The Thistle Archive

Media report

BOTTOMS UP AS ADAM SURVIVES JAGS PAIN GAME. NOT even the pain of a jag in the bum could dent Adam Strachan's joy after Partick Thistle landed the knockout blow in a blood and guts battle at Forthbank. Paul Ritchie's 12th-minute strike brought Stirling's 10-game unbeaten run shuddering to a halt and earned the Jags a fourth-round trip to Inverness Caley Thistle or Ayr United. But the real talking point was how no red cards were flashed in a foul-tempered Cup clash that was littered with wild tackles. Referee Craig MacKay did dish out nine bookings as he struggled to keep a lid on the game. A 16-man scuffle followed Stirling full-back Ross Forsyth's vicious two-footed lunge on Thistle winger Strachan but the red-faced 18-year-old, making his first start of the season, insisted heavy bruising was the least of his worries. He said: “The tackle was really sore but what was worse was that I had to get a jag in my a**e because of it. The tackle left me with some bruising right across the bridge of my foot. It was a right blood and snotters cup-tie and the ref dished out a lot of yellows. They were all deserved because there were some really bad tackles out there. I was surprised no one got sent off.”

Thistle were fired up right from the start as they went out seeking revenge for their humiliating 3-0 Boxing Day defeat by the Binos at Firhill. Strachan admitted he and his team-mates were delighted to see the mission accomplished. He said: “We were keen to get revenge because their win was hard to take with it being in front of our own fans. And the injection was well worth it just to get a place in the next round.”

This tie started brightly and grabbed an early lead. Strachan's corner from the left was knocked down by David Craig for veteran poacher Ritchie to sneak the ball home under keeper Myles Hogarth. But Stirling will feel hard done by not to have levelled inside two minutes. A driving run from Steven Bell split the Jags defence in two and he was able to find top scorer Paddy Connolly at the back post for a tap-in. But, as the former Dundee United hitman wheeled away to celebrate, linesman Rodney Marshall signalled for offside. Stirling boss Allan Moore had no complaint about the decision but couldn't say the same for MacKay's handling of the rest of the contest. Moore said: “The ref stopped the game far too much. There were times when we had the advantage after a foul but he blew his whistle. Then Andy Graham was knocked out cold after a head clash and he allowed play to continue - that was annoying. It was a cup-tie and you expect tackles to fly in. I tried to explain that to him later but he didn't listen.”

Thistle had chances to wrap up the victory early but manager Dick Campbell will be relieved Stirling's build-up play was every bit as poor as his strikers'second-half finishing. He said: “I asked my players to pay back the fans for Boxing Day and I don't think anyone can doubt their commitment to me or Partick Thistle after that battling performance. Since the final whistle that day I've been an angry man and I think I'll stay angry for the rest of the season. I didn't think there were so many bookings in the game. I've said before that if I played these days I'd have been sent off in the warm-up because you can't put tackles in any more. It was an old-fashioned cup-tie - not much quality but a lot of effort and endeavour.”

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