28th Apr 2018 St Johnstone 1 Partick Thistle 1 (SPFL Premiership - game 35)

matches:2017-18: ← 44game 4546 →

	Tommy Wright	Alan Archibald	40y, 9m, 15d

		no changes
		no changes

Joe Shaughnessy (0-1, 39 mins)		Conor Sammon (1-1, pen 89 mins)
Liam Craig (0-1, 39 mins)		none (1-1, pen 89 mins)
Steven MacLean; John Robertson; Liam Craig		Niall Keown; Martin Woods; Christie Elliott

George Williams (John Robertson, 84 mins)		Steven Lawless (Conor Sammon, 52 mins); Andy McCarthy (Ryan Edwards, 64 mins); Callum Booth (Paul McGinn, 71 mins)

	Zander Clark	Tomáš Černý	33y, 0m, 18d
	Scott Tanser	Christie Elliott	26y, 11m, 2d
	Joe Shaughnessy	Callum Booth	26y, 10m, 29d
	future Jag Steven Anderson	Baily Cargill	22y, 9m, 23d
	Jason Kerr	Niall Keown	23y, 0m, 23d
	David Wotherspoon	Martin Woods	32y, 3m, 27d
	future Jag Richard Foster	Andy McCarthy	19y, 6m, 8d
	Liam Craig	Blair Spittal	22y, 4m, 9d
	Matty Willock	Kris Doolan	31y, 4m, 17d
	Steven MacLean	Chris Erskine	31y, 2m, 20d
	George Williams	Steven Lawless	27y, 0m, 16d

			26y, 11m, 17d

	Alan Mannus	Ryan Scully	25y, 5m, 30d
	David McMillan	Abdul Osman	31y, 2m, 1d
	Kyle McClean	Adam Barton	27y, 3m, 21d
	Keith Watson	Paul McGinn	27y, 6m, 6d
	Liam Gordon	Conor Sammon	31y, 5m, 22d
	Alistair McCann	Ryan Edwards	24y, 5m, 11d
	John Robertson	Miles Storey	24y, 3m, 24d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.

TTA report

The teams struggled to make chances on a dry, hard pitch. Those that were made weren't taken until a header at the back post broke the deadlock (39). A better second half livened things somewhat and Lawless' fine volley was saved. When Edwards was grassed in the box Sammon converted the pen (89).

Media report

Scott Davie, 28-Apr-2018, bbc.com

Partick Thistle came back from a goal down to draw with St Johnstone and move two points clear of Premiership bottom side Ross County. Joe Shaughnessy headed Saints in front from Liam Craig's delivery shortly before half-time. Chris Erskine's second-half volley for Thistle and George Williams' effort for Saints were saved. The Jags were awarded a penalty after Craig's challenge on Ryan Edwards and Conor Sammon converted. Alan Archibald's Thistle, who host County on Friday, are now four points behind Hamilton Academical and Dundee.

It hardly had the look of a classic before kick-off given that no team had scored fewer goals at home in the Premiership than St Johnstone while no side had hit fewer away goals than Partick Thistle. The reasons for that were all too obvious from the off as both teams struggled to create any real clear-cut chances in a first half that was all about commitment but little composure. The big surprise was that the visitors were so lacklustre given Ross County's defeat at Hamilton earlier in the day but they seemed more intimidated than inspired by that. They did at least create the first good opening on the counter attack after just eight minutes but Steven Lawless wasted the chance by slashing Kris Doolan's cross well wide of the far post. Saints looked like a side low on confidence themselves at times and were equally negligent after working a good position for themselves midway through the opening period after some good work by Richard Foster. The former Rangers and Aberdeen player threaded a pass that sent David Wotherspoon clear but he shot straight at Tomas Cerny when Steven MacLean was in the clear and calling for a cutback. Former Arsenal and England star Martin Keown was at the game to watch his son Niall play in central defence for the Jags and he could not have been impressed with the way Alan Archibald's side conceded the opener. Foster was involved again in the build-up before Craig's cross from the left found Shaughnessy in space at the back post and the Saints captain angled his header back across Cerny into the far corner of the net.

Archibald waited only seven minutes into the second half to shake things up by bringing on Sammon for Lawless and they certainly started to look more of a threat after that. Erskine finally tested Zander Clark with a shot from 18 yards after catching Callum Booth's cross with a sweetly struck volley while Sammon glanced a header that the goalkeeper was relieved to save. It was at least a more entertaining second half with chances at either end as MacLean lashed a shot over the bar while George Williams brought out the best in Cerny, who was making his 100th Thistle appearance. But Saints were to be denied what would have been only a fourth league win since beating Rangers at Ibrox in December when Thistle substitute Edwards was flattened in the box with just two minutes left. Sammon sent Clark the wrong way as he kept his nerve to bury the equaliser.

Reaction

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

I think some people got sucked in because we have a decent enough record here but you still have to earn it and our levels weren't what they were last week. We looked a bit laboured at times in terms of moving the ball but I was delighted to get the point in the end. I thought we started brightly enough but we just sort of fell out of it after the first 20 minutes. The subs have been great for us as they made a real impact for us last week and maybe not as much this week in terms of during the play but a lot of that is down to St Johnstone and how they played. Thankfully, though, Ryan wins the penalty and Conor tucks it away. Now it's a massive game for us on Friday and we know what we have to do.

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright (speaking to the BBC):

I'm hugely disappointed as that's another two points dropped. We couldn't deal with a 50-yard punt into the box. I've seen the penalty and I don't know if there was any real contact on the player and I would have to look at the referee and see if he gets a clear view of it but he was in no doubt as he couldn't wait to point to the spot. Ultimately we have allowed Partick to get a point when they shouldn't have because we were in total control of the game but that has been our Achilles heel all season. If it happens three or four times a season you are a little bit unlucky but it has happened so many times for us with people not doing their jobs - that has cost us today and throughout the season.

TIGHTENING MATHEMATICS

● For the 4th time this season, Thistle travel to McDiarmid Park to face Saints, thereby equalling the category record which was set in 1904-05 (vs. Celtic @ Celtic Park), repeated in 1947-48 (vs. Rangers @ Ibrox) and again in 2001-02 (vs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle @ Caledonian Stadium).

● For the first time since April Dools Day, 2017, Thistle list an unchanged 18 in terms of both the starting line-up and bench.

● Conor Sammon maintains his 100% spot-kick record, now 3-out-of-3, all coming in 2018. His most perfect predecessor, Sean Welsh, netted 5-out-of-5.

● Conor Sammon scores his last goal for Thistle.

● The big Irishman, with his final goal for the club, becomes the first loanee in 12 years to register a double figures competitive goals tally season. Jukka Santala, who netted 11 times in season 2005-06, was the last man to do so.

● Thistle haven't missed a regulation time penalty since September 2014, and have scored 8-in-a-row since then.

● It's more than 5 years since a converted Thistle penalty contributed to a League win; Aaron Muirhead's 19th minute spot-kick opener set the Jags up for a 6-1 rout of Livingston way back on the 23rd March, 2013.

● With this stalemate, an unlikely H2H record sequence of 14 games without a draw ends.

● It's now mathematically impossible for Thistle to be safe from relegation before the final round of fixtures on match day 38.

● Only once in the last 100 years (2013-14) have Thistle failed to win back-to-back League games in a season; the class of 2017-18 have 3 games left to avoid being equally tagged with that very poor statistic.

ongoing sequences:

● 6 away League games without a win; 3rd Feb 2018 to date. (Longest run since: 16 games; 18th Mar 2017 to 27th Dec 2017. Club-record: 26 games; 20th Mar 1935 to 29th Aug 1936.)

● 7 competitive away games without a win; 3rd Feb 2018 to date. (Longest run since: 10 games; 19th Aug 2017 to 27th Dec 2017. Club-record: 25 games; 20th Apr 1908 to 28th Aug 1909.)

● 14 consecutive competitive appearances for Baily Cargill, 23rd Jan 2018 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Ryan Edwards - 35 games; 8th Aug 2017 to 3rd Apr 2018. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games; 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

● 15 competitive away games without a clean-sheet; 4th Nov 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 16 games; 14th Oct 1989 to 25th Aug 1990. Club-record: 90 games; 31st Oct 1885 to 23rd Jan 1897.)

● 46 games since back-to-back League wins, 11th Mar 2017 to date. (Longest run since: 71 games; 16th Apr 2013 to 14th Mar 2015. Club-record: 77 games; 2nd Nov 1912 to 5th Dec 1914.)

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