One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

The ongoing rivalry (it can hardly be called a local derby any more) between these two foes was resumed under a leaden sky at Firhill today. Thistle were without five players through injury but bolstered by the signings of Kevin McKinlay from Ross County and Paul Keegan from Motherwell. The visitors, boosted by a midweek victory in the Challenge Cup, were without suspended defender Neil McGregor but welcomed Michael McGowan back into the starting line-up.

Thistle were on the attack right from the kick off from a long ball which Buchanan chased and pressurised the keeper into making a smart clearance. This set the tone which was to run through most of the game and indeed seems to be manager Iain McCall’s trademark. Clyde it appeared were destined to be second in everything in this game and it was exemplified by Imrie’s early booking in the eighth minute for a rash tackle.

The Jags continued to probe from all directions and it was a long ball in the fourteenth minute that saw Traub in the Clyde defence slip up and Chaplain saw his effort saved by the keeper. Thistle eventually eased ahead three minutes later when good work saw David Rowson take the ball to the bye line and his cut back, after brief ping-ponging around the six yard area, was slotted away by Chaplain from close in.

The lead should have been doubled within a minute when Stevie Murray’s cross picked out Buchanan in front of goal, he had time to get the ball under control before taking his shot, and he couldn’t quite believe it when he saw his effort come crashing back off the post.

With Thistle pressing on the left through Murray and through the right with Strachan, Clyde found themselves under constant pressure on both flanks. Strachan in particular seems to be benefiting from the new regime and with a potent threat in the shape of Murray from the other wing meaning that there is less attention on him, Adam is getting more opportunities to display his talents. This was the case in the 34th minute when Storey played Thistle’s number seven in through the right channel and his cross to the busy Buchanan was touched over by the Clyde goal keeper.

The Jags number nine was not to be denied for long though, and two minutes later a slip up in the middle of the Clyde defence saw him free through the centre and he made no mistake in sliding the ball under the keeper into the bottom right corner of the net.

From time to time Clyde made some little progress into the Thistle defence but on these occasions, as in the forty second minute they were met with firm opposition from the likes of Twaddle, who is looking increasingly like a very good addition to the Thistle squad. But more of him later.

At half time Colin Hendrie chose to ring the changes. Off went three ineffectives in the form of blank, blanker and blankest to be replaced by McLennan, McGowan and Connelly. All of which altered the pattern not one whit, when from the outset a long ball towards the visitors end saw Buchanan threaten and pressurise Hutton in the Clyde goal to move smartly off his line to clear the through ball.

In fifty two minutes Murray combined neatly with Buchanan but the Thistle winger was adjudged to be offside. Then a mistake in the Clyde midfield saw Rowson find Murray on the left and his cross to Strachan was scrambled clear. Just a minute later Strachan turned provider when his cross found Murray who shot high over the top from fifteen yards when there was time for him to do better.

Thistle weren’t to be denied though and the game was killed off in the fifty-ninth minute when a cross from Murray found Twaddle in the centre of the six yard box. The Jags left back rose to beat the keeper and power the ball into the bottom corner of the Clyde net.

This is the point where you throw away the play by play book and rejoice in a Thistle team who were passing the ball neatly between them, despite the inclement weather. A Thistle team who were chasing down everything and giving the opposition no time to dwell or create anything from the scraps that they were allowed. In short this is a team revived.

One could for the record note the booking on Clyde’s substitute fourteen who attempted to exact revenge on Twaddle for his goal with a late tackle. Or a first of the season when the Clyde number one Hutton cleared the main stand with a clearance. But this game was no longer a contest involving Clyde.

Indeed it was almost with a sense of reluctance that Thistle subbed Chaplain and Strachan with 20 minutes remaining. For many the thought was why upset the pattern that was proving to be so successful. Within one minute the doubters had their answer when new boys Keegan and Mckinlay combined down the left side and the twisting run of the latter saw his low cross into the box deflected by Higgins behind his own keeper for the fourth goal.

In the latter stages of the game McStay was booked for a foul on Imrie, Clyde’s only player to impress, and it was he who fired in a cross in the eighty first minute, which went all the way across the Jag’s box with no one interested in putting the cross away. Just after that the quietly impressive McStay put in a cross which saw Buchanan blast over from only six yards and after a tricky turning run Murray delivered a cross which saw Keegan head just over the bar.

Thistle right back Storey was named the sponsors Man of the Match but there were no failures in the Jags line-up whatsoever. This was a team performance which, though not the finished article, has done much to impress the Firhill faithful so long starved of real entertaining, confident football. McCall and Speirs seem to have the right stuff to put the Red and Yellow army on the march again.

Man of the match: Liam Buchanan