One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

Thistle and St Johnstone turned in a dull performance at Firhill today. It might have been understandable, given the exertions of both teams in midweek Scottish Cup ties against “higher” division opposition. But there was a very damp atmosphere at the old ground today which had only a little to do with a pitch that is rapidly beginning to resemble a beach, albeit a beach in the neighbourhood of Ardrossan.

Both teams tinkered with their line-ups, Murray being preferred to Donnelly in midfield and the enforced change which saw the injured Chaplain being replaced by McKeown. St Johnstone dropped Sheerin to the bench and brought in Anderson in his place.

The Jags kicked off but it was the visitors who were the first to show. Following a free kick awarded against the home team for high feet, the ball fell to Quinn who turned smartly and had his shot blocked efficiently by Tuffey. Thistle replied in the seventh minute with Murray breaking on the left and his cross was knocked on by Rowson to Gray but the Thistle number nine’s header was weak and posed no real threat.

Both teams hoofed and puffed but no-one threatened to blow the house down. In the twentieth minute the Jags were awarded a free kick when a break involving Roberts was broken up by a hand ball, not the first such offence to go unpunished. The cross from Murray found Archibald in a very advanced position but he failed to make a real connection with the ball which ran behind for a by-kick.

Thistle continued to take the game to the visitors with some good passing moves, something that is beginning to become drummed into them by manager McCall, but no real chances were created. In the thirtieth minute Storey combined well with Gray and he played the ball on to Rowson but the number eight’s shot was blocked away. Eighth minutes later Rowson turned provider with a good break which saw Murray played in but his shot on goal was a weak effort. A minute later the number four, a strange number for the wee man, had a much better effort, a curving shot from the right side of the box which keeper Main had to palm away for a Thistle corner.

The last events of the first half saw Saints Rutkiewicz booked for flattening Roberts and then Quinn limping off to be replaced with Moon just before the half time whistle. The Jags had had the best of a dull first period which finished goalless.

Thistle kicked of the second half and although they were the first to show with Harkins winning a good headed challenge in midfield it was the Saints had the first real chance when nice work between MacDonald and Jackson saw the visitors number number eleven bounce a shot off Tuffey’s chest from twenty yards. The Jags responded with good work between Archibald, Gray and Roberts and this had Main coming smartly from his line to mop up the attack.

The Jags continued to press and McKeown shot wide from twenty two yards following a Thistle free kick. In the middle of a dull second half both teams rang the changes with Murray and Storey replaced by Donnelly and Kinniburgh while Sheerin and Wilson were introduced for Saints, but none of these moves improved the game by much.

Indeed it was not until the seventy seventh minute that there was anything of real note to rouse the crowd. Neat work involving Harkins, Kinniburgh and McKinlay set Roberts free on a run and the shot that he unleashed from the edge of the box flew just over the bar. Two minutes later Thistle worked the ball through the centre of the park and Rowson’s shot from twenty yards hit the inside of the left post and bounced away to safety. You have to wonder what amount of money David Rowson will have to raise in order to score a goal for this Thistle team.

Immediately after that Saints defender Rutkiewicz charged through the middle of the park and forced a corner for the visiting team. The resulting kick saw the same player launch a long distance shot on Tuffey’s goal which the Jags number one make a good save. Just a minute later Jackson went down in the Thistle box but his theatrics earned him nothing.

In a game of few clear chances both teams could have won it in the last couple of minutes. With Thistle pressing the Saints broke upfield. Archibald was adjudged to have fouled the visitors progress and the resulting free kick caused panic in the Jags defence and in the end Jackson shot narrowly past Tuffey’s right post from no more than six yards. At the other end Thistle almost snatched the win when Archibald drove through the middle of the park and laid the ball off to Kinniburgh. His cross found Harkins whose effort hit Main’s left post and McKeown could only bundle the rebound behind.

In conclusion this game was a lot less interesting than the story told in the last nine hundred words. There were moments of entertainment but they were few and far between. There were steady performances from Robertson and Archibald in the heart of the Jags defence, and Rowson, as always, covered every blade (or mud grain) of the Firhill surface. But no-one really raised their game above the level of the ordinary.

If these teams are to contest the Scottish Cup semi-final in the weeks ahead then it has to be hoped that they will serve up better fare than this. Certainly both teams are capable of playing much better, but in the end a draw was about as much as each team deserved. But it has to be said that their respective supporters deserved something a lot more than what was produced on this occasion.

Man of the match: Alan Archibald