One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

Thistle returned to winning ways today following the loss to St.Johnstone in their last game, by defeating a very good Hamilton side 3-1. A hat-trick from Mark Roberts helped the Jags to victory against one of our closest rivals at the top, but the scoreline perhaps flattered Thistle in the end.

One change from the last game saw Scott Campbell replacing the injured Craig Sives, but it was the more familiar 4-4-2 formation from recent weeks which started the game. Hamilton welcomed back Parratt and Rezgane in place of Stevenson and Wilson in defence, while keeper McEwan had not sufficiently recovered from injury to play but was on the bench. He would, however, play a significant part in the afternoon’s entertainment, along with Richard Gough who, after press reports of a possible contract at Firhill, found his namesake running the line at Firhill today.

Accies, in a rather unattractive purple shirt, got the game underway and looked the better side in the early stages. After five minutes, some neat interplay in midfield found the impressive Richard Offiong clear down the right. He skinned both Campbell and Brady before crossing for Alex Neil to shoot narrowly past. A wake up call for a shaky Jags defence if ever there was one.

But it would be Thistle who opened the scoring, perhaps against the run of play, when slack midfield play by Hamilton allowed Simon Donnelly to steal the ball and play Adam Strachan through with only the keeper to beat. He neatly played the ball past the keeper only to be pulled down for a penalty. It looked a bit of a soft one from where I was sitting but Strachan seemed certain to score if he’d stayed up so penalty it was.

Keeper Raymond Jellema took a knock to his face in the incident and had to be replaced by McEwan, but was fortunate only to be booked for the tackle. McEwan’s first touch was to pick the ball out of the net as Mark Roberts expertly hammered the ball past him into the top left hand corner. 1-0 Thistle.

Hamilton did not lose heart at this and continued to dominate possession, with McArthur and Neil particularly dominant in midfield. Soon after the goal an impressive build up found McArthur free down the right and his clever pass across an open goal found no-one on the end and it was cleared.More excellent midfield work after 20 minutes again cut through the Thistle defence and McArthur found Offiong away on the left. Just as he was about to shoot, however, an excellent Boyd tackle cleared just in time. Thistle were struggling to hold on to the ball at this point as the game entered a very scrappy period.

Paul McLeod was causing Big McCulloch no end of problems down the right and it was from this area that Hamilton’s next chance came. Skinning Campbell inside out won a corner on the right hand side and this led to great passing and movement between David winters and Offiong, the latter eventually heading narrowly over. Thistle were, in my opinion, second best at this point and were riding their luck.

The only real positive, at this point, was some excellent front play from the increasingly impressive Roberts who linked up well with Donnelly, Young and Strachan at times.

However, just as Alex Neil in the Hamilton midfield appeared to pulling the strings and beginning to dominate, the game took a decisive turn when after 35 minutes, once again, Thistle were awarded a penalty. Excellent play from both Roberts and Young saw Brady through on goal and he was felled by keeper McEwan; a far more obvious penalty than the first one and worthy of a yellow card at least. There was real contact and Brady was heading for goal but the referee, in his wisdom, saw no need for a card of any colour.

Roberts stepped up to take this one as well but saw his strike superbly tipped over by the fortunate McEwan. A lucky escape, you would have thought. However, from the subsequent corner, Roberts was not to be denied and headed home at the near post to make it 2-0. Hardly a deserved cushion but one Thistle fans were delighted with. Hamilton immediately made their second substitution by replacing James McCarthy with Brian Wake but the first half fizzled out soon after. A very satisfying scoreline for Thistle even if the performance did not match up.

The second half started well for Hamilton who seemed to be right up for a fight back. The midfield again began to dominate and after only a minute Brian Easton found himself chasing the ball down the left. A wonderful cross found Paul McLeod unmarked on the six yard line but his control let him down and Thistle escaped. Boyd was then stupidly booked for kicking the ball away petulantly and from the free kick Hamilton made space on the right for McLeod to control the ball in the area. His shot/cross appeared to beat everyone and slip past Arthur into the net. However, it was later found to have deflected off Pat Keogh into the net and marked down as an own goal. 2-1 Thistle now.

Jimmy Gibson, who I thought was having his best game in ages for Thistle, was also getting a little bit wound up and was booked soon after and seemed to be having a running dialogue with the referee.

After 50 minutes, Alex Neil ran through the Thistle midfield causing no end of havoc in the defence and while it came to nothing, Hamilton were definitely back in this game. But the goal woke Thistle up and Strachan began to enter the fray, a great run down the left saw him take on the full back, turn inside and play the ball through to Donnelly. He dummied the ball cleverly and Young found himself with a great opportunity to score. Unfortunately his shot was hit straight at the Hamilton keeper.

Three minutes later and a McCulloch free kick was closely headed over by Young. Seconds later some clever play from Donnelly saw Brady through on the right and he played the ball through to Young. His slightly overhit pass found Strachan who shot over but Thistle were now making a good contest of this.

The action was picking up and, after the impressive Rezgane had climbed all over a furious Derek Young, Boab McCulloch battered the ball into the wall, only to find the deflection coming to his right foot. He whalloped it again, but yes, it did go miles over!

It was turning into a really competitive game at this point and Hamilton were doing their bit. Billy Gibson came on to replace the injured Campbell and Hamilton immediately found some joy down the left. A Winters cross was missed completely by Arthur and the ball was cleared off the line by Darren Brady. Kenny made up for this mistake after an hour though when McLeod found himself free once again in the box and his shot was superbly save by the Thistle keeper.

It was Thistle who were to score the decisive goal, however, as the excellent Billy Gibson flew down the right past two Hamilton players. He fed Donnelly who managed to play the ball superbly through to Roberts in the area and, while he still had a lot to do, he manoeuvred his way into a shooting position eight yards out and scored easily. 3-1 Thistle and the game was effectively over.

Hamilton made their final substitution by replacing Winters with Agnew but they rarely caused any real problems after this. Thistle grew in confidence and, after replacing Strachan with Graham Gibson and Young with McConologue, began to control the game. Donnelly saw a free kick headed over narrowly by Keogh and a McCulloch free kick saw McConologue’s shot blocked.

As the game headed to its inevitable conclusion, Thistle could and should have increased their lead as a breakaway found them with a huge player advantage. Unfortunately, McConalogue disappointingly failed to find the free Jimmy Gibson when it seemed easier to do so. An Offiong lob soon after this was the last real action and the referee called the game to a halt.

The news that Airdrie were winning was bizarrely cheered around the ground but that becomes more understandable when you hear that they beat St Johnstone. A good win against a good team today. Probably deserved as we took our chances but, make no mistake, Hamilton are a very good team who will cause others problems.

Man of the match:
MARK ROBERTS - Who else? Roberts is proving to be invaluable to this team. Along with his goals he holds the ball up well bringing others into play. A class act. In addition, both central defenders were sound and Jimmy Gibson had his best game for a long time. Young worked hard too and Brady, increasingly to me, is doing a vital job in midfield. Poor distribution at times, but he works tirelessly. Overall a good performance and an excellent three points.

Thistle: Arthur 6, Campbell 6 (B Gibson 58), McCulloch 6, Keogh 7, Boyd 7, Brady 7, J Gibson 7, Donnelly 6, Young 7 (McConalogue 82), Roberts 8, Strachan 7 (G Gibson 70).
Unused subs; Tuffey, Ferguson

Hamilton: Jellema (McEwan 8), Parratt, Rezgane, Elebert, Easton, McCarthy (Wake 38), McLeod, McArthur, Offiong, Neil, Winters (Agnew 67).
Unused subs; Stevenson, Gibson