MANAGER’S NOTES BRIAN GRAHAM
I’ll start off my notes today by welcoming Suzy Shepherd and everyone from Boroughmuir Thistle to Petershill Park for today’s Scottish Cup game. The cup is always and occasion to look forward to and after the drama and excitement of the last round, the team can’t wait to be involved in this competition again. It’ll be another difficult tie though. Boroughmuir gave us two really tough games last season and have been going well in the SWPL 2 so far this season so we know they’ll come into this one believing they can get through. The same is true for us though. We’ll take a lot of confidence from last week’s win at Hamilton which was a massive one for us. We felt we were much the better team for most of the match and should have been ahead earlier in the game but it was tricky to break Accies down and we had to be very patient. That patience paid off though and we were delighted when Clare got the goal for us. You could see what it meant to all the players and it could prove to be an important goal come the end of the season. There’s a long way to go, however, and we’ll need to keep picking up points if we want to achieve our targets. We had two trialists featuring in the game last Sunday and I’m delighted that they’ve both officially joined the club this week. Firstly, Taylor Fisher who joins us having most recently been with Glasgow City. She came off the bench against Hamilton and did well as part of the team. She made a good amount of appearances with City early on in the season, scoring a few goals and she’s also had experience in the Women’s Champions League so that’s all great experience to have as a 19-yearold. The second player who will be announced next week started against Hamilton and played the full 90 minutes. She’s another player who has played in the Champions League and is a really exciting signing for us. They’re two signings who are in line with the ambition we have here at the club and hopefully they can bring attributes to the team that will help us look up the table between now and the end of the season.
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
1-0
06.02.22
Away
Hamilton
SWPL1
20.02.22
Home
Spartans
SWPL1
27.02.22
Away
Hearts
SWPL1
06.03.22
Away
Rangers
SWPL1
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
13(3)
Summer Christie
2(4)
Emma Craig
3(2)
Danica Dalziel
7(4)
1
Clare Docherty
13(1)
4
Demi Falconer
19
Taylor Fisher
(1)
Colette Fleming
5(3)
Jade Gallon
3
Lauren Grant
2
Jade Greenshields
2(2)
Taylor Hamil
(2)
Freya MacDonald
16(3)
2
Cara McBrearty
16(1)
4
Teigan McCann
10(2)
3
Cheryl McCulloch
15
Taylor McGlashan
4(2)
Rebecca McGowan
14
Lauren McGregor
13(1)
Louise Magilton
1(3)
Kim Murphy
10(1)
Eva Payne
(3)
Sophie Payne
1(2)
London Pollard
6
2
Cheryl Rigden
9(7)
1
Rosie Slater
13(3)
Eleanor Smith
5(7)
Linzi Taylor
1
Ellie Vernal
2(1)
2
1
2
ROSIE SLATER PLAYER INFO
PLAYER INTERVIEW
Name: Rosie Slater Date of Birth: 11/02/2004 Position: Defender Joined Thistle: August 5th 2021 Previous Club(s): Rangers, Motherwell Thistle Debut: v Celtic, August 8th 2021 Thistle Appearances and Goals: Apps: 13(3), Gls 0 International Honours: Three Scotland Under 16 caps, one goal.
How have you enjoyed your season with Thistle so far? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, I’ve found it easy to settle in at the club mainly due to the camaraderie within the squad, it’s a good mix of youngsters and more experienced players. As one of the youngest members of the squad how have you felt you’ve learned from the experienced members of the squad? I feel I’m always learning from the experienced players and it’s beneficial during games as they cons tantly provide encouragement, support and guidance to help me improve as a player.
How has it been for a young player coming in and learning from the manager and coaches who are still playing professionally?
I find it beneficial to be learning from professional players who can pass on their knowledge and experience first hand to help me develop within different aspects of the game. You’ve played a couple of different positions across the backline this season, do you feel that has helped your development as a player? Yeah, I feel it has helped my development playing some different positions as it’s important as a young player to be playing regularly and to be comfortable playing in different positions, I’m grateful for the opportunity Brian and the coaching staff have given me. Your family come and support you and the other girls every weekend, how special is it for you to have them there supporting you and making so much noise every week? It’s very special to know they are there every week supporting me as they have done since I started playing at the age of 4, however they can be my worst critics at times and it can be embarrassing when my mum shakes her tambourine when we score haha but hopefully the tambourine will be making a few appearances before 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
4. Cheryl McCulloch 5. Demi Falconer
Morag & Graham Elrick
Dr Wilma Hogg Catriona Tucker
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
13. Ellie Vernal
Watson Towers W Munro (Rehab) Ltd
14. Sophie Gallacher 15. Jade Gallon 16. Rebecca McGowan
LA Travel Greg Robertson
Dean Robertson Joinery
Teng Tools UK
The Welsh Family
Allied Interiors
17. Linzi Taylor 18. Danica Dalziel 19. Cheryl Rigden 20. Freya MacDonald
41 Sports Media Cobie O’Neil
Cobie O’Neil
Cobie O’Neil
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
Morgan Anderson
Drumchapel United
Drumchapel United
21. Lauren Grant 22. Eleanor Smith
Taylor Hamill Taylor Fisher
Michelle Jackson
OUR SPONSORS THANK YOU
ROMANCE OF THE CUP TOM HOSIE
Football is a sport that has given birth to multiple sayings and clichés. Many clichés, however, are little more than over used truisms and that is very much the case when we talk about the romance of the cup. It is particularly apt then that today’s Scottish cup-tie with Boroughmuir Thistle takes place the day before Valentine’s Day. Here comes another cliché. The league is, of course, our bread and butter. The success or otherwise of this historic 2021-2022 season will be determined by whether it is SWPL1 or SWPL2 football that we are playing next season. But that doesn’t mean that continued involvement in the Scottish Cup isn’t important. Or that we should be any less focused on trying to progress to the last eight of the Scottish Cup than we were on defeating Hamilton Accies last weekend. We have made so much progress as a Club over the course of the last 12 months or so. The overall level of professionalism, the kind of professionalism that is required to firstly survive and then hopefully flourish at this level, has improved significantly. People can see that Partick Thistle WFC is a forward thinking football club. The most tangible sign of continued development though can be found in league placings and progression in cup competitions. By moving up league tables and winning cup ties; fans, players at other teams and potential sponsors can see your club as something that they want to be part of. It’s a cultural of continued progress that we are trying to develop at Partick Thistle WFC. We want people knocking on our door to be part of what we doing, rather than us constantly knocking at theirs. While never resting on our laurels, we have reason to feel optimistic about both our short and long term objectives. The win in the league at Hamilton last Sunday may have been a narrow one but it was no less deserved as a result of that, nor of any less significance. There’s still much work to be done and, cliché alert again, much football to be played but we should be trying to focus more on those above us that we can potentially catch rather than focusing on those below that can catch us. After a thrilling penalty win over Motherwell in the last round we have reason to feel optimistic that we can continue to make progress in the Scottish Cup too. Not that anybody is remotely taking the challenge of Boroughmuir Thistle lightly. Not least because they contain within their squad a smattering of former Thistle players no doubt keen to put one over their old club. Reaching the last eight, and who knows maybe even beyond that, of the premier Scottish women’s cup competition would be a tremendous achievement. These are exciting times for Partick Thistle WFC.
MATCH REPORT
HAMILTON 0 v 1 PARTICK THISTLE
A month that has all the hallmarks of being a hugely significant one for Thistle began with a trip to face Hamilton Accies, the side immediately below Thistle in the league table. Thistle were on the front foot early on in this game, with a McBrearty free kick forcing a save out of the home keeper Currie as early as the third minute. Currie was required to save again; this time from a Fleming shot, in the 15th minute as Thistle tried to find the early goal that their play merited. McGowan was displaying her usual industry and endeavour in the middle of the park and her determination and drive nearly produced that opening goal, but after having brushed aside a couple of challenges she saw her shot blocked by a defender. The Thistle defence meantime remained largely untroubled although there were loud appeals for handball and a Hamilton penalty after 31 minutes when the ball struck a Thistle defender before spinning into the path of Burchill whose shot was saved by McGregor. Hamilton came close again after 38 minutes when McCulloch was forced to clear a Quigley header from a McGonigle corner off the line. The pattern of the game though largely continued in the direction of the Hamilton goal. A Fleming shot went narrowly wide of goal after Docherty had touched the ball back into her path before Docherty herself saw a shot from the edge of the box saved by the home keeper as the first half drew towards a goalless conclusion. The second 45 minutes followed a very similar pattern to that of the first and Thistle were desperately unfortunate not to nudge themselves ahead 9 minutes into the second half. The impressive Slater pushed forward from her defensive berth and her long-range effort nearly produced a first Thistle goal only for it to come off the crossbar. A Thistle goal still looked likely when the loose ball fell to Docherty whose effort was smothered on the lie by a defender who looked to use a hand in doing so. The pressure on the Hamilton goal continued to mount and in the 64th minute Thistle were again close to a richly deserved opening goal. Docherty collected Fleming’s excellent long ball before squaring to Fisher to her right who saw her shot saved by Currie, thus denying her a debut goal just minutes having come on. The deadlock though was broken with 13 minutes of the game remaining. Taylor threaded through a pass for Clare Docherty and Docherty when left with just the keeper to beat showed great calmness to adeptly knock the ball past the keeper and into the net. A frantic response from the home side was expected but never materialised and indeed it was Thistle that came the closest to adding to the score line when a McGowan header from a Bulloch corner went narrowly wide of target. There were four minutes of injury time to endure before the referee brough proceedings to a close and Thistle could celebrate what could prove to be a highly significant three points. Team: McGregor, Slater, McCulloch, Falconer, Fleming (Bulloch), Docherty, McBrearty (Trialist), McGowan, Taylor (McCann), MacDonald, Trialist subs unused Grant, Rigden, Hamill, Anderson.
OUR VISITORS BOROUGHMUIR THISTLE
It’s a warm welcome to Petershill Park to Suzy Shepherd’s side for this afternoon’s Scottish Cup tie as our Thistle namesakes, Boroughmuir, make the trip across the M8 for today’s eagerly anticipated Scottish Cup tie. They make that trip with more than a smattering of familiar faces within their squad with no fewer than four former Partick Thistle players; Courtney McAvoy, Anna Murray, Bryony Ross and Shannon Todd contained within their ranks. The last named of that quartet, Shannon Todd, who has had three separate spells as a Partick Thistle player, has been in excellent form recently having netted in three of Boroughmuir’s games since the resumption following the winter break. Indeed it was Shannon’s goal in the 32nd minute of their league fixture last weekend that gave them a narrow 1-0 win over Kilmarnock. That win keeps Boroughmuir very much in touch with Glasgow Women who currently sit in second place in SWPL2. With Dundee United having established a virtually unassailable lead at the top of the table the automatic promotion place from SWPL2 to SWPL1 looks to be all but locked in. Glasgow Women in second position may currently hold a 7 point lead over Boroughmuir but they do so having played a game more and with a trip through to Meggetland coming up on the horizon, as such the play-off spot in SWPL2 is still very much up for grabs. Certainly Boroughmuir, having comprehensively disposed of Renfrew in the last round, will head through to Glasgow today determined to underline their top flight credentials by progressing to the last eight of the competition at our expense. There are goals aplenty within this Boroughmuir side and you need to go back all the way to last August and a SWPL Cup tie against Rangers for the last time that they failed to score at least once in a match. As already mentioned, Renfrew were brushed aside in this round with Boroughmuir scoring six times with just two in reply. With 8 goals to her name already this season, Samantha Duncan clearly will pose a real threat to the Thistle defence but Boroughmuir aren’t just reliant on her for goals. Ex-Jag Courtney McAvoy has five goals to her name while Beth MacLeod, who scored in both fixtures against Thistle last season, has netted four times so far this. Make no mistake, Thistle will face an extremely stern test this afternoon as we aim to reach the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup for the first time in our history.
OUR VISITORS BOROUGHMUIR THISTLE
LAST 10 MATCHES Date
Competition
Opposition
Score
03/10/21
SWPL2
Kilmarnock (A)
2-3
10/10/21
SWPL2
Dundee United (H)
1-2
24/10/21
SWPL2
Glasgow Women (H)
2-3
07/11/21
SWPL2
Glasgow Women (A)
2-3
21/11/21
SWPL2
St Johnstone (A)
3-2
12/12/21
SWPL2
Queen’s Park (H)
1-1
09/01/22
SWF Cup
Renfrew (H)
6-2
23/01/22
SWPL2
Dundee United (A)
1-4
30/01/22
SWPL2
Stirling University (A)
3-2
06/02/22
SWPL2
Kilmarnock (H)
1-0
TOP SCORERS Player
Goals
Samantha Duncan
8
Courtney McAvoy
5
Beth MacLeod
4
Elvie McLean
3
Shannon Todd
3
Ria McCafferty
2
Anna Murray
2
THISTLE
V BOROUGHMUIR TH THE STORY SO FAR
It’s a real pleasure to be able to renew our rivalry with Boroughmuir Thistle this afternoon having faced them in SWPL2 action just last season. Indeed a look back at the two league clashes between the sides last season will confirm just how potentially tricky this afternoon’s Scottish Cup tie will be with each side recording a win apiece. The first match took place at the Meggetland Sports Complex on December 6th 2020 and it proved to be something of a frustrating afternoon for the Thistle side from Glasgow. Thistle spurned a number of chances to take an early lead and were made to pay for those misses when Beth MacLeod lofted the ball over Jade Baillie to give the home side a 28th minute lead. It took an excellent Baillie save a short time later to prevent Boroughmuir from doubling their lead. The second half was largely one way traffic towards the Boroughmuir goal but Thistle just couldn’t find an equaliser. Ferguson in the home goal made good stops to deny McCann, Gallacher and Rigden while a whole series of Thistle corners had the home defence under severe pressure but failed to produce an equaliser. Teams Boroughmuir: Ferguson, Gibson, Clark, Goodchild, Davie (Torente), Anderson, MacLeod (Lynch), Smith, McCabde Duncan, Murray (Wilkinson) Thistle: Baillie, Ross, Murphy (MacDonald), Hawksworth (Gallacher), Falconer, Gallon, Rigden, McBrearty (Bulloch), McGlashan, Craig (Todd), McCann (Docherty). When SWPL2 returned after a Covid enforced hiatus Thistle’s first game back, played at Maryhill’s Lochburn Park, paired them against Boroughmuir and they were able to gain a degree of revenge for that earlier defeat with a 3-1 win, although we didn’t get things all our own way. Vicenti, who played against Thistle for Celtic in our last home game, had to make an important early save to keep the score at 0-0 . Thistle did open the scoring with their first serious foray towards the Boroughmuir goal when Clare Docherty was able to find room at the edge of the box for a shot that Ferguson got a hand to but couldn’t keep out. The Thistle lead was doubled after 33 minutes where Cheryl McCulloch’s determination, on her Thistle debut, gave her a chance to find the net with a low left footed shot. The points were all but secured just two minutes after the restart when Colette Fleming, returning to the side after a lengthy injury absence, tucked home a penalty after a foul on Docherty. On a hot, physically demanding, day Boroughmuir continued to make things hard for Thistle and had come close on a few occasions before Beth MacLeod reduced the leeway with 8 minutes remaining. Teams Thistle: Vincenti, McCulloch, Falconer, McGlashan (Murphy), MacDonald (Hawksworth), Smith, Fleming, Bulloch, Rigden (Lyle), Docherty, McBrearty (McCann) Boroughmuir: Ferguson, Gibson, Browning, Davie (Torrente), Anderson, Templeton (MacLeod), Smith, Ross, Murray, Lynch, McCabe.
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 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 Louise Magilton Taylor Hamill Taylor Fisher Morgan Anderson
BOROUGHMUIR THISTLE 1. Katie Moodie 2. Fiona Gibson 3. Ashleigh Clark 5. Elise Macara 6. Alix Wilkinson 7. Caitlin Lynch 8. Hannah Davie 9. Brogan Anderson 10. Mhairi Smith 11. Beth Macleod 12 .Bryony Ross 14. Maria Novou Torrente 15. Katie McCabe 16. Sammy Duncan 17. Elvie McLean 18. Ria McCafferty 19. Courtney McAvoy 20. Shannon Todd 21. Anna Murray 23. Caitlin Armstrong