One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

PARTICK THISTLE 1 LIVERPOOL XI 1

Alan Archibald Testimonial

Match report-Tuesday 11 August 2009

by Partick the Dog (with assistance from Wee Honk)

 

On Saturday 5^th April 1997, at East Fife’s old Bayview Stadium in front of less than 1000 fans, Murdo MacLeod unfolded his arms long enough to usher into the action a bullet-headed young defender to play his part in a 2-0 victory. Unlike other participants on that fateful day, such as “Big” Jim Slavin and Hreinn “Turbo” Hringsson, whose Thistle careers crashed and burned, Alan Archibald has over the past dozen years built himself into the archietexture of Partick Thistle Football Club.

 

Archie is a Firhill legend, the subject of both a chant and a song, a Captain Marvel to rival John Terry, and he deserved his Arch de Triomphe tonight, although it was all accepted in his typically calm, measured and understated manner. Others would have milked the crowd and revelled in the applause, Archie as always got on with his job and gave as good an illustration of first class professional defending as any of the 300 previous examples, with hopefully many more to come.

 

His first touch was a simple pass, his second launched it up the park, and after that he was at home in his own backyard, marshalling his colleagues, crunching in the tackles whenever necessary, modestly oblivious to the fact that we were all there to pay tribute to him. Archie, Archie, Mr Partick Thistle, we salute you.

 

The game was less important than the man, but was certainly the best and most competitive testimonial these scribes, whose Thistle-supporting careers largely parallel Archie’s, have been privileged to attend. The Merseyside Magyars listed no known names (who would have wanted Archie to be upstaged by Steven Gerrard and his cohorts?), but an international cast of fit, hungry and talented youngsters, some of whom, especially Daniel Pacheco, will undoubtedly go far in their careers. The drumless away support of 400 far outnumbered  what we are used to seeing when the opponents start with “Liv”.

 

In the first few minutes, as Pacheco and Eccleston darted and threatened, I was fearful that Archie and his team would be overwhelmed by sheer speed, but Thistle soon settled and demonstrated a fair skill level of their own. The former Queens Park connection showed up well, with Cairney not afraid to hassle, harry and drive forward, while Paton was finding his customary space on the right. The McQuadesque throwbacks, Corcoran and Erskine also combined to interesting effect, though no one, least of all the two of them, could ever be quite sure of the final outcome. Chris Erskine, in particular, with his Cruyff turns, backheels and delightful flicks, not all of which came off, was teaching the Liverpool tots the meaning of gallus-and he doesn’t play for Arsenal.

 

Thistle’s best two opportunities in an entertaining and evenly matched first half came within a minute of each other either side of the half hour mark. A team move injected Rowson into the box, but the goalkeeper managed to beat his shot out. Erskine then burst right through the centre and fired in a powerful high shot which Bouzanis did well to tip over the bar. The Greek Australian goalkeeper had an excellent first half, but his confidence curiously crumbled in the second half. In contrast Hinchy had his most assured performance in the Thistle goal for quite some time. His handling was immaculate and he got down low on more than one occasion to gather awkward skidding shots.

 

Corcoran had a decent shout for a penalty, before winning another freekick on the edge of the box. The ball was going to go to only one person, but the rangefinder which located the Arbroath and Hearts nets with deadly doublestrikes is currently off target, and only the corner flag felt the breeze.

 

Somewhat against the run of play, Liverpool snatched the lead in the closing moments of the first half. Pacheco’s freekick from the left was expertly delivered into the corridor of uncertainty between goalkeeper and defenders and was met by a powerful header from Eccleston. Hinchy did all that he reasonably could, but succeeded only in deflecting the ball higher into the net. Even with Jamie Caragher to assist Archie, backed up by Pepe Reina in goal, not many defences would have kept that one out.

 

Halftime ushered in the Crossbar Challenge, featuring old stalwarts Chic Charnley and Davie Elliot, and, more controversially, recent departures Marc Twaddle and Gary Harkins. To put the record straight, Marc and Gary had given up a night at home watching “Wainwright’s Walks” on BBC2 to show their appreciation for Archie, and were cajoled out of their preferred obscurity to participate. Fair play to them for doing so, and they took the pantomime booing (and substitute Ian Maxwell’s cheeky interception) in good spirit. Fortunately Chic Charnley, the High Priest of Gallus, lightened the atmosphere by demonstrating his penchant for being the centre of attention, as his second effort from the halfway line cannoned back off the bar. That earned him the right to a flamboyant celebration and earned St Margaret’s Hospice a well-deserved extra £500.

 

Thistle introduced Martyn Corrigan and Willie Kinniburgh (star of the excellent Thistle display currently showing at the Scottish Football Museum, and making a welcome return from injury) in place of Paul Paton and John Robertson. For a while it seemed that they would have no opposition as the Liverpool XI did an impersonation of the English badminton squad by not showing up for the second half. Eventually they shuttled out in ones and twos and the match restarted.

 

Thistle initially missed the outball to the absent Paton on the right, and Liverpool enjoyed a period of ascendancy. Hodge then began to take more possession of the ball and play levelled out once again. Rowson was released but was too slow to shoot. At the other end Gerardo Bruna showed nifty footwork but fired high after a good pass through from Samuras doppelganger Jordy Brouwer.

 

The Thistle defence was given some respite when the nimble Pacheco was withdrawn and Liverpool brought on Flora to spread the play. Thistle’s answer was to introduce Handsome Jim Hamilton for Corcoran. The Hamster won more headers than he has done all season and linked up well with Doolan, who was lively throughout. Another success on the night was former Evertonian Patrick Boyle who tracked a dangerous run by Eccleston all the way back to the penalty spot and was able to emerge with the ball without bringing the Scouse down.

 

Archie came off to be replaced by Maxy. Thistle used the distraction of the lengthy ovation for the departing hero to sneak a freekick to Cairney, whose long daisycutter surprised Bouzanis into an unconvincing flap round the post. In the 68^th minute, Hamilton and Doolan combined well to provide a fleeting opening for Erskine on the left. Lucas lookalike (try saying that ten times quickly) Steven “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin got across to make the clearance, but the warning went unheeded.

 

Five minutes later, Doolan did well to keep possession and lay the ball on a plate for Erskine. Big Bird flew into the left hand corner of the penalty box and drilled the ball superbly into the net just behind the far post. This composed yet dynamic finish was a mirror image of Damien Duff’s strike last weekend for Newcastle at West Brom. Erskine almost doubled his tally a minute later, but the goalkeeper grasped his awkwardly bouncing shot at the second attempt.

 

Quite rightly, the final cameo belonged to Alan Archibald. Ian McCall pulled off a managerial masterstroke by reintroducing Archie into the fray in place of Kris Doolan (who fortunately did not have to fake a blood injury in the process). Archie slotted in next to Jim Hamilton in attack and looked as though he had been there for his whole career. When the ball broke out from the Liverpool defence, Archie went to fetch it and fired back his trademark hurdling jump shot (long time Archie followers will know what I mean-the one that ends with him poised in midair with the leading leg stretched straight in front) which crashed into……Jim Hamilton. It is perhaps fanciful to suggest that if Jim had not been there, the ball would have nestled in the net, but like the Marie Celeste, it will remain as one of life’s great imponderables.

 

The players of both sides stood back to applaud Alan Archibald from the pitch. Modest to the last, he resisted any fleeting temptation to do a quasi-lap of honour down the front of the Jackie Husband Stand, but contented himself with a few overhead claps to the fans as he jogged down the middle of the pitch. He looks like a man with unfinished business at Firhill and a flinty-eyed determination to bring the task to completion. So, as Sir Winston Churchill declared in the aftermath of the Battle of El Alamein, tonight marks not the beginning of the end of Alan Archibald’s career at Partick Thistle, but merely the end of the beginning.

 

 

Teams:-

 

Thistle (ratings): Hinchcliffe 7, Paton 8 (Corrigan 6), Boyle 7, Hodge 7, Robertson 7 (Kinniburgh 6), Archibald 9 (Maxwell 6), Corcoran 7 (Hamilton 7), Rowson 6 (Little 6) , Doolan 7 (Archibald 9), Cairney 9, Erskine 8

 

Unused Sub: Scully

 

Liverpool: Bouzanis, Irwin, Mavinga (Mendy), Darby, Threlfall (Brouwer), Kohlert, Pacheco, Simon (Crowther), Eccleston, Weijl (Saric), Bruna (Flora)

 

Unused Sub: Jones

 

Referee- Stevie O’Reilly

Assistants- Gary Sweeney, Alasdair Ross

 

Attendance- 2529

 

Goals-

Partick Thistle- Erskine (73)

Liverpool- Eccleston (43)