The Thistle Archive

Media report

AYR VICTORY CONDEMNS BRAVE THISTLE. THEY fought like Trojans to save their side in their darkest hour: unfortunately for Partick Thistle, they were also slain like them. There was even a touch of the Trojan horse, that most spectacular of own goals, about the way the famous Glasgow club made their sad, yet heroic, journey into the second division for the first time since league reconstruction in 1974. However, the victorious invaders from the south left fortress Firhill standing and Thistle's generals were able to promise, despite fears that their Greek tragedy would end with their death, that they and their troops would be back to complete at least another chapter in their rollercoaster history. As Ayr United's jubilant fans marched down Maryhill Road in celebration of the win that secured another year in the first division, chairman Brown McMaster was able to offer a crumb of comfort to the Thistle fans who arrived in amazing numbers and left in deathly silence. Insisting that relegation would not see a return to the financial crisis that so recently brought the club close to extinction, only to be saved by the generosity of their fans, McMaster said: “I suppose the crowds will go down, but today more than 7000 people came here to support Partick Thistle and that means a lot of people want to come and watch this club. We have to be positive. I was just saying to John McVeigh that the new season starts on Monday.” That will come as a bit of a surprise to some observers, who interpreted McMaster's comments the previous weekend as indicating that an irreparable split existed between the chairman and head coach. However, McMaster insisted: “I am delighted with John McVeigh and have had no problems with him.”

It will not be as easy to hang on to their prize possession, central defender Alan Archibald, who again was the colossus in the Thistle defence. McVeigh admitted that Thistle had no chance of hanging on to the young player who had been told prior to Saturday's match that he will be in the Scotland Under-21 squad for their next three matches. Not that McMaster thought it would be too difficult to find quality players to replace him. “It will be an interesting pre- season,” he suggested. “If the big clubs are not going to be playing reserve football, then they are not going to carry squads of 40 to 50 players, so there will be a huge number out of contract. I don't think anyone will be spending money in the first or second division. I think it will be a matter of money going into players' contracts.” McVeigh, as positive as ever, added: “I came in a week before the start of last season when pre-season was already finished. Now I have the chance to sit down and bring in my own guys here.” No surprise then that 36-year-old striker Alan Lawrence, out of contract in June, for one, suggested that relegation could have signalled the end of his career. The club coach, meanwhile, was also determined to provide the kind of “silky soccer” that would attract back those fans who arrived in such numbers that Saturday's kick-off had to be delayed for some 15 minutes. “There are no excuses: we were poor today and Ayr thoroughly deserved their victory,” he admitted. “It doesn't happen in one game. You are either good enough or you're not and we have not been good enough. I can't take anything away from our boys for the good results over the previous four weeks. We just did not have enough left in the tank.”

They fought bravely on Saturday and threatened to sweep Ayr aside until a stunning, self-inflicted body blow. Last man Billy Macdonald appeared to mis-time his pass as he attempted a quick free kick on the halfway line, Ian Ferguson intercepted and ran on to round goalkeeper Lindsay Hamilton and drive home the first nail in the coffin. Thistle claimed that Macdonald had only been giving the ball to Jimmy Boyle to take the kick and that the Ayr striker was less than 10 yards away, but the goal stood. Gareth Evans headed Thistle level just before the break, but the expected onslaught in search of the win they needed failed to materialise. The introduction of substitute striker Laurent Djaffo inspired Ayr to victory, swivelling past Gregg Watson on the edge of the box and gliding his shot into the corner of the net. Billy Findlay's equally superb drive into the top corner of the net then sent the Ayr fans into rapture.

United's manager, Gordon Dalziel, greeted the much-needed 3-1 result as much out of relief as delight. Having given four teams- worth of talent the chance to prove themselves throughout the season, he admitted that he feared the right blend had arrived a little too late. “We were getting players in on monthly contracts and I wasn't happy with that,” he said. “I had a word with the chairman and we went out and got the likes of John Davies, Billy Findlay and Colin Miller in and all of a sudden they looked a right good side. In fact, Billy limped out of training on Friday with a bad injury, but he said he would play even if it meant he could not walk on Sunday. I am just delighted it all came right for the players and the couple of thousand fans we brought here - they have been magnificent all season.” Now chairman Bill Barr was looking forward to a less hazardous future and the building of a new arena in Ayr fit to house yet more historic battles.

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