25th Apr 2025 Partick Thistle 2 Falkirk 1 (SPFL Championship - game 35)

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matches:2024-25: ← 41game 4243 →

37y, 5m, 2d	Brian Graham	John McGlynn
40y, 10m, 20d	Mark Wilson

Stuart Bannigan; Logan Chalmers
Ben Stanway; Steven Lawless

Brian Graham (1-0, 6‎ mins); ‎Terry Ablade (2-1, 90‎+‎7 mins)		Scott Arfield (1-1, 39 mins)
none (1-0, 6‎ mins); ‎Daniel O'Reilly (2-1, 90‎+‎7 mins)		Ross MacIver (1-1, 39 mins)
Stuart Bannigan; David Mitchell; Luke McBeth
Stuart Bannigan (@ 1-0, 35‎ mins)		Alfredo Agyeman (@ 1-1, 83 mins)
Aidan Fitzpatrick (Kyle Turner, 40 mins); Sean Kelly (Josh Reid, HT); Josh Reid (Ben Stanway, 72 mins); Brian Graham (Terry Ablade, 72 mins)		Dylan Tait (Aidan Nesbitt, 48 mins); Ross MacIver (Barney Stewart, 66 mins); Scott Arfield (Miller Thomson, 66 mins); Leon McCann (Alfredo Agyeman, 77 mins); Ethan Ross (Gary Oliver, 77 mins)

35y, 0m, 21d	David Mitchell	Nicky Hogarth
21y, 1m, 20d	Kanayo Megwa	Keelan Adams
30y, 0m, 14d	Daniel O'Reilly	Leon McCann
25y, 7m, 16d	Luke McBeth	Tom Lang
31y, 7m, 27d	Lee Ashcroft	Liam Henderson
31y, 5m, 24d	Sean Kelly	Brad Spencer
32y, 7m, 8d	Stuart Bannigan	Dylan Tait
30y, 10m, 3d	Robbie Crawford	Calvin Miller
37y, 5m, 2d	Brian Graham	Ross MacIver former Jag
25y, 1m, 1d	Logan Chalmers	Scott Arfield
24y, 1m, 5d	Aidan Fitzpatrick	Ethan Ross

29y, 6m, 19d

22y, 10m, 6d	Lewis Budinauckas	Ross Munro
22y, 11m, 22d	Josh Reid	Finn Yeats
27y, 5m, 15d	Kyle Turner	Miller Thomson
34y, 0m, 13d	Steven Lawless	Aidan Nesbitt former Jag
23y, 6m, 13d	Terry Ablade	Alfredo Agyeman
20y, 7m, 5d	Ben Stanway	Barney Stewart
19y, 7m, 28d	Zander MacKenzie	Gary Oliver
18y, 0m, 6d	Nick Lockhart	Luke Graham
16y, 9m, 9d	Liam Rooney	Darragh O'Connor

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.
Originally scheduled for 3.00pm on Saturday 26th April, brought forward for BBC Scotland.

TTA report

Dithering at a Falkirk goal kick led to Graham slotting home (6). Falkirk had most of the possession and intense pressure resulted in the leveller (39). Bannigan had just been sent off (35) and defeat looked inevitable but magnificent defending saw Thistle frustrate the league leaders. Falkirk had a man sent off (83) then a glancing header by Ablade (90+7) earned an unlikely 3 points.

TTA man of the match

Dan or Lee, Dan or Lee, Dan or Lee; a common dilemma in the MOTM this season! We even had the glorious sight of the two of them straining to get their heads on the match-winning assist, but it was DANIEL O'REILLY who got there, payday for an immense shift.

Media report

David Forrest, 25-Apr-2025, ptfc.co.uk

Partick Thistle came out on top in a frantic contest at the Wyre Stadium at Firhill, as late drama saw the Jags claim all three points from an action-packed game in front of a loud set of fans at both ends. Thistle came into the game level on points with fifth-placed Raith Rovers, as both sides battle for the final promotion play-off spot. Falkirk, though, could have all but clinched the title with a win, which would have put them on an unassailable points tally with a vastly superior goal difference.

The Jags made a dream start on seven minutes when Brian Graham pounced on an error from Tom Lang to put Thistle in front. Lang took a heavy touch as Falkirk tried to play out from the back. Aidan Fitzpatrick quickly snatched the ball, passing to Graham who fired home to give the hosts the lead. It was a frenetic pace in the first fifteen minutes as Falkirk struggled to get going while the Jags pressed for a second. Soon, the Bairns found their footing and turned up the heat, with Thistle remaining defensively solid under the barrage. On multiple occasions, Thistle defenders got themselves in the way of a goalbound shot to keep their lead intact, as Falkirk turned the screw. Thistle looked to have a lucky escape when screams for a Falkirk penalty after Tait was taken down by O’Reilly in the box were waved aside, but the Jags’ good fortune would dry up moments later. The entire complexion of the game was changed on thirty-five minutes though when the Jags went down to ten men against Falkirk for the third time this season. After receiving a caution for a studs-up tackle minutes prior, Stuart Bannigan was shown a second yellow for catching Dylan Tait. Tait’s reaction may have been a shade theatrical, but the contact was enough to prompt referee Matthew MacDermid to reach into his pocket. Falkirk seized the opportunity, throwing men forward in search of an equaliser as Thistle tried to cling onto their slender lead until half time. With five minutes left in the half, Scott Arfield found himself with the ball on the edge of the box, only for David Mitchell to somehow parry it over the bar with his legs. Arfield made no mistake the second time round, however. A stramash in the box saw MacIver set up the midfielder, who blasted into the bottom corner to put Falkirk on level terms going into half time.

It was all hands-on deck for Thistle in the second half as John McGlynn’s men hemmed them in for a sustained period. The Jags rarely ventured into the final third, opting to sit deep and soak up the mounting Falkirk pressure. Despite Falkirk piling bodies forward, Thistle managed the workload and kept Falkirk at bay. But after Bannigan’s soft second yellow, the cosmic scales of justice tipped back in Thistle’s favour. Substitute Alfredo Agyeman was shown a straight red for a late lunge on Robbie Crawford. With the playing field levelled to 10-on-10, Thistle found a new confidence and burst forward in search of a late winner… and find it they did. With the game ticking over into the seventh minute of six minutes added time, chaos ensued in the box from a set piece, with Terry Ablade nodding the ball over the line as Thistle grabbed a win out of thin air to the delight of the Firhill faithful. The result sees the Jags open up a three point gap over Raith Rovers, who play Morton at Stark’s Park tomorrow. Partick Thistle’s final game of the regular season sees them travel to Livingston next Friday, with Livingston still in the title mix after our favour to them tonight.

Reaction

Thistle striker and interim co-manager Brian Graham (speaking to the BBC):

It's the best league in Scotland by a mile, because it's so competitive. To win it in that fashion was incredible. The game changes when you go down to 10. The players in the second half, we asked them to be so compact and they did that. As soon as they went down to 10, we go 4-3-2 and go to try win the game. I'm delighted for Terry. We deserved the rub of the green tonight. It's a massive three points.

Falkirk manager John McGlynn (speaking to the BBC):

We didn't defend a free-kick that comes into the box. It's something that's cropped up throughout the season. Late goals are a common theme right now. At 11 v 11 we were by far the better team. We probably should go in ahead at half-time and the second half they made it very difficult. It's never a red card for Agyeman, he wins the ball fair and square. It's a one-game shootout. We'll dust ourselves down and we've got one last chance if we want to avoid the play-offs. We need to play for 90 minutes. I wouldn't be normal if you weren't nervous at this point of the season.

GRAHAM INTO THE TOP 10

● For just the second time this season (first was last week), there are 7 players aged 30+ in Thistle's starting eleven, a phenomenon which was almost unheard of until this decade. The club-record (8) was set away to Cove Rangers on 1st April 2023.

● Brian Graham gets his 7th Thistle goal vs. Falkirk; only 4 Jags in history have scored more. Incredibly, the #9 has scored in all 6 games that he's played for Thistle against the Bairns, 2020 to date!

● With his 97th goal in all competitions, Brian Graham (jointly) enters the All-Time Top 10 of the Thistle goalscorers chart.

● Stuart Bannigan, just 35 minutes after returning from suspension, is sent off for the 6th time as a Jag. Only Bobby Law (7) has seen red more often.

● Our red card record against Falkirk this season is unprecedented. To get 3 in different games against the same team in the same season is rare enough, but for them all to have been in the first half is incredible - and all second yellows at that! For the record, we had 3 in 3 games vs. Rangers (1995-96) & Morton (2012-13), but they were all second half reds.

● It's now 92 first-yellows for Thistle in 2024-25, a new club-record in any given season.

● Terry Ablade scores his last goal for Thistle. Both of his goals for Thistle have been scored against Falkirk.

● A managerial win versus John McGlynn is very rare for Thistle, that's just the 4th in 23 attempts!

● This crucial win for Thistle extends the all-time club-record of 10 (TEN) home league games unbeaten vs. Falkirk.

● No 'Grand Slam' this season (there's only ever been 4!) but Brian Graham becomes the first Jag in history to register 3 same-season 'Hogans' i.e. scoring in 3 out of 4 same-season league games against the same team, having now done so against Airdrie, Hamilton & Falkirk.

● 22-year-old Josh Reid plays his last game for Thistle.

ongoing sequences:

● 41 consecutive competitive appearances for Kyle Turner, 13th Jul 2024 to date. (Longest run since: Aidan Fitzpatrick - 48 games, 4th Nov 2023 to 26th Oct 2024. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

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