MANAGER’S NOTES BRIAN GRAHAM
I’d like to begin by welcoming Emma Hunter, Gavin Beith and everyone else from Aberdeen to Petershill Park for today’s SWPL 1 fixture. We had two really tough games against them last season so we’re looking forward to what should be another good match here this afternoon. Everyone at the club is very excited to get our SWPL 1 season started at last. We’ve been preparing well during pre-season and are really keen to get going now. It’s going to be a difficult challenge this season but it’s one we look forward to facing head on. We were delighted to make it through to the quarter-finals of the SWPL Cup after our draw with Hearts two weeks ago. The team put in an incredible amount of effort on that day and we only had 13 players available so to go away from home and get a draw against a fellow SWPL 1 side was testament to the hard work the girls put in from start to finish. We’re still working on adding to our squad at the moment but over the past couple of weeks we have welcomed Cheryl McCulloch back to the club and Danica Dalziel has joined us which has provided the group with some extra top flight experience and I think you saw the benefit of that during the game against Hearts and it should be a massive help going into the league. There’s going to be a lot of hard work for us as a group this season but competing at the top level is what everyone wants to do so this is a great opportunity for all of us and we have to make the most of it.
PTWFC NEWS SWPL CUP Our battling 0-0 draw with Hearts was enough for us to finish second in Group D of the SWPL Cup and earn a quarter-final slot. The draw for the quarter-final handed us an a
NEXT UP With next weekend’s fixture with Glasgow City postponed our next fixture as a home match with Motherwell at Petershill Park on Sunday September 26th, kick-off 2pm.
way tie with Glasgow City although there obviously isn’t too much travelling involved with that.
Admission prices for that fixture are, as today, £7 for adults with kids going free.
That tie is scheduled to take place on Sunday October 31st. The full quarter-final draw is: Spartans v Dundee United Aberdeen v Hibs Rangers v Celtic Glasgow City v Partick Thistle GLASGOW CITY FIXTURE TO BE RESCHEDULED The stop start nature to our SWPL1 campaign continues with next weekend’s scheduled fixture away to Glasgow City postponed due to international call ups in the Glasgow City squad. The fixture will be rearranged for another date and details will be on our social media.
Although this season will see Thistle cross swords with a number of sides for the very first time, Thistle and Motherwell have met on a fairly regular basis. The last game being the last game of the aborted 2020 season just before Covid-19 plunged the world into disarray. The occasion was a Scottish Women’s Premier League Cup tie and it was a night to forget for Thistle with Motherwell, despite a Suzanne Mulvey goal for Thistle, run ning out emphatic 6-1 winners. Incidentally Jordan McLintock, who made a couple of appearances for Thistle last season as a trialist, netted a hat-trick that night.
TAYLOR MCGLASHAN PLAYER INTERVIEW
We know this season will be tough, but how exciting is it to be competing in the Top flight of Scottish Women’s football? Its a great feeling to be able to say you are now playing in the highest level of woman’s football in Scotland. Our aim is to compete and do ourselves proud. Of course we would have liked more time to prepare for SWPL1 but were going to go for it. We have a fantastic squad so I have no doubt that we will finish the league in a good position. It might not have been the way we wanted to be promoted but how did you feel when you got the news? It came as a bit of a surprise but this has been my aim since I joined the club so I cannot wait to see what the season brings! Obviously its not the way we intended to go up but it was an opportunity we could not turn down and we wish Forfar Farmington all the best for the future and hopefully we will see them competing in SWPL1 again alongside ourselves.
How Important will the team spirit and togetherness be over the course of the season? It will be so important this season. We are in a very competitive league with some great teams so its vital that we come together and give it everything we have. We have achieved a lot throughout the years which has helped create a really good team spirit and togetherness that I’m sure will help us in achieving our goals for the season ahead You’re the longest serving player, is it even more special for you to have been with the club for the whole journey through the leagues? It’s been an exciting journey so far. When I joined the club our aim was always to make the top league in women’s football. To still be with the club and achieve that goal is an amazing feeling. When the club went from Thistle Weir to Partick Thistle Women, I felt was a real turning point in mentality for the women and brought us closer together as a club. We are lucky to have such great backing and support at Partick Thistle and everyone affiliated with the club. Its something that is not done enough in women’s football and its great to be a part of that.
OUR SPONSORS THANK YOU
LAST MATCH
HEARTS 0 V 0 PARTICK THISTLE Thistle travelled through to face Hearts in the final SWPL Group D fixture with a place in the last eight of the SWPL Cup up for grabs, both teams having a chance of claiming second spot and qualification. Brian Graham’s squad was heavily depleted, however, for this fixture and such was the dearth of numbers he was able to list just two substitutes on the bench and further injuries during the course of the 90 minutes would further stretch his resources. The first notable moment of the game came after ten minutes when Emma Craig picked up an injury which forced her off the field of play. She was replaced by Danica Dalziel. Thistle were forced into another substitution just shy of the half-hour mark when Jade Gallon picked up an injury. Eva Payne came on for Gallon. There was a dearth of goalmouth action in the first half though Thistle did eventually get a sight of goal as the opening 45 minutes drew to a close. Sophie Payne was able to dispossess a defender, toeing the ball into Teigan McCann’s path. McCann tried a snapshot from a tough angle but did get the desired lift on the effort, only to find the gloves of Parker-Smith. During first half injury time, Hearts tested Lauren McGregor for the first time. Jennifer Smith was able to win the ball from Colette Fleming 20 yards from goal and she tried her luck but McGregor was well-placed to turn the ball away with her legs. The pressure on the Thistle goal became mounted as the game moved into the second half and the hosts almost took the lead from a free-kick in the 54th minute. Maria McAneny stepped up to take the set piece. The attacker tried to pick out the top corner but put too much height on her effort meaning it cleared the bar. Thistle’s resolute defending continued to frustrate the home side with Hearts forced to shoot from long-distance more often than not, however, they did manage to craft another decent opportunity for McAneny with 15 minutes left to play. Birse was played the ball on the right side of the Jags’ box and she picked McAneny out in space. McAneny set herself and rifled a low effort towards goal, however, Demi Falconer was perfectly placed to make a potentially goal-saving block which eventually rebounded into Lauren McGregor’s arms. The final chance of the game fell to Hunter who got on the end of a Hearts corner at the back post but she couldn’t direct a header on target under pressure from Cheryl McCulloch.
PAST MEETINGS VS ABERDEEN
The first competitive fixtures between today’s two teams took place during the course of the 2020-2021 SWPL2 campaign. Aberdeen finished that season as clear and deserved title winners, suffering just two defeats on route to the title. One of those defeats provided Thistle with arguably our highlight of the season. Glasgow Green was the venue on a cold November afternoon and Aberdeen arrived in Glasgow with a 100% record. They looked set to continue that record when Eilidh Shore handed them a 23rd minute lead but Thistle fought back and levelled just before half after a surging run and finish from Jade Gallon. Within 5 minutes of the restart Thistle were 3-1 ahead with firstly Clare Docherty and then Sophie Gallacher scoring. Cheryl Rigden added a fourth Thistle just after the hour mark before Teigan McCann, playing a trialist that afternoon, completed the scoring with 2 minutes remaining and securing a 5-1 Thistle win. Aberdeen gained revenge for that defeat as the season neared its conclusion. At Cormack Park the scored stood at 0-0 at the break and with Aberdeen’s Kelly Forrest receiving a red card just before the break prospects of a second Thistle win of the season over Aberdeen looked good. Aberdeen though didn’t finish the season as Champions for nothing and two second half goals from Bayley Hutchison saw them run out 2-0 winners. Aberdeen also visited Petershill Park for a pre-season friendly just last month when we busy preparing for what we thought would be a SWPL2 campaign. Aberdeen ran out 3-2 winners that afternoon despite goals from Colette Fleming and Jade Gallon. Bailey Collins, Bayley Hutchison and Louise Brown were the Aberdeen scorers that afternoon.
THE NEXT CHAPTER TOM HOSIE
Today’s SWPL1 fixture with Aberdeen represents the culmination of close on 8 years of hard work and a far cry from the humble beginnings for Partick Thistle Women’s FC. It was Sunday January 19th 2014 when a Partick Thistle Women’s team first took the field of play. The venue was a school playing field in Dennistoun, the opposition for a friendly match, Glasgow Women FC and the final score long since forgotten. Our first promotion came in just our second season and a second promotion followed in 2018 taking the Club into the second tier of the Scottish Women’s Premier League and within touching distance of the top flight of the women’s game in Scotland. Now what was a mere ambition and a dream back in the early days of 2014 is about to become a reality. A spot among the elite of this country’s women’s game. The circumstances of our elevation to the top flight were not ones of our choosing. It would be remiss not to acknowledge the significant role that Forfar Farmington have played in the development and advancement of the women’s game in Scotland. We hope that their abeyance from the senior game is short lived and they come back stronger. Their unfortunate demise did, however, hand us an opportunity. We were disappointed at narrowly missing out on promotion from SWPL2 last season but also hugely encouraged at the progress that was being made. Our preparations for this season’s promotion push were well underway when the call came. Would we be able to take up the place in SWPL1 vacated by the unfortunate Forfar Farmington? Although not unaware of the challenges that this would present it took little longer than the time it takes to say ‘yes please’ for us to accept. And why wouldn’t we take this opportunity? We have a hard working, dedicated and ambitious management team and a group of girls determined to make their mark against the very best players in Scotland. Today though is not the end of the story for Partick Thistle Women’s FC but merely the latest chapter. We can’t wait to see what happens next. If you are either watching the Partick Thistle Women’s team for the very first time this afternoon or are continuing your pandemic interrupted support of the team we hope that you will be here at Petershill Park, and beyond, along every step of the exciting journey and challenge that awaits us.
TEAM LISTS PARTICK THISTLE 1. Lauren McGregor 2. Rosie Slater 3. Kim Murphy 4. Cheryl McCulloch 5. Demi Falconer 6. Colette Fleming 7. Teigan McCann 8. Clare Docherty 9. Taylor McGlashan 10. Emma Craig 11. Cara McBrearty 13. Ellie Vernal 14. Sophie Gallaher 15. Jade Gallon 17. Sophie Payne 18. Danica Dalziel 19. Cheryl Rigden 20. Freya Macdonald 21. Lauren Grant 22. Eleanor Smith 24. Amy Bulloch 26. Eva Payne London Pollard Summer Christie
ABERDEEN 1. Anna Blanchard 2. Loren Campbell 3. Jenna Penman 4. Jess Broadrick 5. Carrie Doig 6. Natasha Bruce 7. Eilidh Shore 8. Chloe Gover 9. Lauren Gordon 10. Bayley Hutchison 11. Bailley Collins 12. Jo Fraser 13. Francesca Ogilvie 14. Kelly Forrest 15. Donna Paterson 16. Hannah Innes 17. Nadia Sopel 18. Eva Thomson 20. Amy Strath 22. Gail Gilmour 23. Louise Brown