Match report: Airdrie United v Partick Thistle
Match report: Airdrie United v Partick Thistle
By Alan Murray
Thistle took with them a very decent sized crowd to New Broomfield. This is in comparison to the poor Airdrie support especially when considering their promotion to the first division. Official site credits thistle away support at 921.
The Murray clan took the risk of taking the train to game and the only incident was the police dogs barking at us when we walked past at the station. No sign of a typical ‘section b’ greeting for us Thistle fans!
The game started with Airdrie on top. They seemed to be first to the ball and put in some decent tackles breaking up the thistle procession. Former Thistle flop Paul Di Giacomo nearly had the ball in the back of the net after ten minutes when he was allowed far too much space just outside the box when Simon Lynch headed the ball into his path.
Thistle had penalty claims turned down with Scott Chaplain when he was barged in the box however any award would have been soft and the referee rightly waved away the appeals of Thistle fans.
After 27 minutes the below par Gary Harkins managed to get a shot on target however failed to trouble Robertson.
Paul Paton in the 41st minute produced a fine chance for Simon Donnelly, however he elected to control the ball instead of shooting first time which allowed the Airdrie defender to get a foot in and clear the danger.
Paul Paton was having trouble dealing with Joe Cardle but the winger never really took advantage of Paton’s defensive frailties. Going into half time Airdrie would have been the happier team. Thistle was ineffective in midfield and repeated long balls to Gray and Donnelly were bringing little joy.
Half time came and thistle fans were wondering what changes McCall could make – will he go 4-4-2? Will he use a half time substitution that he is so fond of doing?
First half, the only part of the Thistle team operating to full capacity was the defense. The gap between midfield and striker was too wide leaving both Gray and Donnelly infective.
McCall choose the substitute route with Chaplain swapped with McKeown. Harkins moved forward into the advanced midfield role with McKeown slotting in next to Rowser. This move along with Donnelly dropping deeper changed the complexion of the game. Thistle were now in the ascendancy..
Gary Harkins had a shot saved by Robertson which he was not overly troubled by following good interplay by Harkins and Donnelly.
The winning goal on 73 minutes came from a fearlessly contested corner award which typified a series of bizarre decisions by referee William Collum. Thistle broke from the corner with Paton picking up the ball and after taking the ball towards the Airdrie goal picked out Gray who cleverly made space for himself to drill the ball past Robertson. Airdrie never overly troubled Thistle after this, the best chance came to Lynch who found himself through on goal but Maxwell expertly marshaled him enough to make his shot ineffective.
An excellent result for Jags, again, proves McCall’s skills as a tactician. His decision to move Harkins into the attacking role occupied by Chaplin in the first half gave jags a far more potent threat. Donnelly started to come deep picking up the ball which allowed him space and time on the ball to build attacks.
Thistle defensively we were excellent however Paton at times struggled against winger Cardle in the first half. Roberson again proves central defense is his forte as he matures in age. Harkins game turning performance nearly was enough to earn this reporters man of the match award however Maxwell deservedly takes the award again. His experience and presence made him dominate at the back. Donnelly also deserves praise for his excellent second half performance with some of his sublime touches looking out of place in this league.
Jonny Tuffey
Paul Paton
Marc Twaddle
Simon Storey
John Robertson
Ian Maxwell
Scott Chaplain (Stephen McKeown)
David Rowson
Damon Gray
Simon Donnelly (Kevin McKinlay)
Gary Harkins
Players Not Used
Craig Hinchcliffe
Willie Kinniburgh
Ryan McStay
Airdrie Utd
Stephen Robertson
Marc Smyth
Matthew Hazley
Kevin MacDonald(Scott McLaughlin)
Robert Donnelly
David Nixon
Steven McDougall(Stuart Noble)
Stephen McKenna
Paul Di Giacomo
Simon Lynch
Joe Cardle(Stephen McGuire)
Players Not Used
Lee Hollis
Darren Sm