14th Oct 2017 Partick Thistle 0 Kilmarnock 2 (SPFL Premiership - game 9)

matches:2017-18: ← 15game 1617 →

40y, 3m, 1d	Alan Archibald	Paul McDonald former Jag

Chris Erskine
Jordan Turnbull

		Kris Boyd (0-1, 39 mins); Adam Frizzell (0-2, 63 mins)
		none (0-1, 39 mins); none (0-2, 63 mins)
Adam Barton		Greg Taylor

Miles Storey (Conor Sammon, 65 mins); Adam Barton (Andy McCarthy, 78 mins)		Kris Boyd (Lee Erwin, 76 mins); Greg Taylor (Calum Waters, 85 mins); Rory McKenzie (Dom Thomas, 88 mins)

32y, 6m, 4d	Tomáš Černý	Jamie MacDonald
26y, 10m, 1d	Milan Nitrianský	Gordon Greer
26y, 11m, 22d	Paul McGinn	Kirk Broadfoot
25y, 1m, 7d	Danny Devine	Stuart Findlay
22y, 6m, 9d	Niall Keown	Stephen O'Donnell former Jag
26y, 9m, 7d	Adam Barton	Alan Power
21y, 9m, 25d	Blair Spittal	Rory McKenzie
23y, 10m, 27d	Ryan Edwards	Jordan Jones
30y, 10m, 3d	Kris Doolan	Greg Taylor
30y, 8m, 6d	Chris Erskine	Kris Boyd
23y, 9m, 10d	Miles Storey	Adam Frizzell

26y, 6m, 9d

24y, 11m, 15d	Ryan Scully	Cammy Bell future Jag
22y, 11m, 14d	Jordan Turnbull	Dom Thomas
30y, 11m, 8d	Conor Sammon	Scott Boyd former Jag
18y, 11m, 24d	Andy McCarthy	Calum Waters
18y, 3m, 21d	Callum Wilson	Lee Erwin
		Dean Hawkshaw
		Eamonn Brophy

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Thistle filled only 5 of their 7 allocated bench slots.

TTA report

Long-term injuries and players playing out of position took their toll. A dreadful attempted clearance by Keown led to the opener (39) and a fine 25-yard strike (63) sealed the win. Doolan went close (91) and Sammon nicked a post (93) but Thistle got exactly what their performance deserved. Bottom on merit.

Media report

Alasdair Lamont, 14-Oct-2017, bbc.com

Kilmarnock claimed their first Scottish Premiership win of the season as new manager Steve Clarke watched from the stand against Partick Thistle. Kris Boyd gave the visitors the lead shortly before half-time, pouncing on a slack clearance by Niall Keown. And Adam Frizzell's stunning 25-yard strike doubled Killie's lead in the second half. Clarke will formally take charge next week with his new side three points above bottom team Thistle. Killie had been at the foot of the table, trailing the Jags on goals scored, but move on to six points after nine games while Thistle still await their maiden league victory this term. Academy boss Paul McDonald took charge of the visitors and with former Scotland defender Clarke in the directors' box, Kilmarnock understandably looked keen to impress.

Though Thistle played some pretty football, they failed to test Jamie MacDonald before the break, whereas Killie, when piling forward, looked to carry a menace. Greg Taylor, Jordan Jones and Rory McKenzie had all threatened Tomas Cerny's goal before they finally took the lead. When that came about, it was every bit as much about dreadful defending as it was clinical finishing. Jones sent a speculative ball into the penalty area, which Keown failed to deal with. The Thistle defender headed straight into the path of Boyd, who slotted in from eight yards. Killie's second was a different story. It owed everything to superb technique on the part of Frizzell. Just a minute after Boyd had watched a header cleared off the line by Milan Nitrianksy, the ball broke to the midfielder, whose fierce drive flew into the top corner.

Perhaps the desire to impress the new manager played its part, but worryingly for Thistle boss Alan Archibald, Kilmarnock looked hungrier for the points. It was not until added time they seriously tested MacDonald - Kris Doolan forcing a brilliant save from the keeper with his effort from the edge of the box before Conor Sammon knocked the ball against the post. But it was much too late for Thistle, who have a lengthy injury list, matched only by the length of their winless run, which now stretches to 15 Premiership games going back to last season. Archibald has survived similar periods, most recently at the beginning of last season, when they had just one win in nine but recovered to reach the top six. But they desperately require inspiration from somewhere, whereas Kilmarnock's outlook suddenly looks a great deal brighter.

Reaction

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

We didn't deserve to win the game, no doubt. We had a lot of the ball but we didn't do enough with it. We didn't move it quick enough. Disappointing goals - one's from a throw-in and one's from a kick-out. Bitterly disappointed. The first goal was always going to be vital in the game and Kilmarnock got that and they made it really difficult for us. We had a lot of possession but we weren't penetrative enough, we didn't get in behind them enough to cause them enough problems and it allowed Kilmarnock to play on the counter. It was a real good away performance from Kilmarnock, they deserved their win. Confidence wasn't there today. After we went a goal down you could see that a little bit. It was on for us to get on the ball, go and play and we need to be brave. We need to make sure our players get on the ball and still look to play at the right times because it'll only get harder.

Kilmarnock interim manager Paul McDonald (speaking to the BBC):

Today wasn't about me. Today was about the players and the effort and commitment they showed on the pitch, so all credit to them. I'm quite happy now the game's out the way, the new manager's in place and I can go back to the shadows of the academy. Steve [Clarke] introduced himself to the squad this morning, gave them a pep talk and it certainly worked. When this club brings in such an ambitious manager as Stevie, it shows the direction we want to go. He'll have his own aspirations for the club and he'll take us forward using the experience of the levels he's played and managed at.

THE RECORD LOWS JUST KEEP ON COMING

● For the fourth match-in-a-row, Thistle fail to fill the 7 permitted bench slots. In total, 9 slots have been left unfilled in competitive action this term, an unprecedented tally in any given season and we're only in October.

● 10 games without a win at home against Kilmarnock (22.11.2003 to date) re-sets the H2H record in both the League and Competitive game categories.

● Thistle are now 15 League games without a clean-sheet. The last time there was a longer run (18 in 2003), the club was relegated from the top-flight.

● Thistle stand with Brechin City as one of only 2 SPFL clubs still searching for a first League win this term.

● Thistle's winless run of 15 League games now stands alone as the second longest such streak in our history, only trumped by the club-record run of 26, set by the largely nomadic Jags of 1908 and 1909.

ongoing sequences:

● 6 competitive games without a home win; 11th Aug 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games; 27th Aug 2016 to 9th Dec 2016. Club-record: 13 games; 13th Apr 1988 to 3rd Dec 1988.)

● 8 home League games without a win; 7th May 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 8 games; 27th Aug 2016 to 9th Dec 2016. Joint club-record: 15 games; 5th Dec 1908 to 11th Dec 1909 & 16th Apr 2013 to 1st Feb 2014.)

● 9 competitive games without a win, 11th Aug 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 9 games, 9th Aug 2016 to 22nd Oct 2016. Club-record: 26 games, 28th Nov 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 9 away League games without a win; 18th Mar 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 9 games; 10th Mar 2007 to 6th Oct 2007. Club-record: 26 games; 20th Mar 1935 to 29th Aug 1936.)

● 15 games without a clean-sheet in the League; 15th Apr 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 15 games; 10th Aug 2013 to 21st Dec 2013. Club-record: 46 games; 20th Apr 1908 to 30th Oct 1909.)

● 15 League games without a win; 15th Apr 2017 to date. (Longest run since the club-record: 26 games; 28th Nov 1908 to 2nd Oct 1909.)

● 37 consecutive competitive appearances for Adam Barton, 28th Dec 2016 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Kris Doolan - 39 games; 15th Oct 2016 to 5th Aug 2017. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 66 away League games without a penalty award, 1st Mar 2014 to date. (A new club-record.)

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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