Partick Thistle 5 - 1 Inverness CT

League Match
Friday, December 23rd, 2022, 7:45 PM at Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
Attendance: 2,243
Referee: Peter Stuart
Partick Thistle Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Brian Graham (16)
Kyle Turner (39)
Cole McKinnon (53)
Aaron Muirhead (57)
Danny Mullen (74)
Aaron Doran (73)

Team Managers
Ian McCall Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Jamie Sneddon
Jack McMillan
Darren Brownlie
Aaron Muirhead
Harry Milne
Kyle Turner
Stuart Bannigan
Cole McKinnon
Steven Lawless
Brian Graham
Aidan Fitzpatrick
Cameron Mackay
Zak Delaney
Max Ram
Wallace Duffy
Ryan Barrett
David Carson
Sean Welsh
Lewis Hyde
Steven Boyd
Daniel Mackay
Billy Mckay

Bench
Kevin Holt
Anton Dowds
Cammy Smith
Tony Weston
Danny Mullen
Ben Stanway
James Lyon
Zander Mackenzie
David Mitchell
Mark Ridgers
Matthew Strachan
Keith Bray
Aaron Doran
George Oakley

Substitutions
Kevin Holt -> Jack McMillan (62)
Zander Mackenzie -> Harry Milne (68)
Danny Mullen -> Steven Lawless (68)
James Lyon -> Aidan Fitzpatrick (79)
Tony Weston -> Brian Graham (80)
Aaron Doran for Steven Boyd (45)
Matthew Strachan for Lewis Hyde (80)

Bookings
None. None.

Red Cards
None. Wallace Duffy (77)
Appearances & Goals To Date
Cameron Mackay (GK) 37 apps -
Zak Delaney 21 apps -
Max Ram 12 apps1 goal
Wallace Duffy 57 apps3 goals
Ryan Barrett 4 apps -
David Carson 118 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh 114 apps13 goals
Lewis Hyde 33 apps -
Billy Mckay 224 apps87 goals
Steven Boyd 24 apps1 goal
Daniel Mackay 77 apps13 goals
Matthew Strachan (sub) 4 apps -
Aaron Doran (sub) 352 apps53 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Lewis Hyde (20 years 166 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 70 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 316 days
Domestic Players:6 (54.55 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Keith Bray (16 years 270 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 70 days)
Average Player Age:24 years 341 days
Domestic Players:9 (56.25 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Xmas Grinch's: Inverness went to Glasgow for their pre-Xmas fare looking for three points for their Xmas stocking. In the end we were stuffed like Turkeys and got our chestnuts roasted. We looked like Turkeys in the first half as Partick knocked in two simple goals through Brian Graham and Kyle Turner. Meanwhile Inverness were at sixes and sevens as they tried to stem the flow without success whilst failing to make an attacking contribution to the game. After the interval McKinnon and Muirhead added early goals like the Grinch to completely ruin Xmas for the Highland folk. Doran nicked a consolation but Mullen added a fifth immediately. To add insult to injury, Duffy was red carded, probably too embarrassed to wait until the end. A few more should have walked with him. That was our heaviest defeat to Partick Thistle ever.
Embarrassing stuff from Inverness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billy Dodds was still without a squad of injured players as we went to Firhill on the Friday before Xmas hoping for a wee present from the West End. Sean Welsh, Zak Delaney and Billy Mckay returned after injury but Danny Devine, Cammy Harper and Nathan Shaw were now missing and only five on the bench including Mark Ridgers who is still on the naughty boy step. Sounds like plenty of work for our new director, alphabet man, to contend with. For Partick, Scott Tiffoney has been out for a couple of months and has been missed as Partick floundered. Still, a strong squad with a full bench for the Maryhill Magyars.

Inverness were in their red'nblack away strip for this one as Partick kicked off in a mostly yellow kit.

There appeared to be a false dawn following good pressing by the visitors in the opening exchanges but it was Partick that forced the first corner where Brian Graham snatched at his opportunity and hit it wide into the side net at the back post. That was just a warning.

Who else but Brian Graham tapped in the opener after an Aiden Fitzpatrick cross picked him out inside the six yard box. All too easy for the big striker. Almost a second from a similar break down the left five minutes later but the defence scrambled it clear. It had been all Partick since the opening five minutes as Inverness failed miserably to build anything whatsoever, totally devoid of any attacking intent. As if by magic, Dan Mackay managed to get a cross into the middle where Billy Mckay spun but his shot from the edge of the box was weak and easily gathered by Sneddon.

Dan Mackay was looking our man most likely to succeed with the limited time he was having on the ball, but his moments were fleeting to say the least.

The replica second goal came from Kyle Turner after a tremendous diagonal ball from Lawless found Harry Milne whose low cross was turned into the net by Turner five minutes before the interval.

HALF TIME: 2-0

Aaron Doran came on at the interval replacing the ineffective Steven Boyd. Mind you, they were all ineffective, or maybe just defective. Max Ram continued where he left off in the first half, in fact he went one better picking out absolutely nobody for a throw in to Partick out of nothing.

Men against boys as Partick scored a third after Graham unselfishly knocked down a ball for Cole McKinnon to drill home from fifteen yards. FFS, a fourth followed minutes later after a corner was met early by Muirhead at the near post and planted firmly behind the keeper to surely loosen the shoogly peg holding Dodds' coat. We have been an absolute shambles for seventy minutes here and it will get worse.

We got a consolation goal from Aaron Doran but that just angered Partick who went up the park and scored a fifth goal through Danny Mullen moments later.

Wallace Duffy saw red when he tugged back a player bursting forward. Just what we needed on top of all our injuries.

To be honest it could have been more as we failed to participate in the game. A late goalline clearance denied Partick number six as the game petered out.

FULL TIME: 5-1

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Dundee 18 10 4 4 30 20 10 34
2. Queens Park 18 10 3 5 36 27 9 33
3. Ayr United 19 9 5 5 38 27 11 32
4. Morton 18 8 6 4 27 19 8 30
5. Partick Thistle 19 9 3 7 40 33 7 30
6. Raith Rovers 19 7 3 9 24 26 -2 24
7. Inverness CT 18 6 5 7 20 26 -6 23
8. Cove Rangers 18 5 6 7 27 28 -1 21
9. Arbroath 19 2 8 9 13 28 -15 14
10. Hamilton Academical 18 2 5 11 16 37 -21 11