2 tickets to Hospitality v Dunfermline on 14th Feb: Mrs C Thompson
2 tickets to Hospitality v Morton on 21st Feb: Jim Rudge
2 tickets to Davie McParland Suite v Dunfermline: Stephanie MacKay
2 tickets to Davie McParland Suite v Morton: Iain MacDougall
£50 Greaves voucher: T & KA McMillan
£50 Borders voucher: Graham Lang

Well done to all.

Scoreres:Clyde: Clarke 21, 61(pen)
Partick Thistle: Donnelly 30, Harkins 33(pen), Paton 42, Buchanan 85

Referee:Mike Tumilty

It was a happy New Year in a sad New Town as Partick Thistle came from behind for a well-deserved and ultimately convincing victory over local rivals Clyde, ringing out the disappointing end to 2008 and ringing in the passion and form which could still see a promotion challenge and a cup run in 2009.

Cumbernauld or Carnar nan Allt, the Meeting of the Waters, marks a central point in Scotland from which streams drain both westward into the Clyde and eastward into the Forth. It was an old horse changing station, and hopefully signifies a pivotal moment in Thistle’s season, as we leave behind the bucking bronco and leap aboard the thoroughbred racehorse which will take us to the finishing post. Although the town formed the backdrop for the film “Gregory’s Girl”, there was no sign of rumoured signing target Gregory Tade of Stranraer. This epic battle with both sides throwing punches to the end spoke more of another of Cumbernauld’s famous residents, the boxer Ken Buchanan, and it was appropriate that his namesake Liam was to land the final blow.

John Brown wore his new camel coloured overcoat and introduced loan signing from Hamilton, Tony Stevenson, right away, with Craig O’Reilly, just picked up from East Fife, on the bench. Thistle were on normal 5-3-2 lines. Kevin McKinlay’s injury made it  inevitable that Marc Twaddle would be recalled to left wingback, while Scott Chaplain’s enthusiasm for vanquishing the Bully Wee earned him his first start for a while. What this reporter would regard as our best central defensive threesome took the field, Simon Storey sweeping between Alan Archibald and John Robertson.

A recent thread on the Jagsforum has speculated on circumstances in which one team might allow the other to score a goal to even up a perceived injustice. No doubt, even if our opponents stood back to let us walk the ball into the net, we would still do the same kick off routine and hammer the ball out of play over the left touchline.

After this false dawn, the Jags really got down to business. Mary Queen of Scots once visited Cumbernauld, but even she could not have staged as regal a performance as Simon Donnelly (given the nod today in place of Mark Roberts). The former Scottish internationalist gave a master class throughout the first half, displaying the full range of his skills. In the second minute his low drive forced Hutton into an awkward parry at his near post, and then from the corner the goalkeeper once more had to be alert to gather Simon’s header.

Donnelly found an eager companion in Scott Chaplain, who enjoyed being set free from the holding role of recent substitute appearances to resume his favoured position in the forefront of the midfield, driving the team forward. In one attack the pair exchanged four passes, resulting in a corner, from which Harkins’ shot was blocked.

Clyde had been generally anonymous in the opening exchanges, but suddenly announced their arrival as McLaren (who switched wings to good effect throughout the game) slid the ball through to Pat Clarke in the left hand side of the box. Tuffey came out well, but must have been relieved to see the shot crash into the boards behind the goal. In return, Harkins set Buchanan free on the left, and his shot from distance using the outside of his foot narrowly cleared the bar.

Wee Gus made a creditable effort to stimulate the centre stand to burst into collective song, but was defeated not so much by lack of enthusiasm from fellow supporters, but more by extreme cold, the deadening effect of the soulless stadium, and the nervousness caused by successive defeats and our barren run in front of goal. After a five minute solo, it was “Adios” as he went in search of a more receptive backing group.

Gus’ departure coincided with a difficult spell for Thistle. Tuffey was indecisive in dealing with a corner, but made amends by combining with Harkins to foil Clarke. Storey, Rowson and Robertson were all caught in possession, but each bailed the others out. This uncertainty in communication led to the concession of a soft goal in the twenty first minute.

Simon Storey has been an Ayres Rock in the centre of defence this season, but seemed discomfited by Pat Clarke, despite not being Australian, looking even more like a kangaroo than he does. As a long ball dropped 25 yards out, Jonny Tuffey yelled at Simon to leave it. Although Jonny would have dealt with the ball, he was probably further out of his goal than Simon could reasonably have expected him to be. Simon could not resist the temptation to jump as high as he could to head the ball himself and succeeded only in knocking it down to Clarke, who deserves credit for the speed and accuracy of his finish.

McLaren switched to the right and after having his heels clipped by Alan Archibald threw himself theatrically to the ground to turn a straightforward freekick into a booking for Archie. The referee was not helped by the nearside linesman who was shocking throughout and seemed to have perfected the art of sleeping standing up.

The action finally switched to the other end and after a header down by Chappie, Liam got to the ball just ahead of the keeper, but bundled the ball wide from just a few yards out, an unlucky miss reminiscent of Billy Bremner against Brazil. The horrible feeling that this was not going to be our day was creeping visibly through the Jags support, and was heightened on the half hour as Marc Twaddle put in another effective run to the left corner flag, but was caught by a defender’s boot and collapsed in apparent agony as the play raged on.

By the time Archie retrieved the ball, the Twadfather had been criminally abandoned by his marker and hobbled back onside. After a quick glance to check that Twaddle was OK, Archie threaded a pass to him and Marc whipped over a superb cross which Simon Donnelly met smack on the forehead to plant it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net, a carbon copy of his goal against Stirling Albion last season.

Storey and Tuffey had further communication problems as the ball bounced in the Thistle box, but fortunately Archie was on hand to deflect Stevenson’s shot over the bar.

The name Broadwood has nothing to do with the few straggly trees near the stadium but is a reminder of the area’s dignified past as part of the Great Caledonian Forest. I am reliably informed that the mysterious White Scottish Ox used to roam these woodlands. Possibly his memory is preserved in the conveyor belt of whiteshirted baldheaded defenders with giant oxters that Clyde seem to manufacture in numbers. The latest in the line is Alan Lithgow, and the Ox Factor came to Thistle’s aid three minutes after the equaliser.

Donnelly played a perfect throughball to Buchanan, who advanced on Lithgow from the left corner of the box. Liam tricked him by feinting to the right and then dashing left before being flattened by the inevitable challenge. It was an indisputable penalty and Lithgow was perhaps fortunate that the card he received was yellow rather than red. Glorious Gary Harkins was having one of his up and down days, but there was no doubting the quality of his finish, low to the left corner of the net.

Thistle were on song now, and Liam might have done better than fire wide after being put through by Harkins. Clarke hit a shot with a strange trajectory which fortunately did not fool Tuffey. Chaplain smashed a volley into the building under construction at the north end of the stadium.

There was still room for a third Thistle score just three minutes before halftime. I have read differing accounts of this goal which tend to indicate that it was fairly scrappy. It is always difficult to have precise recollection on one viewing of happenings at the far side of the park, but for me this was a superb team move with contributions from Harkins and Chaplain before Donnelly passed to Buchanan who in turn teed up the ball for Paul Paton to slot home from the righthand corner of the six yard box. His celebration was equally as uplifting as his finish. It is great to see players who really enjoy scoring for Thistle and want to share this with the fans.

Chants of “Bomber, Bomber, What’s the score?” rang out and the halftime DJ even played the Sean Kilgannon/Simon Donnelly tune. Clyde were out so quickly after the break that they beat the Hinchcliffe/Tuffey training duo, who were still two minutes ahead of their team-mates. Brown introduced the giant O’Reilly and McKay in place of Stevenson and Lowing (the noise made by the White Scottish Ox).

The alertness of the players corresponded with the order in which they came out of the dressing room. Clyde were right up for the battle and pummelled Thistle immediately from the kick off. McLaren burst into the box from the left and Tuffey did well to beat out his strong low shot. McLaren returned the ball almost along the goal line from where Storey ushered it to the temporary safety of a corner kick. McKay’s cross fell to Trouten, whose volley flashed narrowly over the bar.

After surviving a five minute bombardment, Thistle gained some relief when Buchanan again turned his defender (now Mark Brown who was going to have a torrid second half) and saw his shot saved by Hutton. Shortly afterwards Liam broke free from the illegal attentions of McLaren (who was lucky to escape a booking) to hang up an inviting cross which Chaplain volleyed over.

Robertson and Archibald were putting in some excellent headed challenges, but this was turning into the Liam Buchanan show as he pulled right and then drove in on the angle against Brown. One long clearance gave him the chance to get ahead of a couple of defenders but his shot went over. Just a minute later a peculiar, possibly half deflected, creeping cross from Donnelly provided Liam with an excellent opportunity but just a few yards out, with Hutton scrambling to cover, he screwed his shot wide.

Another clueless decision by our favourite linesman just after the hour mark awarded Clyde a goalkick rather than Thistle a corner. This was to prove significant as McKay drove deep into the Thistle rearguard. Marc Twaddle seemed to be doing a good job of getting back and pushing him wide. However the Twadfather foolishly went to ground and his attempted side on tackle succeeded only in taking out the Clyde player for the game’s second stonewall penalty. A perfectly timed telescopic leg Twaddle tackle is a thing of beauty, but when he gets it wrong the consequences can be catastrophic.

Clarke gave Tuffey no chance from the spot, putting the ball in the same corner of the net as Harkins had done, though slightly higher up. This got the home fans and players really fired up, and there was a danger of Thistle being swept away by the maelstrom. Ian McCall calmed the gathering storm by taking off Twaddle (partly to save him from another red card) and replacing him with Mark Roberts. Thistle went 4-4-2 with Storey going to left wingback and Donnelly and Chaplain moving respectively to the left and right sides of midfield to allow Marko to partner Liam up front. Clyde introduced former Thistle favourite Ricky Waddell in place of Marvin Wilson.

Marko went down in the Clyde box and was booked for diving. Strangely the referee failed to book Clyde players guilty of the same alleged offence. Roberts nearly made amends by almost getting on the end of another fine Buchanan cross. Ex-Jag Billy Gibson hauled down Gary Harkins to earn a booking, though this seemed to be for his reaction rather than for the original offence. Trouten swam clear in the box but toepoked lamely into Tuffey’s arms.

There was concern that Thistle were sitting back too much and inviting Clyde to take control of the game, and in particular to attack down their right, taking advantage of Storey not being a natural leftsided defender.  However, gradually the changes made by Ian McCall began to work and Thistle reassumed their previous dominance. Rowson was putting in a power of work in the engine room. Buchanan had a further shot cleared by Brown and both Harkins and Robertson put headers just over the top.

Donnelly had faded in the second half and was replaced by Stephen McKeown with around ten minutes to go. Five minutes later Liam Buchanan finally scored the goal his performance merited, and proved that he can produce a quality of finish to match his workrate. Paton’s longball was headed on by Roberts, and Liam capitalised on one of the day’s harder chances, smashing the ball well wide of the keeper into the far corner.

Clyde’s final attack consisted of three players jumping simultaneously on Jonny Tuffey. Despite the usual protection given to keepers in such situations, no freekick was awarded and it was left to Archie to save the day with a crunching challenge. Thistle had the last word. Harkins danced round three opponents and sprung the offside trap to put Liam clean through. He had more time than when he scored, but this time dragged his shot wide. Clyde had barely restarted the game when the referee blew his whistle.

The players acknowledged the support they had received and turned away to prepare for two significant Saturdays. The results against Inverness and St Johnstone will go a long way towards determining how interesting and enjoyable the remainder of the season will be.

As we headed back to the cars, I thought I caught a glimpse of the White Scottish Ox slinking off into the undergrowth.
Teams:-

Thistle (ratings): Tuffey 6, Paton 7, Twaddle 6 (Roberts 6), Storey 6, Robertson 8, Archibald 7, Chaplain 8, Rowson 8, Buchanan 7, Donnelly 8 (McKeown 6), Harkins 7 

Unused Subs: Hinchcliffe, Kinniburgh, Lennon

Clyde: Hutton, Lowing (McKay), Brown, Wilson (Waddell), Gibson, Lithgow, Trouten, Kettlewell, Clarke, Stevenson (O’Reilly), McLaren

Unused Subs: Cherrie, McLennan

Referee- Mike Tumilty
Assistants- Stuart MacAulay, Rodney Marshall

Goals:
Clyde: Clarke 21, 61(pen)
Partick Thistle: Donnelly 30, Harkins 33(pen), Paton 42, Buchanan 85

Attendance- 2016

Referee:Mike Tumilty

Admission
Adults:£15.00
Adult&Child: £17.00
Concessions:  £5.00
Under16 :      £5.00

Car Park :     £2.00

The turkey is well gone,the Whisky and the Tinnies have been downed and only the crumbs of the Black Bun and Shortbread are left,and most of our New Year Resolutions are already broken.The big question for Saturday is, have the Jags the resolution to pick up the three points at Broadwood to get us back into the promotion race.Only time will tell
Both teams have injury problems with Thistle missing Maxwell,Mack inlay and Gray.Buchanan is Doubtful

Covers have been placed on the park to protect it from frost and these will lifted early Saturday morning.Fans intending going to the game should log on to www.clydefc.co.uk before travelling.

At this time of year I need a pick me up and this wasn’t it. I am
afraid the celebrations of New year and the result of this match make for a
late and short report. Manager McCall made a couple of changes to the
side he had fielded on saturday; out was the suspended Twaddle along
with Donnelly and Storey, and at the start of the match the team looked
brighter and faster. However it was only to take a quarter of an hour
before the home side had taken the lead.

After dealing with a dangerous Morton free kick from 20 yards out the
jags failed to deal with another from the same spot minutes later with
Masterton beating Tuffey to make it one nil. Thistle could have had the
equaliser minutes later from a Buchanan shot but the ball went wide of
the Morton post.

Morton had a nother couple of chances in the minutes that followed one
from Masterton and another from Grady. Thistle did follow up with some
good work from  McKeown  and Harkins but the chances were missed and
the signs began to show that any idea of a Thistle New year party was
about to disappear. I had a feeling at the half time whistle that things
were not going to improve. It was cold and it was cold football.

The manager began the second half with one change to the side - Storey
coming on for McKinlay. Thistle again started brightly and nearly
levelled after only a minute with a  Rowson and Roberts one two  but the
final shot lacked power and the Morton keeper saved comfortably. When
Morton scored in 64 minutes I knew I should have stayed at home. A simple
Weatherston header from the corner kick was enough to end Thistle’s
2008 in depression.

Although Lennon came on for Buchanan in 68 minutes Thistle failed to
make any further impression on the game. Indeed, we were lucky not to
drop further behind
when a Weatherston shot hit the crossbar and bounced out to be headed
into the Thislte net with Tuffey helpless. Luckilly for Thistle the
linesman had already flagged for offside and the goal did not stand. The
final whistle cam as a relief and it was back home to ‘celebrate’ the
last of the festive season. Roll on 2009.

Morton: Stewart, McGregor, Shimmin, Greacen, Walker, Finlayson,
Masterton, Jenkins, McAlister, Grady (Wake 87), Weatherson.
Players not used: McGuffie, Paartalu, Russell, McWilliams.

Booked: Masterton.

Goals: Masterton 17, Weatherson 65.

Partick Thistle: Jonny Tuffey, Paton, John Robertson, Kinniburgh,
Archibald, McKinlay (Storey 46), McKeown, Rowson, Harkins (Chaplain 61),
Buchanan (Lennon 69), Roberts.
Players not used: Donnelly, Hinchcliffe.

Booked: Kinniburgh.

Att: 2,385

Ref: J McKendrick (Scotland).

Admission
Adults: £14.00
Concessions: £9.00
Students:       £9.00
Children        £4.00
Adult & Child £16.00

Thistle head down to the Tail of the Bank for the re arranged fixture against Greenock Morton,where a win is imperative if we wish to stay in the promotion race,a loss here would would just about finish our chances for this season.

Ian McCall has nearly a full squad to pick from, only the suspended Marc Twaddle and the injured
Maxwell and Gray misses out.Morton have centre back Ryan Harding and goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert out,Jim “head the ball” Stewart returns in goal for them and I am sure he will receive a warm welcome from all the Jags fans.

Trains for the match leave Glasgow Central 18.05 and 18.35 and arrive at Cartsdyke 40 mins later.First two trains after the match leave Cartsdyke at 21.31 and 21.56.
Engineering works on this line are scheduled to finish at 23.59 on Monday night.
It is advisable the fans going to the match should keep in touch with the official site with regards to the weather conditions.At this moment in time the ground is playable and covers have been put down as a precaution.

Partick Thistle v Ross County
Irn-Bru First Division Scottish League
Saturday 27th December 2008
Firhill Stadium
Reporter Tom Hogg
Scorer: Higgins 24,84
Attendance: 2,465

Referee:Stephen Finnie

Auld Rabbie Burns had it right when he suggested that the best laid plans of mice and men are sometimes disrupted by a lack of midfield cohesion, an uncharacteristic hesitancy in defence at key points and tactical ineptitude. Or he would have got it right had he said that and not something more succinct.

It all started so well, with me and the boy setting off early to enjoy hospitality in the Alan Rough Lounge courtesy of the Jags Trust 1876 Club. The train was free of any dodgy characters due to the early kick off at Ibrox and the only sign of their presence between Edinburgh and Maryhill Road was an empty half bottle of Bucky slewing around the floor of the subway up to St George’s Cross.

Hospitality was great. The food was nice, the company nicer and the comedian palatable, even if that was only due to a lame joke about artichokes. Even a vague smell of fish wafting into the posh seats from the heathens in the Shed failed to spoil my mood as we all settled down expectantly to watch the Jags put four past the self styled middleweight contenders from the Highlands.

Ninety minutes of football later and the Shed boys were praying out loud for the final whistle to come and end our agony after, well, let’s just say a disappointing afternoon at the theatre of delusions.

Two Glasgow teams saw their title hopes disappear this afternoon and for the Jags there are no dreams of an Atlantic League to keep us preoccupied until April. The post Christmas slump, as predictable now as an Allan Cowan gaffe, arrived with a vengeance.

From the off Thistle looked second best as County out passed them in midfield, with both Hart and Brittain catching the eye for the northerners. Two early dead balls in the 5th and 14th minutes saw Steven Craig presented with decent headed half chances, the second causing Storey to nod over for a second corner from a dangerous position on his own six yard line.

Thistle were creating nothing going forward with Donnelly misfiring, McKinlay lacking service and Buchanan unlikely to connect with a series of pumped high balls. The Jags game was error strewn and Twaddle was booked for diving into a challenge 25 yards from goal, a mistake that would cost him later on in the game. As the fans tried vainly to urge Thistle into some sort of form, County took the lead on 24 minutes via a speculative ball forward which caught out Storey, bouncing over his head for Higgins to loop the ball deftly over Tuffey. A deathly silence fell upon the home support as we all began to predict a rerun of the last home game against County where an early goal and clever containment allowed them the points.

McKinlay tried to raise spirits with a mazy run into the box but there was no pass available and he was closed out. This was the Jags first threatening move and the fact that it took place after almost half an hour showed how well County were breaking up the midfield rhythm. Thistle’s first and only chance of the first half fell to Buchanan on 43 minutes after a deep cross to Donnelly was cut back across when a shot looked more likely and the wee man nodded onto the top of the bar. In between, Twaddle had skelped the backside of the last man in the County wall with a long range free kick.

The second half started with no changes by McCall despite the inability of the midfield to penetrate the County defence, but on 60 minutes McKeown came on for Storey, with Twaddle and Paton falling deeper in a attempt to create midfield space. It was County who were next to show however, with Craig slicing wide after Strachan had been released with Twaddle out of position.

Roberts replaced the ineffective Donnelly and looked to have a chance to unpick the County lock when McKinlay released him with a deft angled pass, only for the stand side linesman to raise his flag for a very dubious offside decision. The spoiling role of Rowson was sacrificed for the more theoretically attack minded Chaplain on 71 minutes but only seconds later Twaddle was red carded for a second yellow after losing the ball deep in County’s half and slicing down the accelerating Strachan.

Thistle were now chasing the game with ten men and an exposed left flank and made heavy weather of it. The final nail in the coffin was Higgins beating the offside trap set by Archibald and lobbing over the advancing Tuffey from 10 yards to make it two nil County and game, if not entire season over, for the Jags.

This was a very poor display from a Thistle team that should have known that County would do exactly what they have done before, restricting space in midfield and sitting tight on players shoulders. Any attempt to change the face of the game with personnel and tactical switches was countered by self inflicted wounds from Twaddle’s lack of self discipline, Donnelly’s lack of form, McKeown’s lack of match fitness or any number of other reasons. At least Gary Harkins had the sense to look roundly embarrassed when accepting the man of the match award in the hospitality area after the game.

Thistle’s performance was summed up by the fact that only three shots on goal are recorded in the match notes and two of these were in the 90th and 93rd minutes. You could argue that County played a negative game of anti-football and to an extent you would be correct, but the Jags should have had the guile and skill to outwit them. On this form, expect a long run in to April and a depressing trip to Inverness on 10th January.

I’m away to hide the razor blades and paracetamol  to avoid temptation…

Referee:Stephen Finnie

Admission
Adults £15.00
Senior Citizens £10.00
16 to 21 £10.00
Under 16’s FREE

As fans head up the Mayhill way on Saturday, they will be saddened to hear of the demise of the Hokey Cokey, a dance performed by many Jags fans on the terraces of Firhill at this festive time, pre - alcohol ban days. They will also be saddened to hear of the recent death of the writer of the song; the latest news from the funeral parlour is that they are having one helluva job getting the body into the coffin!

Ian McCall will have to have his team ready for a fight on Saturday, with the Adams family and Professor Higgins wanting to keep their 100% record against the jags this season.

Both Ian Maxwell and Damon Gray will miss the game through injury. Lack of fitness could also restrict both Stephen McKeown and Alan Archibald to tomorrow’s bench.
So it should be the team that played so well against Dundee that will be given the chance to beat Ross County for the first time this season.

E bay listing.

Referee:Charlie Thomson

At a Christmas party last week I was sitting next to a Dundee supporter and memorabilia collector – I was telling him that my first Thistle match was Partick thistle 6 Dundee 3. A few days later, he kindly passed me a press photo from that day, with Gerry Britton and Albert Craig joyfully turning towards the Jackie Husband stand after the sixth goal while Jim Duffy dejectedly trots back towards goal. I travelled to Dundee hoping for a similarly entertaining game on this occasion.

The night after my Christmas party where I had been singularly ignored for a groping by the mature lady who had a red wine or two too many, I was again deprived of a frisking as Tayside’s finest seemed to adopt a more laissez faire attitude and did not frisk the dangerous scary Glaswegians on this occasion.

Anyway, to the game. Dundee started brightly and after 7 minutes, Tuffey was called upon to make a good save after a curling and dipping shot from the edge of the box by Curier. Tuffey showed safe hands all day and this was the first of several good saves.

Thistle began to get some possession and come into the game after a rocky first ten minutes. Twaddle met an inswinging corner at the front post but headed just wide. This was followed immediately by some good play by McKinlay whose back post cross was headed wide by Buchanan. Buchanan soon picked up possession and with the Dundee defence packed he ran across field before playing in the rampaging Twaddle whose shot was well saved by Douglas in the Dundee goal. This had been an impressive few minutes from Thistle, however Dundee soon had a break using Deasley’s pace but Storey defended intelligently to avert the danger.

Buchanan was bright and combining well with Paton throughout the game as he drifted right to get involved. In the first half he showed a couple of sublime pieces of skill to get away from lumbering Lauchlan.

There was a frustrating period of play when McKinlay was caught offside in as many minutes. Paton’s corners were either too near Douglas or straight onto the head of a Thistle player and on one such occasion Kinniburgh headed over when he should probably have done better. Moments later Kinniburgh was booked for a challenge on edge of box on Dundee’s brightest outfield player, Shinnie, whose pace Kinniburgh had no match for, but the resulting freekick from Curier did not trouble Tuffey.

As half time approached Dundee created another opportunity when Posniak went on a surging run but his cutback bobbled about in the six yard box without finding the feet of a Dundee player fortunately.

Thistle had definitely had the best of the first half.

The second half started in a similar manner and Douglas saved well from a deflected Rowson effort. Early in the second half Donnelly replaced Kinniburgh. Donnelly almost had am immediate impact, floating a free kick into the Dundee box which caused chaos on the Dundee line but the defence eventually somehow scrambled it away for a corner. Dundee then had a couple of efforts, Tuffey making a good save from O’Brien who hit a fierce shot from the Dundee left and then Shinnie shot narrowly over from the other side.

Paton and Buchanan combined well again down the right and when the ball was switched to the left via Rowson, Twaddle hit a fizzing shot just wide with Douglas sprawling.

Now the best save I remember by an opposition keeper against Thistle is probably Craig Gordon’s in the Scottish Cup a few seasons ago, I think from a Darren Brady shot if I remember correctly. Douglas pulled off a double save to rival that this afternoon just after the hour mark. A fantastic cross by Paton was met by Harkins at the back post who headed back across the keeper and whose header looked goalbound until Douglas clawed it away. It was a good save by Douglas but as he lay sprawling he saw that he had only palmed it as far as Mark Roberts who was about 8 yards out – Roberts hit the ball into the ground looking for it to bounce over Douglas as he lay on the deck but somehow – and as of yet I have not quite worked out how – Douglas managed to get a hand to Roberts effort and scoop it over the bar for a corner. From that corner, Twaddle had a free header and would be disappointed not to hit the target – three great chances for Thistle to take the lead, none of them taken.

Thistle were all over Dundee for a period and Jocky Scott changed things around, bringing on Dacquin and McMenamin for Williams and Deasley with 20 minutes to go.

Harkins missed a great chance when he chose to pass when he really should have burst the net. Buchanan also had a chance but shot wide from a tight angle.

Dundee had a couple of late chances, Shinnie testing Tuffey from long range and Forsyth who came on for Malone in last few minutes heading into the side netting. A late Dundee goal would not have been justice and would have replaced having to listen to Mariah Carey’s Christmas song over the PA before the game as the days low point. Fortunately Craig Thomson, who deserves special mention for being a competent referee, brought the game to an end.

Thistle will wonder how they did not win this game and it was probably a case of meeting an inspired keeper (Douglas won the sponsors man of the match) and just not being clinical enough, but it was a good performance, and with the other results today, a win would have really pushed Thistle into the challengers bracket, as it was however, they drop back a place after Livingston’s victory.

The whole Thistle team played well today with special mention to Tuffey, Twaddle, Paton, Rowson, Buchanan and Robertson.

Dundee - Douglas, Williams (Daquin 71), Malone (Forsyth 86), McHale, McKeown, Lauchlan, Shinnie, Posniak, Antoine-Curier, Deasley (McMenamin 71), O’Brien.

Subs Not Used - Roy, Gilhaney.

Partick - Tuffey, Paton, Twaddle, Storey, Kinniburgh (Donnelly 49), John Robertson, McKinlay, Rowson, Buchanan, Roberts, Harkins.

Subs Not Used - Hinchcliffe, Chaplain, Little, Turner.

Attendance - 3,569

Referee - Craig Thomson

Referee:Charlie Thomson

Admission:
Adults: £17.00
Concessions £10.00

In a few days time an elderly gentleman will make his annual around the world trip in one night! Santa who is believed to be at least 16 centuries old,will start in the Pacific and head west before retuning to the North Pole for a well earned rest. Lets hope the aforesaid gentleman drops into Dens Park and gives the Jags a present of a well earned three points before heading home.

Mr.McCall heads to King of Spain country with nearly a clean bill of health, with only Damon Gray and Stephen Mckeown missing, Damon has returned to Hibs to see if they can solve his injury problem. John Robertson and Ian Maxwell have returned to training and should be available for selection on Saturday, it is hoped that Maxi will be able to play to counteract the danger from Dundee’s headman Mickael-Antoine Curier.