1st Mar 2017 Dundee 0 Partick Thistle 1 (SPFL Premiership - game 27)

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matches:2016-17: ← 38game 3940 →

	Neil McCann	Alan Archibald	39y, 7m, 16d

		Christie Elliott
		Mustapha Dumbuya

		Julen Etxabeguren (1-0, og 29 mins)
		Kris Doolan (1-0, og 29 mins)
Darren O'Dea		Adam Barton; Chris Erskine

Henrik Ojamaa (Faissal El Bakhtaoui, 65 mins); Craig Wighton (Danny Williams, 68 mins); Julen Etxabeguren (Kostadin Gadzhalov, 69 mins)		Chris Erskine (Steven Lawless, 77 mins); Kris Doolan (Ade Azeez, 86 mins)

	Scott Bain	Tomáš Černý	31y, 10m, 19d
	future Jag Kevin Holt	Christie Elliott	25y, 9m, 3d
	James Vincent	Callum Booth	25y, 9m, -1d
	Darren O'Dea	Liam Lindsay	21y, 4m, 17d
	Mark O'Hara	Danny Devine	24y, 5m, 22d
	Julen Etxabeguren	Niall Keown	21y, 10m, 24d
	Paul McGowan	Abdul Osman	30y, 0m, 2d
	Marcus Haber	Adam Barton	26y, 1m, 22d
	Henrik Ojamaa	Kris Doolan	30y, 2m, 18d
	Cammy Kerr	Ryan Edwards	23y, 3m, 12d
	Craig Wighton	Chris Erskine	30y, 0m, 21d

			26y, 5m, 11d

	Kyle Gourlay	Mark Ridgers	26y, 6m, 20d
	Tom Hateley	David Amoo	25y, 10m, 16d
	Danny Williams	Steven Lawless	25y, 10m, 17d
	Nick Ross	Ade Azeez	23y, 1m, 21d
	Faissal El Bakhtaoui	Kevin Nisbet	19y, 11m, 21d
	Kostadin Gadzhalov	Andy McCarthy	18y, 4m, 9d
	Kevin Gomis

notes

Thistle generally in playing order, opposition in squad number order.
Thistle filled only 6 of their 7 allocated bench slots.
Although missing from “the network”, video evidence shows that Dundee's Darren O'Dea was booked for protesting Thistle's goal.

TTA report

A 3rd win/clean sheet against Dundee courtesy of an OG (a Doolan cut-back turned in at the near post, 29). Inventive attacking play and outstanding defending earned the points in an increasingly tough game, especially after half-time. There was little in it but Thistle always looked the more likelier side. Up to 6th.

Media report

Richard Wilson, 01-Mar-2017, bbc.com

Partick Thistle claimed their third Scottish Premiership win over Dundee this season to replace the Dens Park side in the top six. Julen Etxabeguren touched into his own net from Kris Doolan's low cross to give Thistle the lead. James Vincent tested Tomas Cerny as the hosts pressed in the second half. Darren O'Dea and Faissal El Bakhtaoui also threatened for Dundee and Doolan had a goal ruled out for offside before the end. The Jags are now five points off St Johnstone and two ahead of the Dark Blues.

The visitors had a solid platform to build on, with a tight back three and five strung across midfield. That allowed Chris Erskine and Doolan licence to play as out and out strikers, with the former always looking to dart into space behind the Dundee back line. Erskine was typically impressive on the ball, able to carry it quickly and directly into dangerous areas and past opponents. He has a deft touch and clever vision, and he roamed around looking to be an influence. His first meaningful act was to sweep a shot on target that Dundee goalkeeper Scott Bain had to hold, and just before half-time he stuck another effort that flew wide. In between, Partick Thistle opened the scoring when Doolan raced down the right and delivered a cross into the six-yard box. Ryan Edwards raced in to try to meet the ball, but it was Dundee defender Extabeguren who had the final touch before the ball ran over the line. Doolan remained sharp, and he demanded a good save from Bain with a low shot towards the near post in the second half.

The home side had been ragged during the opening half, lacking in width or attacking impetus. They were more assertive after the break, pinning the Partick Thistle defenders back near their own penalty area in the early stages. With Marcus Haber more physically imposing after the break, and winning headers, Dundee carried a greater edge. The visitors defended stoutly, but Vincent was allowed enough space to rifle a shot on target from distance, Cerny pushing away. Manager Paul Hartley sent on striker El Bakhtaoui to try to alter the scoreline, but moments later he had to make a further change when the luckless Extaberguren went off. O'Dea might have equalised late on, but his header at the back post bounced wide of the upright, then El Bakhtaoui volleyed wide. Even under pressure, the Thistle defence seldom looked fragile. The back three of Niall Keown, Daniel Devine and Liam Lindsay were strong in the air and they cleared almost everything that Dundee threw at them. When the ball did break inside the penalty area, there was always a Partick Thistle body on hand to block and clear. In front of them, Adam Barton was a tall, rangy presence, closing down the ball and space to help keep Dundee at bay. Doolan thought he had scored their second but was flagged offside. It mattered little though as Thistle extended their winning run to four ahead of Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final away to Aberdeen.

Reaction

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald (speaking to the BBC):

We worked ever so hard all over the pitch, defended from the front and delighted to get the three points. [Doolan and Erskine] picked up some great areas, not as much on the counter, but quick turnovers. Chris Erskine links up well with Doolan and on every Dundee attack I thought we looked a threat as soon as we got the ball. We knew they would come and have a go [after the break], but I thought we started the second half well then Dundee had 10 or 15 minutes when they put us under real pressure. We defended brilliantly, the three centre-backs defend crosses really well towards the end, they were outstanding. It gives us something to build on. It's good for the lads to look at the table [and see Partick Thistle in the top six] and we want to stay there for longer this time.

Dundee manager Paul Hartley (speaking to the BBC):

It was a scrappy game, I didn't think there was a lot of quality. We were probably better in the second half in terms of the pressure we put on them, but we didn't pass the ball well. They defended pretty well and we didn't perform the way I wanted us to perform. We didn't move the ball quickly enough, we looked laboured compared to the last two performances. We've got to pick ourselves up. We've got six games before the [Premiership] split and hopefully we can make it into the [top six]. It looks a bad Achilles injury [for Extaberguren], so we need to make sure he gets to hospital and we assess him, but it doesn't look good.

AMAZING WINS TO NIL RUN CONTINUES

● Dundee and Thistle meet in the League for the 200th time.

● Ryan Edwards makes his 50th competitive appearance for Thistle.

● Thistle beat Dundee to nil for the third consecutive game. It's the third time such a remarkable streak has occurred against them, following similar runs in 1912 and 1993.

● Thistle's 2-in-a-row victory run at Dens Park, matches the H2H record in both League and competitive game categories. We seem to be setting lots of H2H records this season.

● All three of Thistle's wins over Dundee this season have been on a Wednesday.

● Thistle win to nil for the fourth consecutive competitive game. It's been 58 years since we last did that as a top-flight club, way back in 1959. Archie's Jags are now one such victory away from equalling the all-time club-record of 5-in-a-row which they themselves set in March 2013.

● Sensationally, Thistle register their fourth consecutive competitive clean-sheet for the second time in the last 3 months. Repeating the statement which was made at the end of January, there have only been two greater runs in our history; Archie's Jags registered 5-in-a-row in March 2013 and George Easton's Jags went 7-in-a-row in February 1921.

● Tomáš Černý's registers his 10th clean-sheet in 20 games this season, a phenomenal 50% ratio. For a regular Jags 'keeper in a top-flight season, this is second only to Jim Ferguson's 54.5% (12 out of 22), set during the 1917-18 campaign.

● If Tomáš Černý's 50% record is impressive, how about Niall Keown's 80%? The on-loan centre half has only conceded once in 450 minutes, namely the 0-1 League defeat at home to St Johnstone.

● Amazingly, Archie's Jags could be on course to set a table club-record for the FIFTH consecutive season. Favourable away goals differences seem to be a bit of a specialty. -3 was a new top-flight record in 2013-14, and it superceded by a -1 just last season. The current tally (-2) gives every chance for yet another raising of the bar.

ongoing sequences:

● 4 consecutive clean-sheets in competitive games; 11th Feb 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 4 games; 28th Dec 2016 to 28th Jan 2017. Club-record: 7 games; 15th Jan 1921 to 15th Feb 1921.)

● 4 consecutive competitive wins, 11th Feb 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 5 wins, 15th Jul 2016 to 6th Aug 2016. Club-record: 10 wins, 22nd Oct 1932 to 26th Dec 1932.)

● 34 consecutive competitive appearances for Ade Azeez, 15th July 2016 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Ryan Edwards - 39 games; 2nd Mar 2016 to 31st Dec 2016. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 57 away League games without a penalty award, 1st Mar 2014 to date. (Longest run since the club-record: 62 games; 1st Apr 1911 to 7th Nov 1914.)

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