Match report - Partick Thistle v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Partick Thistle v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Firhill Stadium Glasgow
Saturday 28th November, 2009
Reporter: Paul Murray
Referee- Dougie MacDonald
Attendance: 2,353
Partick Thistle 2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
After half an hour of this game with the Jags one nil down and an ever increasing misty atmosphere enveloping north west Glasgow it was no wonder that the Firhill shed boys were letting out a hopeful cr of: ‘yer gonnae have to postpone it we cannae see the game…’ However ten minutes later after new boys Adams and Lovell had put Thistle 2-1 up with two well taken goals this was exactly what they did not want. Instead the ref, McDonald, thankfully decided to give us the full 90, plus a fog filled five minutes of nervy injury time.
It has to be said the Jags started this match rather poorly. The new right sided defensive combo of Adams and Robertson looking particularly hesitant on a slippy surface. It was to be an indecisiveness that brought the opening goal for ICT. The Impressive Hayes sent in an arching free kick into the jags’ box. Jonny Tuffey failed to punch and the ball found its way in to the net after skidding off Tolkely’s baldy scalp.
Thistle, without playing anything near their best, gradually overcame this early tentativeness and, chiefly through the ‘as good as a corner if not better’ throw ins from Iain Maxwell, started to create chances. The 6.3 tall Jamie Adams was to provide an effective target for these long throws, nodding on for Corcoran to produce a fantastic full stretch save from Esson in the ICT goal. A similar chance was created for Lovell; however his strong header lacked direction and Esson saved easily at his chest.
The game was really opening up now, with both sides having a real go. Just before the break Hayes once more got the better of the Jags’ defense and his rifled shot took a slight deflection before thumping off the bar. Half time came and it was clear that Ian McCall would have a lot of dressing room work to do if the Thistle were to gain a crucial three points.
The result of the manager’s 15 mins with his team was the introduction of the almost forgotten Stephen McKeown, plus a noticeable increase in tempo and work rate . The improvement was rewarded with a classic downward header into the net from Adams after great work from Maxwell. The big centre back had created the chance by fooling the ICT defence with a short throw, then firing in a perfect cross for Adams to score.
Ten minutes late things got even better for the Jags when Stevie Lovell finally emerged from the thickening gloom. Showing power and pace, he chest trapped a through ball then smacked a fine finish into the corner of the net. It had a been a relatively quiet first start for Stevie but this flash of penalty box brilliance bodes well for a Buchanan less Thistle in the weeks to come.
The rest the game saw Thistle retreat into defensive mode and a combination of sloppy passing and a deep lying defence saw ICT secure a fair bit of late pressure. However despite managing a number of crosses into the box nothing of real significance was created and the Jags on the break looked just as likely to score.
It was at this late stage in the game that the foggy conditions really deteriorated. However The Ref McDonald failed to take heed of the earlier shed plea for abandonment. So despite the fog and an absurd amount of injury time the Jags managed to take their sixth point from one of the early season favourites.