MANAGER’S NOTES BRIAN GRAHAM
I’d like to start my programme notes for today’s game by welcoming Emma Hunter, Gavin Beith and everyone else at Aberdeen WFC for today’s game at Petershill Park. It’s a game we’re all really looking forward to although we’re under no illusions about how difficult it will be to get a result. Aberdeen are a team who we know well and they’ve done brilliantly this season. They have the most wins and the best goal difference outside the top four which is testament to the quality of the team they have and the level that their coaching staff has got them playing at. We’ve still only played them once competitively this season and that was the opening day of the league campaign so it’s fair to say we feel we’ve grown a lot as a team since then and we’ve added a few new players so it’ll be interesting to see how we do against them this time round. We’ll be looking to bounce back from what was a disappointing result last week. We know the games against the top three aren’t going to determine where we finish this season but it’s still never nice to get beat 6-1. That early goal gave us the perfect start and if we could have kept it at 1-0 for a bit longer then maybe we could have started to frustrate them but it wasn’t to be and Rangers really showed their quality after they got that first goal. I was still very proud of the team though. Rangers didn’t take their foot off the gas at all and if we’d dropped our levels then it could have been a lot more than six so credit to the girls for sticking at it and giving their all until the final whistle. It’s up to us to regroup and bounce back now. There are games coming up this month which we feel we can get points from but we need to be playing well to do that in this league. I have no doubt though that this team will respond because that’s the one thing they’ve always done when they’ve had a setback since I’ve been the manager. Enjoy the game,
Date
2021/22 FIXTURES
Venue
Opposition
Compeition
Score
08.08.21
Home
Celtic
SWPL Cup
1-3
15.08.21
Away
St Johnstone
SWPL Cup
4-0
29.08.21
Away
Hearts
SWPL Cup
0-0
12.09.21
Home
Aberdeen
SWPL1
0-2
19.09.21
Home
Motherwell
SWPL1
3-2
30.09.21
Away
Glasgow City
SWPL1
1-3
03.10.21
Away
Celtic
SWPL1
0-6
06.10.21
Away
Rangers
SWPL1
1-7
10.10.21
Home
Hibernian
SWPL1
3-2
17.10.21
Home
Hamilton
SWPL1
2-2
31.10.21
Away
Glasgow City
SWPL Cup
0-5
03.11.21
Away
Spartans
SWPL1
0-0
07.11.21
Home
Hearts
SWPL1
2-3
21.11.21
Home
Rangers
SWPL1
0-1
28.11.21
Away
Aberdeen
SWPL1
P-P
12.12.21
Home
Glasgow City
SWPL1
0-2
09.01.22
Home
Motherwell
Scot Cuo
2-2 (PT win 4-2 on pens)
16.01.22
Away
Motherwell
SWPL1
2-2
23.01.22
Home
Celtic
SWPL1
0-7
30.01.22
Away
Hibernian
SWPL1
P-P
06.02.22
Away
Hamilton
SWPL1
1-0
13.02.22
Home
Boroughmuir Thistle
Scot Cup
2-1 (AET)
20.02.22
Home
Spartans
SWPL1
2-2
27.02.22
Away
Hearts
SWPL1
4-2
06.03.22
Away
Rangers
SWPL1
1-6
13.03.22
Home
Aberdeen
SWPL1
20.03.22
Away
Glasgow City
SWPL1
27.03.22
Away
Motherwell
SWPL1
17.04.22
Home
Celtic
SWPL1
24.04.22
Home
Hibernian
SWPL1
08.05.22
Home
Hamilton
SWPL1
11.05.22
Home
Spartans
SWPL1
15.05.22
Away
Hearts
SWPL!
PLAYER
2021/22 STATS APPS
GOALS
Morgan Anderson
(1)
Dionne Brown
(5)
Amy Bulloch
14(5)
Summer Christie
2(4)
Emma Craig
3(2)
Danica Dalziel
7(4)
1
Clare Docherty
17(1)
4
Rachel Donaldson
4
1
Demi Falconer
23
1
Taylor Fisher
(5)
Colette Fleming
8(3)
Jade Gallon
3
Lauren Grant
2(1)
Jade Greenshields
2(2)
Taylor Hamil
1(3)
Freya MacDonald
18(4)
2
Cara McBrearty
20(1)
5
Teigan McCann
10(5)
4
Cheryl McCulloch
19
1
Taylor McGlashan
6(3)
Rebecca McGowan
17
Lauren McGregor
17(1)
Louise Magilton
1(3)
Kim Murphy
12(1)
Eva Payne
(3)
Sophie Payne
1(2)
London Pollard
6
2
Cheryl Rigden
9(9)
1
Rosie Slater
16(3)
Eleanor Smith
5(7)
Linzi Taylor
7
Ellie Vernal
2(1)
2
1
3
3
LAUREN MCGREGOR PLAYER INFO
PLAYER INTERVIEW
Name: Lauren McGregor Date of Birth: 29/04/1993 Position: Goalkeeper Joined Thistle: July 27th 2021 Previous Club(s): Celtic, Troon, Glasgow City, Kilwinning, Glasgow Women, Hamilton, Motherwell, Westerlands AFC, Rangers, Kilmarnock Thistle Debut: v Celtic, August 8th 2021 Thistle Appearances and Goals: Apps: 17(1), Gls 0 You played against Thistle a number of times over the last few seasons, what was it about the club that impressed you from playing against that made you sign up in the summer? I know some of the girls who moved to Thistle a few seasons ago and they only had good things to say about the club and where it wants to go. From the first phone call I knew Brian had a vision of where he wanted to take the team and I knew it was a strong squad of players I would be joining so I looked forward to the challenge. The team have done better than a lot of people expected, was there any doubts for you that we could do well this season and shock a lot of people or did you always believe? I think if anyone got asked that question we would all be lying to say we didn’t, but the club and coaches did all that they could to prepare us for the step up. Even now I firmly believe apart from the top 3 we can compete and take points off any of the teams. We’ve already shown it against the likes of Hibs, Spartans and Motherwell. I believe with the squad we have we can still put plenty more points to put on the board this season .
We’ve had some really tough results against the top full time sides, how hard is it for you when you are facing alot of attacks to keep pulling off these saves and throwing yourself across the goal even when it won’t make a difference to the final outcome? The games not over until the final whistle blows and my jobs to keep the ball out the back of the net so even if we’re down 4/5/6 I’ll always give my best to keep it out the net. These games I actually strangely enjoy as you get to challenge yourself against the best teams in Scotland and it sets a benchmark of where we all aim to be in a few years time. For a long time you were the only fit goalkeeper, how difficult is it in that situation where you’re training mainly yourself and that compeititon for places isn’t there?
It’s hard as me and Lauren have a good relationship and have known each other for years through the women’s game. So we always push each other on in sessions, with Lauren being injured it’s in the back of your mind not to pick up an injury yourself. But all credit to Sneds, he drives standards week in and week out so my guards never down, I’m always giving 110 per cent in training and it pays off when it comes to a Sunday. How have you enjoyed working with Jamie Sneddon and how does the fact he’s performing so well this season himself help drive you on too? I’ve had the pleasure of working with some top class coaches in the game and I firmly believe Sneds is one also, he’s really brought my game on this year and his training has been superb in getting me ready for a Sunday. I’ve been keeping an eye on his games and he’s had some amazing performances and also got the record for clean sheets. He sets the standard with his consistency shown this season and hopefully I can replicate the same form till the end of the season.
PLAYER SPONSORS 1. Lauren McGregor
Pauline and Elaine
2, Rosie Slater
Dr Wilma Hogg
Dr Wilma Hogg
3. Kim Murphy
Alex Tulloch Joiners
41 Sports Media
Morag & Graham Elrick
David & Caroline Mackie
Catriona Tucker
4. Cheryl McCulloch 5. Demi Falconer
Dr Wilma Hogg
CL Flooring
6. Colette Fleming
Dunmuir Coachworks
7. Teigan McCann
True Potential Wealth
Randle Wilson
Donald DIngwall
8. Clare Docherty
Ivy, Etta & Amos
PTFC Nomads
JM Mobile Valeting
9. Taylor McGlashan
Drumchapel United
10. Emma Craig 11. Cara McBrearty
Gordon McClure Cairnhill Structures
The Mayes Family
Watson Towers
Abodo Contractors
Dean Robertson Joinery
Allied Interiors
The Arrandale Hotel Ayr
Alan Caldwell
Teng Tools UK
The Welsh Family
13. Taylor Fisher 14. Louise Magilton 15. Jade Gallon 16. Rebecca McGowan 17. Linzi Taylor 18. Danica Dalziel
LA Travel
19. Cheryl Rigden 20. Freya MacDonald
41 Sports Media Cobie O’Neil
Cobie O’Neil
Cobie O’Neil
21. Lauren Grant
Dogs Without Border Scotland
Greenhill Tyres & Exhaust
Euan Grant
23. Dionne Brown
The Music Room
L’Perfection
P.L.R. Groundworks
24. Amy Bulloch
Maureen Thomas
Billy & Dawn
ABI Services
Drumchapel United
Michelle Jackson
25. Rachel Donaldson
Alan Caldwell
26. Taylor Hamill 27. Morgan Anderson
Drumchapel United
OUR SPONSORS THANK YOU
WHAT A MONTH THAT WAS TOM HOSIE
A quick glance at the fixture list for February showed how significant a month it could be. It presented Thistle with three difficult but eminently winnable league matches, plus the chance to progress to the last eight of the Scottish Cup. Once the dust settled on the month with a fixture against Hearts at the Oriam it proved not to be the perfect month for Partick Thistle WFC but not far removed from perfection either. The month began with a fixture away to Hamilton, a side that we were defeated by twice in last season’s SWPL2 and had drawn with at Petershill Park earlier this season. We also went into the match without having picked up a league win away from Petershill Park all season. The final winning margin of 1-0 may have been tight, but this was a game that Thistle dominated almost the entirety of and reflected the growing maturity and belief of this squad. Watching the highlights back, the roar that greeted Clare Docherty’s 77th minute showed the enthusiasm of the growing Thistle support. It was a frustrating afternoon for those fans and all associated with Thistle when we faced SWPL2 side Boroughmuir Thistle in the Scottish Cup the following week. Boroughmuir had made life difficult for us in SWPL2, and so they did again in this cup-tie. It took penalties to ease Thistle past Motherwell in the previous round and the dreaded spot kicks were looming large again when Rebecca McGowan popped up to score the winner and see Thistle squeeze through. We now have a Friday night under the lights and a tie in the quarter-final with Hibs to look forward to. Reaching the last four of the Scottish Cup would be a fantastic achievement. Be sure to not miss out on what is sure to be an exciting cup-tie early next month. Hopefully the weather conditions that night will be better when Spartans and the BBC Alba cameras rolled up at Petershill Park on February 20th. They could scarcely have been any worse and both sets of players deserve fantastic credit for serving up such an exciting game of football. Thistle fell behind early, fought back to lead 2-1 but eventually had to settle for a point after a 2-2 draw. Although it was disappointing not to win it had been a fantastic afternoon’s entertainment. Although there was still snow sitting on the ground when we made the trip across the M8 to face Hearts, unbelievably jackets were off watching a game of football for the first time in 2022. In February! Thistle again fell behind early, fought back to lead 2-1 and were pegged back to 2-2. This time though they went on to record a vital 4-2 win to go above Hearts in the league table and ease away from the bottom two places in the league table. The job, of course, remains far from done. Three points this afternoon, three points that would take us to level on points with Aberdeen, though would be another small but significant step towards achieving our season’s objectives. C’mon The Jags
MATCH REPORT
HEARTS 2 v 4 PARTICK THISTLE
Victory in this match ended a hugely successful, and unbeaten, month by taking Thistle above Hearts in the SWPL1 league table. The game didn’t get off to the best possible of starts for Thistle though with Hearts opening the scoring after 7 minutes. Possession was cheaply conceded in midfield and when McAllister pushed a pass through to Anderson the Hearts striker found room for a shot that powerfully beat McGregor in the Thistle goal. The Thistle response wasn’t quite instantaneous but was pleasingly rapid all the same. Just three minutes had elapsed since the Hearts opener when a McBrearty free kick was touched down to Linzi Taylor who took a touch before lifting a shot over Parker-Smith and into the net. After 18 minutes Thistle went in front when a well worked McBrearty corner was flicked on and Demi Falconer was in the right spot to lift the ball into the net. It was a short-lived lead, however, as Hearts hit back immediately. A free kick from wide on the Hearts right evaded everyone with the exception of Hunter who converted at the back post. Five minutes into the second half Thistle were able to regain their lead. For the third time it was a Cara McBrearty set piece that created the opening. Her free kick from wide on the Thistle left was knocked back towards goal for Cheryl McCulloch. Her first header was touched onto the underside of the bar by Parker-Smith before McCulloch removed any need to debate whether that effort had crossed the line by making absolutely sure at the second time of asking. The win was secured with a 4th goal with two minutes of the 90 remaining. Rachel Donaldson lifted a high ball forward for Teigan McCann to chase. McCann expertly held off the attention of a Hearts defender before emphatically thumping home, sparking some wild celebrations in the Thistle camp. Team: McGregor, Slater, Murphy, McCulloch, Falconer, Fleming, Docherty (Fisher), McBrearty (McCann), McGowan, Taylor (Bulloch), Donaldson subs unused Magilton, MacDonald, Grant, Hamill.
OUR VISITORS ABERDEEN
It’s an extremely warm welcome to Aberdeen co-managers, Emma Hunter and Gavin Beith, and their players for the second trip to Petershill Park to face Thistle this season. Of course with Petershill Park also the home to Glasgow City visiting sides are no strangers to Petershill Park and what at times feels like its very own eco-system. Indeed Aberdeen were here at Peasy just 10 days ago when they caught Glasgow City in one of their more ruthless moods. Francesca Ogilvie’s 9th goal of the season provided Aberdeen with an early lead but that was as good as it would get for The Dons with the final whistle signalling a 10-1 defeat. As we know all too well ourselves it’s not the results against the top three sides that will shape Aberdeen’s season and they have more than held their own since making the step up to the top flight following their emphatic SWPL2 Championship win last season. Indeed, prior that sobering reverse they had won each of their five previous fixtures with a 5-1 home win over Motherwell probably the pick of the bunch although a much narrower, 1-0, win over Hibs was no less impressive. There has also been progression through to the last 8 of the Scottish Cup where a home tie with Celtic awaits at the start of next month. There is another exciting date on Aberdeen’s calendar as on March 23rd they will be temporarily leaving their Balmoral Stadium home at Cove and making an historic first appearance for Aberdeen WFC at Pittodrie when they face Rangers. Said Emma Hunter when this was announced, fittingly on International Women’s Day; “The players are really looking forward to it as a lot of them are Aberdeen fans. For them to be able to step out onto the pitch at Pittodrie is amazing.”
OUR VISITORS ABERDEEN
LAST 10 MATCHES Date
Competition
Opposition
Score
06.03.22
SWPL1
Celtic (H)
0-3
02.03.22
SWPL1
Glasgow City (A)
1-10
27.02.22
SWPL1
Motherwell (H)
5-1
13.02.22
Scottish Cup
Spartans (H)
4-2
06.02.22
SWPL1
Hibs (H)
1-0
25.01.22
Scottish Cup
Glasgow Women (A)
4-2
23.01.22
SWPL1
Hearts (A)
4-0
16.01.22
SWPL1
Spartans (H)
2-3
12.12.21
SWPL1
Hamilton Accies (A)
2-1
21.11.21
SWPL1
Celtic (A)
1-3
TOP SCORERS Player
Goals
Bayley Hutchison
14
Francesca Ogilvie
9
Eva Thomson
6
Chloe Gover
3
Eilidh Shore
3
Louise Brown
2
THISTLE V ABERDEEN THE STORY SO FAR
Although we are fast approaching what is commonly referred to the business end of the season we have to go right back to the very start of the current season for our only previous meeting with Aberdeen this season. Our scheduled fixture at the Balmoral Stadium at the end of November being postponed due to snow. The previous meeting between today’s two teams this afternoon took place on Sunday September 12th 2021, an historic date for Partick Thistle WFC as it represented out very first fixture as a SWPL1 club. Sadly we weren’t able to mark the occasion with a win. Thistle’s elevation to the top flight came almost at the last minute and when this match took place the job of building a side capable of competing at this level was just starting to pick up pace. Thistle did make a bright start with a MacDonald shot following a pass from Pollard being touched behind for a corner kick while Slater sent a shot from distance over the Aberdeen crossbar. It was our visitors from the North East though that had the better of the first 45 minutes though they were unable to breach a resolute Thistle defence with Lauren McGregor, as she has so often been this season, in fine form in the Thistle goal. McBrearty missed a chance for Thistle early in the second half and a short time later, with 52 minutes on the clock, Aberdeen took the lead. The goal came about in highly unfortunate circumstances for Thistle. Demi Falconer was off the field receiving treatment and from the uncontested drop ball that restarted the game to allow Falconer to receive treatment the ball was worked to Eva Thomson who scored with a composed finish. As much as Thistle tried to find an opportunity they were kept at arm’s length by a determined Aberdeen side desperate to collect their first three league points of the season. They were able to secure that win with a second goal with the game already in its 90th minute. Mya Christie ignored Thistle appeals for offside to race clear and shot past McGregor for a win that few could claim that they didn’t deserve. Teams Thistle: McGregor, Slater (Christie), McCulloch, Falconer, Fleming (Greenshields), McGlashan, McBrearty, McGowan, Rigden (Smith), MacDonald, Pollard. Aberdeen: Gilmour, Campbell, Penman, Broadick, Paterson, Bruce, Shore, Thomson, Fraser (Gover) (Christie), Brown (Collins), Ogilvie.
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. Taylor Fisher 14.Louise Magilton 15. Jade Gallon 16. Rebecca McGowan 17. Linzi Taylor 18. Danica Dalziel 19. Cheryl Rigden 20. Freya Macdonald 21. Lauren Grant 22. Eleanor Smith 23. Dionne Brown 24. Amy Bulloch 25. Rachel Donaldson 26. Taylor Hamill 27. Morgan Anderson
ABERDEEN 1. Gail Gilmour 2. Loren Campbell 4. Jess Broadrick 5. Carrie Doig 6. Natasha Bruce 7. Eilidh Shore 8. Chloe Gover 9. Lauren Gordon 10. Bayley Hutchison 12. Jo Fraser 13. Francesca Ogilvie 14. Kelly Forrest 15. Donna Paterson 16. Hannah Innes 17. Nadia Sopel 18. Eva Thomson 19. Amy Strath 23. Louise Brown 28. Hannah Stewart 30. Aaliyah-Jay Meach