mathias Pogba (Ade Azeez, 66 mins); David Amoo (Declan McDaid, 87 mins)

	Colin McCabe	David Crawford	31y, 0m, 26d
	Jamie McCormack	Ziggy Gordon	23y, 3m, 3d
	Liam McMaster	Callum Booth	25y, 1m, 26d
	former Jag Ross Meechan	Liam Lindsay	20y, 9m, 14d
	Fraser Kerr	David Syme	19y, 1m, 3d
	Vincent Berry	Sean Welsh	26y, 4m, 11d
	Alan Cook	David Amoo	25y, 3m, 13d
	Liam McCroary	Ryan Edwards	22y, 8m, 9d
	Colin McMenamin	Kris Doolan	29y, 7m, 15d
	Kieran Millar	Mathias Pogba	25y, 11m, 7d
	Mark Gilhaney	Steven Lawless	25y, 3m, 14d

			24y, 11m, 15d

	James Howarth	Tomáš Černý	31y, 3m, 16d
	Grant Hamilton	Chris Erskine	29y, 5m, 18d
	Stephen Stirling	Ade Azeez	22y, 6m, 18d
	Calum Runciman	David Wilson [ii]	21y, 10m, 20d
	Paul Nash	Declan McDaid	20y, 8m, 4d
	Jack Smith	Kevin Nisbet	19y, 4m, 18d
	Alan Docherty	James Penrice	17y, 7m, 4d

notes

Thistle generally in playing order, opposition in squad number order.

TTA report

Thistle dominated and should have been even more comfortable than Pogba's diving header (20) and a soft pen by Welsh (22). Foot firmly off the gas led to a goal from 18 yards following a poorly cleared corner (73) but Amoo turned in a rebounded Azeez shot (85) then Azeez shot under the keeper (86).

Media report

26-Jul-2016, ptfc.co.uk

Thistle travelled to Ochilview to take on League One Stenhousemuir in the third Betfred Cup tie of the group stage. Thistle had won each of their two previous fixtures while Stenhousemuir were isolated at the bottom of the group without a point to their name. Despite this, it was clear that there would be a tricky game to navigate for Alan Archibald’s side on the artificial surface in Larbert. Manager Alan Archibald made four changes to the side which defeated Queen of the South at Firhill on Saturday as he freshened up his attacking strike force once again. Kris Doolan and Mathias Pogba spearheaded the Jags attack with Ade Azeez and David Wilson dropping to the bench as the gaffer set a more attacking line up. Chris Erskine also sat out the 90 minutes on the bench with Ryan Edwards getting his first start of the season, while defender Daniel Devine missed out through injury. His absence allowed David Syme to make his competitive debut for the club.

Attacking the goal in front of a large Thistle support in the first half, Kris Doolan, sporting the white away kit, got the game underway. Right from the start Thistle’s pressure was relentless and during the first half they won over 10 corners. From one of these corners Pogba had the game’s first opportunity with a powerful header. Youngster McCabe, in the home goal, was more than equal to parry away his effort. Pogba was proving to be a menace for the Warriors defence and moments later he won another header from a Welsh set piece, this time he got too much downward power on the ball and it bounced up and over the crossbar. The big target man was not to be denied his first goal of the season and on the 20th minute he had it. Callum Booth fired over a great cross from the left hand side and a Pogba diving header found its way into the top corner of the net. Thistle seized possession back straight from kick off and within 60 seconds had won a penalty when David Amoo sneaked the ball away from a defender and was fouled. Sean Welsh made no mistake with the spot kick. There were to be no further goals in the first half but some of Thistle’s play was great to watch as they built attack after attack. On the rare occasion that Stenhousemuir broke forward, David Crawford was well placed to repel the attacks.

Thistle weren’t the same force in the start of the second half and that allowed Stenhousemuir to have a bigger grip on the game. Cook fired a 35 yard free kick well over the bar while Stenny continued to push Thistle back a little as they looked to get back into the game. Thistle, however, always continued to prove a threat. Kevin Nisbet, on as a substitute for Steven Lawless had an immediate impact. He slid a great ball wide to Pogba who fed a cross in for the youngster. Nisbet connected well with the effort but could only steer his shot off the post before Doolan’s rebound was deflected over the bar. With the game entering its final phase, it seemed like Thistle were going to hold onto their two goal lead with a minimum of fuss. On 73 minutes McCroary grabbed a goal back for the home side. A corner was partially cleared and McCroary was able to fire home from inside the box having evaded the attentions of his marker. This caused a few anxious moments for the Jags support before the game was wrapped up once and for all. Azeez collected Nisbet’s pass, breaking through the offside trap. His low effort was blocked by a defender but Amoo was able to fire home the rebound to restore Thistle’s two goal lead. In a remarkable similarity to the first half, Thistle grabbed another quick fire effort. A cross from the left was well controlled by Azeez before his effort wriggled under the goalkeeper to give him his first Jags goal. It would finish 4-1 to Thistle and the club took a step closer to the next round of the Betfred Cup. A win on Saturday will secure the top spot in the group as well as a coveted seed position in the next round.

THE END OF A 2½ YEARS PENALTY DROUGHT

● Ade Azeez scores his first goal for Thistle.

● 31-year-old David Crawford plays his last game for Thistle.

● Mathias Pogba scores his last goal for Thistle.

● Thistle are awarded a penalty away from home in competitive action for the first time in almost two-and-a-half years, ending a 49-game-run without.

● Sean Welsh maintains his 100% spot-kick record - now 3/3, all in competitive action.

● Thistle have had seven different scorers in the first three competitive games of the season. This contrasts starkly with last term when we only had one scorer (Kris Doolan) in the first nine games!

● The last time Thistle had such a wide spread of scorers after just 3 competitive games was in 1972 when 8 players registered in the July Cup.

● The last time there was such a wide spread in the group section of the League Cup was in 1971 at the start of Thistle's victorious campaign.

● Thistle win three consecutive League Cup matches for the first time since 1975.

ongoing sequences:

● 6 competitive games without defeat, 7th May 2016 to date. (Longest run since: 6 games, 7th Nov 2015 to 30th Dec 2015. Joint club-record: 16 games, 15th Nov 1975 to 21st Feb 1976 & 30th Sep 2000 to 13th Jan 2001.)

● 43 consecutive competitive appearances for Steven Lawless, 9th Aug 2015 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Callum Booth - 46 games; 14th Mar 2015 to 9th Apr 2016. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 44 away League games without a penalty award, 1st Mar 2014 to date. (Longest run since: 46 games; 5th Dec 1914 to 24th Mar 1917. Club-record: 62 games; 1st Apr 1911 to 7th Nov 1914.)

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