17th Jul 2021 Stenhousemuir 1 Partick Thistle 2 (League Cup Group H - game 2)

matches:2021-22: ← 04game 0506 →

	Stephen Swift	Ian McCall	56y, 9m, 17d

		Harry Stone; Ciaran McKenna; Zak Rudden
		Jamie Sneddon; Tam O'Ware; Scott Tiffoney

Thomas Orr (0-1, pen 32 mins)		Zak Rudden (1-1, 52 mins); Brian Graham (2-1, 73 mins)
none (0-1, pen 32 mins)		Scott Tiffoney (1-1, 52 mins); Richard Foster (2-1, 73 mins)
Adam Brown

Declan Hughes (Adam Brown, 58 mins); Cammy Graham (Robert Thomson, 59 mins); Darren Christie (Michael Anderson, 72 mins)		Connor Murray (Scott Tiffoney, HT); Zak Rudden (Ross MacIver, 70 mins)

	Ryan Marshall	Harry Stone	19y, 2m, 27d
	Ross Lyon	Richard Foster	35y, 11m, 16d
	Jamie Mills	Kevin Holt	28y, 5m, 22d
	Sean Crighton	Ciaran McKenna	23y, 3m, 22d
	Nicky Jamieson	Steven Bell	36y, 4m, 23d
	Nat Wedderburn	Ross Docherty	28y, 5m, 24d
	Declan Hughes	Stuart Bannigan	28y, 10m, 0d
	former Jag Ross Forbes	Kyle Turner	23y, 8m, 7d
	Cammy Graham	Brian Graham	33y, 7m, 24d
	Darren Christie	Zak Rudden	21y, 5m, 11d
	Thomas Orr	Connor Murray	24y, 2m, 23d

			27y, 7m, 10d

	former Jag Graeme Smith	Jamie Sneddon	23y, 10m, 11d
	Robert Thomson	Scott Tiffoney	22y, 10m, 21d
	Adam Brown	Ross MacIver	22y, 4m, 19d
	Euan O'Reilly	Mouhamed Niang	21y, 9m, 9d
	Michael Anderson	Gospel Ocholi	18y, 3m, 8d
	Bernard Coll	Billy Owens	18y, 1m, 11d
	Ryan Tierney

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Thistle filled only 6 of their 9 allocated bench slots, whilst Stenhousemuir filled 7 of theirs.
Crowd limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.

TTA report

Neither team made much impression on the other. A pen for a push was converted (32) then Docherty hit the post soon after. A better second half saw the JAGS more assertive and Rudden finished off a Tiffoney pass from close in to level (52) then Graham's header after good work from Tiffoney and Foster (73) proved to be the winner.

Media report

17-Jul-2021, ptfc.co.uk

Partick Thistle contested their first away game of the new competitive season this afternoon as they faced Stenhousemuir in the Premier Sports Cup at Ochilview. The two opponents had contrasting fortunes in their group stage openers with Thistle losing 4-2 to Dunfermline whereas Stenhousemuir managed an upset on the road against Dumbarton. There were three changes to the side which lost to the Pars seven days prior with Ciaran McKenna and Zak Rudden moving from the bench to the starting line-up while Harry Stone did likewise, replacing Jamie Sneddon in goals to make his debut as a Thistle player.

The first chance of the game came after seven minutes when Brian Graham’s high pass found Connor Murray in behind the Stenny defence. The number 17 tried to fire a volley goalwards but saw his attempt fly high over the bar. Stenhousemuir found an opening of their own after 29 minutes as Harry Stone was called into serious action for the first time in the game. A free kick into the Jags’ box found Sean Crighton who was able to direct a header towards Cameron Graham with the 19-year-old trying a first-time shot. His effort was blocked but it fell straight to Thomas Orr who was denied well by Harry Stone who was out sharply to block at close range. The breakthrough did come for the hosts though and, in the 32nd minute, Orr was central to it. He got the ball on the right flank and floated a ball into the danger area where Cameron Graham was primed to leap. The youngster was eased to the side by Richard Foster as he jumped and hit the deck as a consequence prompting referee Colin Steven to point to the spot. Orr was the man to step up and he confidently dispatched from 12 yards, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. There was a quick Jags response and Thistle almost equalised immediately through Ross Docherty. A Brian Graham shot from the edge of the box was blocked well and the rebound fell back to Docherty who then attempted a curling right-footed shot from 20 yards. His attempt looked net-bound but it ricocheted back off the post and was cleared for a throw-in.

Eventually, after some half-time changes to the personnel and shape, Thistle did draw level. It came through good play on the left flank where Brian Graham’s pass was flicked onto substitute Scott Tiffoney by Richard Foster. Tiffoney then moved into the box and picked out the waiting Zak Rudden who was unmarked four yards from goal. He had the simple task of turning the ball home to make it 1-1 just seven minutes after the second half restart. And it took a while but the Maryhill men did eventually get the all important second goal with 73 minutes on the clock. Again Scott Tiffoney had the ball on the left wing, however, this time he turned the ball back to Richard Foster who swung a left-footed cross into the goalmouth area. Brian Graham attacked it and the number nine was able to flick a header into the corner of the net to put the Jags in front. That’s how things ended at Ochilview with Thistle claiming their first points of the 2021/22 Premier Sports Cup group stages, coming from behind to do so. Next up it’s Dumbarton at Firhill on Tuesday – that one is a 7:45pm kick off.

Reaction

Thistle manager Ian McCall (speaking to Jagzone):

It was a tough game against a good Stenhousemuir team who I think will do well in their league. Still, we were disappointed to be down at half-time but we made some changes and played a lot better in that second half. Ultimately, we were just pleased to get the win in the end. I thought we started well again and created a few decent opportunities but they always had that threat. They’ve got some dangerous attackers but still I felt for the most part we were pretty comfortable. From our perspective, we feel like we could have had more than two but two was enough which is the main thing. Certain players really need this time on the pitch. Stuart Bannigan got 90 minutes today which will be big for him, Scott Tiffoney got a half, Zak Rudden got nearly 70 minutes and there are other guys too. Every game we play is moving us in the right direction in terms of that sharpness and fitness.

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