Jags redeemed after beating juniors at second attempt

As far as bad results go, for Partick Thistle last month’s 1-1 draw against Culter is down with some of the club’s worst. Or at least that certainly seems to be the consensus among fans on the club’s popular fan forum, wearethistle.co.uk.

On the face of it, it was not a complete disaster. Thistle kept their cup hopes alive, and got a few extra quid in the coffers for having another match in the cup; Culter got their day in the sun (or driving rain to be more accurate), and a bit of press as the plucky underdog that tore a strip off a more illustrious opponent.

Try telling that to the hundreds of Thistle fans who made the trip up to Aberdeenshire for the first match.
If Ryan Stott had shown more composure in the dying moments and tucked away his big chance then Culter would have been celebrating one of the competition’s greatest shocks and Thistle boss Jackie McNamara would have been in serious danger of picking up his P45.

As it happened, Stott blazed over, Thistle lived to fight another day and then thrashed the Aberdeen juniors 4-0 in the replay at Firhill.

The first game will not be forgotten in a hurry though. On a tight, compact pitch Thistle looked ordinary, and their semi-professional opponents were far more determined and willing to put their bodies on the line.
This did not go unnoticed by the travelling support.

At full-time in the first match fans gathered at the entrance to the dressing room and launched volleys of abuse in the players’ and McNamara’s direction as they quickly scuttled back inside.

A video of the sheepish looking players hurriedly walking past the supporters briefly became a YouTube hit, before its owner heeded calls from Thistle forum users to take it down because of the poor light it showed the support in.

While screaming at the top of your lungs at players might not be the most effective technique to motivate them, you can hardly blame fans for being angry after putting a great deal of time and money into the club themselves they then see underperform so massively and struggle to a draw with a team of hobbyists.

The replay at Firhill had the potential to ignite the tempers of Thistle fans on a whole new level but the professional side this time managed to get the job done.

Christie Elliot opened the scoring after just 11 seconds and Culter never looked like making a match of it at any stage.

The win was a welcome relief, but Jackie McNamara’s coat remains on a shoogly peg in the eyes of some supporters.

The Thistle squad is made up of players who never cut it at a higher level, players whose best days are firmly behind them and former juniors.

They’re a group that have been thrown together at minimal cost, so expectations have to be realistic. But when you’re nearly turfed out of the cup by a team that was beaten 2-0 at home by Spartans the week before, profanity is inevitable.

McNamara may well cast an envious eye over the recent managerial successes of former teammates Paul Lambert and Derek McInnes, but for now he must stay fully focused on the task of steadying the Partick Thistle ship.