Saturday 18 February 2006
| Peterhead 2 - 1 Thistle
Written by Lianne |
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| Saturday, 18 February 2006 | |
| Thistle slumped to their second defeat of the season at the hands of Peterhead with a narrow 2-1 loss at Balmoor. Paul Ritchie had cancelled out Nicol’s opener, only for Wood to restore their lead and they held on to take all three points.Manager Dick Campbell surprisingly went with the same team that had went through 120 minutes of cup football against Inverness just three days ago, while the home side restored top scorer Bobby Linn and fellow striker Martin Wood to the starting line-up.
The Jags didn’t show any sign of tiredness in the opening stages and Stephen McConalogue twice tested keeper Paul Mathers inside the first ten minutes, both times bringing out good saves from the former Dundee man. Fresh from his man of the match performance in the Cup, Adam Strachan was also looking impressive early on, and he too tested the keeper when he cut inside and went for goal following a good run down the left wing, Mathers wasn’t able to hold his dipping shot but luckily for him there were no other Thistle players waiting to pounce. Peterhead’s Bobby Linn has caused Thistle plenty of problems with his pace in previous games this season, and today was no different. He chased a long ball over the top and beat both Smyth and Boyd before bringing a good save out of Kenny Arthur. But the Jags keeper could do nothing to stop the home side opening the scoring in the 11th minute when Roberts gave the ball away in midfield allowing Graham Sharp to race to the by-line and his low cross was deflected back into the path of Kevin Nicol, who fired home from the edge of the penalty area to make it 1-0. Stephen McConalogue tried to hit an instant response for the Jags but his drive flashed over at Mathers near post. Stef was again involved a few minutes later when Grant Murray’s excellent tackle gave him the chance to set up a counter attack, but Ritchie failed to connect with his inviting cross. At the other end, Wood collected a pass and stepped away from Boyd’s challenge, but tugged his shot narrowly wide. The game got a bit scrappy for a spell midway through the first half, but with just over half an hour gone, the Jags were handed the perfect opportunity to get back on level terms when McConalogue was clipped in the box by Buchan and the ref pointed to the spot. But, after the excellent quality of the penalties in midweek, it seemed almost inevitable when Mark Roberts stepped up and skied the ball well over the bar. Thistle’s heads didn’t go down despite the penalty miss, and Jimmy Gibson fired wide following a corner before another excellent run by Strachan took him past two players to reach the by-line, but his cutback failed to find anyone in red and yellow so the half ended with Thistle still behind. There were a couple of half-chances for McConalogue and Boyd early in the second half before Thistle finally got the equaliser they deserved in the 57th minute. Jimmy Gibson combined well with McConalogue before slipping a perfectly weighted pass through to Ritchie, and despite looking off the pace for much of the game, the veteran striker made no mistake slotting the ball low past the keeper into the far corner of the net. The home side responded strongly though, and Arthur had denied Sharp and Linn with good blocks before they restored their lead with a simple finish just ten minutes after Thistle had got back on level terms. Linn chased another long pass down the channel before cutting inside and his low cross set up Wood for an easy finish from close range. Campbell responded by replacing Brady and Roberts with Gillies and Kilgannon, and the latter almost grabbed an instant equaliser when he ran onto a pass on the left wing, but he was unlucky to see his angled shot slide inches past the far post. Fellow sub Ricky Gillies then set up McConalogue with a terrific cross-field pass, but although he got past the defender, from a tight angle he was unable to beat Mathers. Stef then collected a cushioned header from Ritchie and his firmly struck shot forced the keeper to tip the ball over the bar for a corner. In the 75th minute McConalogue again tested the keeper when he cut in from the right and went for the top corner, but Mathers was able to make a good save to deny him. The keeper then made his best save of the game with five minutes remaining, this time he denied Kilgannon by tipping his curling free kick round the post. The home side were still dangerous on the break and Arthur was called into action when Linn raced clear of the defence, but the Jags keeper pulled of a fine save, diving low to his right to push the ball round the post. With time fast running out for Thistle to rescue a point, Kilgannon and Gillies combined well to set up one last chance, but after Gillies had floated an inviting ball back into the box, Kilgannon failed to attack the ball and it sailed harmlessly wide before the whistle sounded to bring an end to the game. Dick Campbell perhaps made a mistake in not trying to freshen up his side after their midweek exertions, but in truth, despite looking nowhere near as solid in defence, they didn’t deserve to lose this game. Peterhead always seem to play well against the Jags, but Thistle did create enough chances to at least earn a draw. However, instead they find their lead over Peterhead cut to just five points, and with in-form Stirling just a further point behind, the Jags will have to quickly return to winning ways in the league if they are to avoid becoming involved in a three-way scrap for the two remaining play-off places. Man of the match:
STATS Attendance: 810
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