One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

Ross County 2 Partick Thistle 2
Saturday 24th October
Reporter : Partickthedog(with assistance from weehonk)
Referee- Steven Finnie
Attendance- 2269

In complete contrast to the sterile 0-0 draw at Firhill a few weeks ago, this was a pulsating encounter played out in bracing weather before enthusiastic supports in a gladiatorial arena. Thistle fought back twice to equalise, but on the balance of play might have been the team more disappointed not to emerge with a win.

Mercedes the Polar Bear from Edinburgh Zoo was not the only creature heading for the Highlands this week. For Thistle fans, all routes, road, rail, sea or air, converged on the northernmost outpost of league football in the UK, Dingwall, which translates literally as “the field or meeting place of the Thing” (for anoraks-not many Thistle fans were wearing them yesterday-the root words are the same as for the Tynwald, the home of the Isle of Man Parliament). “The Thing” today was not from outer space, and was no gentlemanly debating society or legislative assembly, but instead a bear pit in which two fully committed armies clashed head on, roared to the echo by some distinctly scary camp followers.

In an interesting experiment, combining giving experience to foreign officials with a historical reconstruction project, one of the assistant referees was William the Conqueror. Although he did not display much Norman Wisdom, the sharpened lance with an off cutting from the Bayeux Tapestry which he deployed in place of the usual linesman’s flag was designed to burst any beach balls before they impinged on the field of play. These reporters can confidently confirm that no beach balls were on show, but there were plenty other parts of the anatomy to be seen as the Harkins and Rowson (sorry, hardy and rowdy) elements of the Thistle fan base congregated in the terracing responded enthusiastically to the invitation to defy the wintry weather and “get yer taps aff for the Jags”.

Hopefully the above introduction serves to cover over the fact that your reporting duo missed the first 20 minutes of the game due to a combination of weehonk’s school hockey match in the morning and numerous roadblocks on the A9 (the regular road signs with pictures of deer acting as a constant reminder of the Staggies Party which we were missing). On arrival we rejected the comfort of the stand to join the mentalists on the terracing. A short question time session (but without Nick Griffin) informed us that the score was 0-0, both teams were really going for it and it was fairly evenly matched, although Liam Buchanan had missed a good chance on the rebound after the County keeper half-saved a Rowson shot. If you want more detail on the opening of the game, rather than us making it up, have a look at Tam the Bam’s report on the official website.

Our arrival coincided with, or perhaps inspired, a period of Thistle ascendancy. Alan Archibald flashed a long range shot narrowly wide and followed up with a header from a Hodge freekick which the keeper had to look lively to tip over the bar. The captain’s reinvention at left back has restored “Wears Number 3, what is he called”, to the fans’ repertoire, and numerous other players were being awarded their own songs, some more memorable than others. Nevertheless, it was one of the unsung heroes, John Robertson, who was catching the eye, mopping up the throughballs and timing his tackles to perfection. One impressive piece of play, dropping back from an attacker to take a dangerous high ball on his chest, before playing a pass calmly to a colleague was a cameo of all that is good about John Robertson. Jonny Tuffey had yet another new top, this time blue, though the Jags fans were more interested in him taking the top off his pen and signing a new contract (We promise that we will not mention tops off again as for some it may rake over the ashes of painful memories best left undisturbed).

The skiddy surface and close attentions of County defenders and midfielders were making it difficult for Donnelly and Hodge to exercise control over proceedings, and the Thistle players who were exerting the most influence were the workhorses, Wee Mad Mental Paul Cairney and David Rowson. Rowson burst down the right side of the penalty box and the Royal Mail industrial action did not prevent him delivering a perfect cross for Liam, who bounced/dragged his shot wide of the post. The head in the hands reaction from Liam revealed how good a chance this was, even to those of us craning our necks from the opposite end of Victoria Park.

Ross County Number 7 Michael Gardyne had already shown himself to be their most dangerous and alert player. When, just a few minutes before halftime, one of his team mates ran at the centre of the Thistle defence, Maxwell backed off too much and a neat flick opened up a tiny window of opportunity for Gardyne. He expertly threaded the eye of the needle to plant a shot into the back of the net off the inside of the post.

Suddenly and rather against the run of play, everything in the Gardyne was rosy for County. The surge of self-belief generated by the goal saw out the first half and lasted well into the second. Even the otherwise immaculate John Robertson was caught out as, when losing the ball at the corner flag, he clearly brought down an opponent and was deservedly booked, despite trying to divert attention to an injured elbow.

In this otherwise barren period of the game, Mark Corcoran shone out like a beacon. He was always willing to take on two or three defenders at a time down the left side and frequently broke through or was scythed down. One of these daring raids was ended prematurely by the Staggies Number 11 Martin Scott. From our perspective, the referee did not seem to be taking further action beyond awarding a freekick, but some foolish backchat from Scott brought out a needless yellow card which was to prove costly.

County were still in the driving seat and Jonny did well to save a low hard shot after a header down from a corner. The defensive scramble that followed emphasised how much Thistle were on the back foot. Ian McCall decided to ring the changes ten minutes after halftime by withdrawing Simon Donnelly and sending on Jim Hamilton. As with his impact on the similar situation in the game against Raith Rovers, it could not be argued that the Hamster had a brilliant game or that he singlehandedly turned the tide. He rarely jumped or won a ball in the air. Yet somehow his presence occupies and annoys defenders, opening up space for others, and he can play surprisingly quick low passes that open up angles of which even Hodge or Donnelly would be proud.

Corcoran drove again down the left. Scott upended him and the red card was inevitable. It seemed that Coco was injured in the challenge and he was limping heavily for several minutes. When Big Bird Chris Erskine fluttered to the touchline, a straight substitution for Corcoran on the left wing seemed inevitable, but surprisingly the player brought off was Bryan Hodge. This frustrated the section of the Jags support who had been singing “We all dream of a team of Bryan Hodge”, to the tune of “Yellow Submarine”, by reducing the Bryan Hodge component of the team from the aspirational eleven via an unsatisfactory one to a disappointing zero. The reporting team was surprised that Coco did not switch to the right to allow Big Bird to fly down the left. Instead Paolo di Cairneyo moved to centre mid and Big Bird perched on the right. But what do we know about tactics?

All credit to Ian McCall. The substitutions had the desired effect within minutes. Just after the hour mark, Thistle mounted an attack which was a textbook example of how to demolish a depleted defence. Archie, Cairney and Coco in turn committed opponents and passed to a colleague. Finally Jim Hamilton at the edge of the box drew in the remaining defenders and set Erskine free to outflank the County defence on the right and home in on goal. His wrongfootedness meant that he had to check inside and curl a shot towards the far corner. The effort was certainly on target and might well have troubled the keeper. However a tiny deflection off a defender caused the ball to loop and dip, making the goalie’s task impossible. Scenes of wild celebration ensued, especially as this strike from the Bridge gains 50 points for the Wuffmeisters and propels them up the First Division Dream Team League (no one saw that deflection-right!).

The game entered a surreal phase of rapid action at both ends. Thistle were pressing for the kill (exemplified by Cairney wrestling a Ross County player to get the ball out of the net and on to the centre spot) and for the first time Liam was unsettling the colossal  centrebacks who had been holding the defence together. Yet fate dealt a cruel twist. From a punt up the park by the County keeper, the ball bounced around 30 yards away from the Thistle goal. Paul Lawson chopped across the ball viciously with his foot and whether by luck or judgment imparted on the ball a left to right swerve, trajectory and velocity that from the moment of impact meant that the ball was arrowing into Jonny’s top corner. A goal of the season contender and no doubt the match highlights will show just how sublime this strike was. County players and fans alike went crazy and who could blame them.

If Jonny Tuffey had perfected that technique displayed by the goalie recently featured on UTube of kicking in the posts to reduce the size of the goals by 6 inches on either side, Thistle would not have lost their last 4 goals to Griffiths, Harkins, Gardyne & Lawson, all of which sneaked into the uttermost corners of the goal. This is where the Thistle players showed their mettle. Twenty minutes to go far away from home against a tabletopping side who had just scored a wonder goal to ignite their fans and to take the lead in an encounter in which generally they had been second best. Many teams would have crumbled into self-pity. But not this team.

Back up the pitch Thistle came. A deflection off Archie and the presence of Hamilton somehow resulted in the ball sitting up right on the middle of the 18 yard line. Liam had already missed two easier chances, but as always he was willing to try again (even though Kris Doolan was clearly about to be brought on to replace him). His expertly struck shot kept the ball low as it whizzed into the net. Liam’s facial expression showed just how much this goal meant to him.

And that was largely that so far as the main action went. Having lost the lead twice and with being a man down, County decided to abandon their previous bold efforts to win the game, and shut up shop. Their goalscorers and two most potent threats, Gardyne and Lawson were substituted, and ex-Thistle fans favourite (?) Paul di Giacomo ran on to make minimal impact on the proceedings. Without Hodge and Donnelly, Thistle could not summon up the imagination to unlock the defence and reverted rather disappointingly to long high balls which were eaten up by the giant County rearguard. Thistle certainly had the better of the game and were the only team trying to win, but it could not be said that County were under siege.

Paul Cairney’s freekick was deflected wide and Hamilton could not direct his header from a Corcoran cross. Liam took a slight head knock and Doolan came on later than previously planned. Then it was time for the polar bares on the terracing and the civilised citizens in the stand to give their heroes one last ovation and to start the long journey home. Some may be travelling still!

Teams:-

Thistle (ratings): Tuffey 7, Paton 7, Archibald 6, Hodge 6 (Erskine 6), Robertson 8, Maxwell 6, Cairney 8, Rowson 8, Buchanan 7 (Doolan 6), Donnelly 6 (Hamilton 6), Corcoran 7

Unused Subs: Hinchcliffe, Corrigan

Ross County: McGovern, Miller, Morrison, Kettlewell, Watt, Keddie, Gardyne (Craig), Lawson (Di Giacomo), Wood (Vigurs), Brittain, Scott

Unused Subs: Malin, Boyd

Referee- Steven Finnie
Assistants- Bryan Braidwood, Willie Conquer

Attendance- 2269

Goals-
Partick Thistle- Erskine 62, Buchanan 72
Ross County- Gardyne 40, Lawson 69