17th Sep 2023 Partick Thistle 2 12-13 Champions Select & Guests 4 (Stuart Bannigan Testimonial)

matches:2023-24: ← 12game 1314 →

Match Information

36y, 9m, 6d			Kris Doolan		Alan Archibald former Jag / man.
David Mitchell; Zander MacKenzie; Ji Stevenson; Wasiri Williams; Harry Milne; Blair Alston; James Lyon; Ricco Diack; Scott Robinson; Wes McDonald
Jamie Sneddon; Jack McMillan; Kieran Ngwenya; Lewis Neilson; Aaron Muirhead; Stuart Bannigan; Steven Lawless; Brian Graham; Kerr McInroy; Aidan Fitzpatrick
Ben Stanway (1-0, 36 mins); Kris Doolan (2-1, 79 mins)					Gary Harkins (1-1, 67 mins); Liam Buchanan (2-2, 84 mins); Liam Buchanan (2-3, 87 mins); Liam Buchanan (2-4, 89 mins)
Wes McDonald (1-0, 36 mins); Aidan Fitzpatrick (2-1, 79 mins)					Joe Cardle (1-1, 67 mins); Kallum Higginbotham (2-2, 84 mins); Gary Fraser (2-3, 87 mins); Kallum Higginbotham (2-4, 89 mins)
David Mitchell (Luis Cameron, HT); Ji Stevenson (Aaron Muirhead, HT); Ben Stanway (Stuart Bannigan, HT); James Lyon (Steven Lawless, HT); Ricco Diack (Kris Doolan, HT); Wes McDonald (Aidan Fitzpatrick, HT); Steven Lawless (Jamie Taggart, 56 mins); Aaron Muirhead (Ricco Diack, 56 mins); Zander MacKenzie (Aiden McGinlay, 56 mins); Scott Robinson (Sallu Turay, 65 mins); Blair Alston (Ceiran Loney, 65 mins); Stuart Bannigan (James Lyon, 68 mins); Luis Cameron (Connor Storey, 73 mins)					James Craigen (Shea Gordon, 6 mins); Scott Fox (Tomáš Černý, HT); Conrad Balatoni (David Rowson, HT); Aaron Muirhead (Abdul Osman, HT); Stuart Bannigan (Gary Harkins, HT); Steven Lawless (Joe Cardle, HT); Kris Doolan (Gary Fraser, HT); Steven Craig (Mark Roberts, 50 mins); Ross Forbes (Craig Slater, 58 mins); Chris Erskine (Liam Buchanan, 60 mins); Paul Paton (Kallum Higginbotham, 64 mins); Shea Gordon (Blair Spittal, 73 mins); Blair Spittal (Brian Welsh, 85 mins); Craig Slater (Craig Mair, 89 mins)
33y, 5m, 13d			David Mitchell		Scott Fox former Jag
18y, 0m, 20d			Zander MacKenzie		Paul Paton former Jag
18y, 1m, 19d			Ji Stevenson		James Craigen former Jag
23y, 5m, 16d			Wasiri Williams		Conrad Balatoni former Jag
26y, 10m, 19d			Harry Milne		Aaron Muirhead current Jag
18y, 11m, 28d			Ben Stanway		Stuart Bannigan current Jag
31y, 5m, 25d			Blair Alston		Ross Forbes former Jag
20y, 10m, 21d			James Lyon		Steven Lawless current Jag
18y, 4m, 10d			Ricco Diack		Kris Doolan current PT manager
31y, 6m, 6d			Scott Robinson		Steven Craig former Jag
26y, 4m, 13d			Wes McDonald		Chris Erskine former Jag
24y, 3m, 28d
16y, 1m, 13d			Connor Storey		Tomáš Černý former Jag
16y, 5m, 7d			Luis Cameron		n-a
16y, 10m, 24d			Sallu Turay		David Rowson former Jag
18y, 1m, 11d			Jamie Taggart		Craig Slater former Jag
16y, 6m, 12d			Aiden McGinlay		Liam Buchanan former Jag
15y, 6m, 4d			Ceiran Loney		Gary Harkins former Jag
33y, 0m, 18d			Aaron Muirhead		Abdul Osman former Jag
31y, 0m, 0d			Stuart Bannigan		Blair Spittal former Jag
32y, 5m, 5d			Steven Lawless		Gary Fraser former Jag
36y, 9m, 6d			Kris Doolan		Kallum Higginbotham former Jag
22y, 5m, 28d			Aidan Fitzpatrick		Mark Roberts former Jag
					Shea Gordon former Jag
					Joe Cardle former Jag
					Brian Welsh
					Craig Mair

notes

Both sides generally in playing order. Thistle listed 2 substitute goalkeepers. Kick-off delayed by 7 minutes due to general ceremonial activity.

Match Report

TTA report

A neat passing move led to Stanway rounding the keeper (32) to separate two evenly matched teams in the first half. A pinpoint finish from Harkins (56) equalised matters, before Doolan (who switched sides at HT) shot from 18 yards to put the current team ahead (to the delight of the crowd). Numerous substitutions didn't help; experience overcame youth at the death, with a 5-minute hat-trick from Buchanan.

TTA man of the match

It was an emotional day for Thistle's long-serving #8, and STUART BANNIGAN was his usual dependable self throughout. After spending much of the second half hugging various substitutes, he himself came off to a heart-warming round of applause, midway through the second half. Three goals lost without him, say no more!

Media report

19-Sep-2023, Jags Foundation / Thistle Archive

It felt like Stuart Bannigan had been waiting forever to mark his decade of Thistle service. A global pandemic and a prolonged 2022-23 campaign got in the way, but we got there eventually. Banzo’s career at Thistle has had it all. Starting in the youth team, progressing all the way to a first-team regular in the top flight, a spell as club captain, league silverware (twice) and even an induction into the Jags Hall of Fame. With the exception of a short spell at Ayr United, Banzo is the closest Thistle have got to a one-club-man in a long, long time.

Perhaps the best thing about this Testimonial was that you could celebrate all the goals regardless of which end they went in! The current Thistle squad took on a Thistle Select, featuring players from the 2012-13 SFL First Division-winning side and a few other familiar faces from years gone past. In fact, an incredible 43 players were listed and all played, resulting in a new club-record of 27 substitutions. With four of the 12-13 squad also being current Jags, they were eligible to play for both sides, and so they did! It was a pity that rain fell on the day, and this may have shaved a few hundred off the crowd. The 1,316 who paid were in good spirits and gave Banzo a rousing welcome, as did all the players in a splendid guard of honour to set the celebratory tone of the day.

For a long time it felt like a nil nil might be on the cards, but eventually the first half stalemate was broken when a neat passing move led to Stanway rounding the keeper (32) to separate two evenly matched teams in the opening 45. Aaron Muirhead, Stuart Bannigan, Steven Lawless and Kris Doolan all swapped the Select Purple for the Current Red & Yellow at half-time, and proceeded to lose both halves! A pinpoint finish from Harkins (56) equalised matters, before Doolan (79) shot from 18 yards to put the current team ahead, to the great delight of the crowd. Goal #128 in the 'All Games' list - who would have thought it? There was a moment of great controversy just 3 minutes later when 15-year-old Ceiran Loney (making history as the youngest-ever Jag) rounded Tomáš Černý and, from a tight angle, got a shot away which hit off the post and rolled slightly backwards across the line. The youngster raised his arm in celebration - and it looked to most like it just crossed over for a goal - but referee Kevin Clancy made no gesture, and David Rowson immediately seized the opportunity to race clear with the ball.

At 3-1 it might have been all over, but the match flipped the other way entirely. As is usually the case on these occasions, numerous substitutions didn't help the flow of the match, and the current Jags lost focus towards the end when experience overcame youth. Liam Buchanan was clinical with a headline-grabbing 5-minute hat-trick (84, 87, 89) and 4-2 to the Select was how it finished, with 5 of the 6 goals coming in an exciting final quarter.

Gallery

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Video Highlights

(credit: BanzoTestimonial )

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Stats Watch

A REMARKABLE TESTIMONIAL

● And so, Stuart Bannigan receives his testimonial match, 13 years, 2 months and 4 days on from his debut in July, 2010. He's the longest serving (single spell) Jag since Jackie Campbell who bade his farewell in 1982.

● Stuart Bannigan, 31 on the day, joins an elite group of six to have played for Thistle on consecutive birthdays. The others are: Davie Ness (22/23), Dougie Baird (20/21), Andy Roxburgh (23/24), John Hansen (23/24/25) and Kenny Arthur (24/25). It will be noted that Hansen stands uniquely with 3-in-a-row, having done the unusual Saturday, Sunday, Monday trick from 1973 to 1975!

● 15-year-old Ceiran Loney makes his Thistle debut.

● 16-year-old Luis Cameron makes his Thistle debut.

● 16-year-old Aiden McGinlay makes his Thistle debut.

● 16-year-old Connor Storey makes his Thistle debut.

● 13 substitutions for Thistle sets a new club-record, surpassing the previous record (11) which was set at Alloa (21.06.2022).

● 14 substitutions for the opposition sets a new club-record, surpassing the previous record (11) which was set in 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2018.

● 27 substitutions smashes the previous record (19) which was first set at Gateshead (06.07.2013) and subsequently equalled at Cirencester (29.06.2016) & Alloa (21.06.2022).

● Alan Archibald becomes the 5th man to have played for and against Thistle and to have managed for and against Thistle. He follows on from Benny Rooney, Jimmy Bone, Ian McCall and Jackie McNamara.

● Kris Doolan's time-span as a Partick Thistle player (2009-2023) widens to 14y, 8m, 7d. Only 10 men have a longer span. The club-record lies with Billy Dodds (1987-2006) at 18y, 4m, 23d.

● Kris Doolan's 'all games' goals tally rises to 128, just 2 behind third placed George Smith in our All-Time Goalscorers Chart.

● 18-year-old Ji Stevenson plays his last game for Thistle.

● 36-year-old Kris Doolan plays his last game for Thistle, and marks the occasion by scoring his last goal for the club.

ongoing sequences:

● 39 consecutive competitive appearances for Aidan Fitzpatrick, 3rd Dec 2022 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Jack McMillan - 52 games, 9th Jul 2022 to 4th Jun 2023. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

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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