MANAGER’S NOTES BRIAN GRAHAM
I’d like to begin this afternoon’s programme notes by welcoming Fran Alonso and everyone from Celtic WFC to Petershill Park for today’s SWPL 1 match. It’s our third game of the new year and we’ve been pretty pleased with how we’ve done since coming back from the winter break. Obviously, we were delighted with the win in the cup and doing it in such dramatic fashion made it even sweeter for the team. We had to show a lot of grit and determination to battle our way to the equaliser and then play through extra-time in our first game back from the break but the girls did brilliantly and showed terrific composure with the penalties as well. They then had to show those same qualities in the league game against Motherwell last week when, after leading in the first half, we found ourselves behind early in the second but once again they fought back to get level. The equaliser isn’t going to win the Puskas Award but huge credit has to go to Clare Docherty for being in the right place and reacting so quickly to force home what will be a very important goal for us. Another big positive from the past couple of games are the players we’ve had back from injury. Our captain Colette Fleming and Teigan McCann have both been back on the pitch and that’s fantastic for the squad. We had so many important players missing time in the first part of the season so it’s great to see them making their way back. Hopefully, having these players back, as well as the players we’ve signed recently, can help us push on and improve on the great work the team did during the first half of the season. Today’s game will be a very difficult one against one of those top three teams who have are so tough to play against but we have to take confidence from our performances against Rangers and Glasgow City at the end of last year. Holding them to 1-0 and 2-0 respectively says a lot about how far we’ve come even just since the start of the season. Here’s hoping we can go one better this week and get a result against Celtic.
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
30.01.22
Away
Hibernian
SWPL1
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
Dionne Brown
(5)
Amy Bulloch
12(2)
Summer Christie
3(4)
Emma Craig
3(2)
Danica Dalziel
6(4)
1
Clare Docherty
12(1)
3
Demi Falconer
17
Colette Fleming
3(3)
Jade Gallon
3
Lauren Grant
2
Jade Greenshields
2(2)
1
Freya MacDonald
15(2)
2
Cara McBrearty
14(1)
4
Teigan McCann
9(1)
3
Cheryl McCulloch
13
Taylor McGlashan
4(2)
Rebecca McGowan
13
Lauren McGregor
11(1)
Louise Magilton
1(1)
Kim Murphy
9(1)
Eva Payne
(3)
Sophie Payne
1(2)
London Pollard
6
2
Cheryl Rigden
9(6)
1
Rosie Slater
11(3)
Eleanor Smith
5(7)
Linzi Taylor
1
Ellie Vernal
2(1)
2
2
LINZI TAYLOR PLAYER INFO
PLAYER INTERVIEW
Name: Linzi Taylor Date of Birth: 31/10/1994 Position: Midfield Joined Thistle: January 14th 2022 Previous Club(s): Celtic, Mill United, Kilmarnock, Ramat Hasharon, Volsungar, Motherwell, Lefkothea Latsion Thistle Debut: v Motherwell, January 16th 2022 Thistle Appearances and Goals: Apps: 1
How are you enjoying life at Partick Thistle so far? Life at Thistle has been great so far. The girls and all of the staff have been fantastic with me since coming in. Everyone is so welcoming and really allowed me to settle. Coming into a new squad half way through a season, how have you found that and how have you settled in? I’ve been training with the squad for 2 months now, so it was good to finally get some game time against Motherwell last weekend and hopefully I can kick on from there. I thought it would have been difficult coming in half way through the season but as I said, everybody around the club has made it really easy for me to settle in. You’ve played in quite a few different countries, what are your favourite memories of playing abroad? Probably my favourite memory of playing abroad was 2018 in Israel at the national team stadium and winning the Israeli State Cup 3-2 in extra time, was the first time in history the club had won the cup.
What are the main differences in the countries you’ve played in and what can Scotland learn from those other leagues? Other than the weather haha they were all very similar. America, the physical side to the game was a massive shock to me when I first got there, it gives a different element to your game when you can adapt to it. Iceland, its really similar to America in terms of the physical side of it however I would say, the Icelandics are more technical. Israel had a great set up for younger players coming through, their u19s national team played in our league as a squad which was something I’d never seen before. They also had a rule that each team could only have 4 foreign players which showed that they were big on developing their own players. Everywhere I’ve been in the world, the Scottish women’s league has been spoken about in high regards. I think like any other league, we should just keep trying to advertise and grow the women’s game in general. What are your aims between now and the end of the season? Aim for the team - take as many points as we possibly can from each game which will leave us in a safe position in the league.
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. Sophie Payne 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
21. Lauren Grant 22. Eleanor Smith
25. Summer Christie 26. Eva Payne
OUR SPONSORS THANK YOU
A UNITED PATHWAY TOM HOSIE
In the week in which Partick Thistle Women’s Football Club celebrated the 8th anniversary of our very first fixture the Club marked another historic moment in our overall development. In making the step up from our partner club Drumchapel United, Morgan Anderson became the first player to follow the pathway that was established in February 2021 with the 17 year old midfielder now joining the squad as a fully-fledged Thistle player having previously spent time training with the group. The partnership with Drumchapel United was established with the aim of to give girls in the local community a greater chance to advance their careers in women’s football and the hope is that Morgan is just the first of what will become a steady stream of players joining Thistle from that route. Morgan is certainly a player that Thistle boss Brian Graham has high hopes for commenting: “We’re really happy to bring Morgan into our squad. We want to be a club to give young girls the chance to go as far as possible in the game. We hope that Morgan will be the first of many to come through the pathway from Drumchapel United to Partick Thistle and possibly beyond. “We’ve had her training with us over the last year and she has been improving massively in that time both in her ability and her confidence. She is still learning, and we feel it’s the right time to bring her to Partick Thistle and I can’t wait to work with her on a permanent basis” Said Scott Bland of Drumchapel United; “We’re really proud to have Morgan move on as the first player to progress through the pathway between the two clubs. It’s a great moment not only for Morgan but for Drumchapel United too. “Morgan was a fantastic player for us, giving energy, movement and great on the ball as well as fantastic teammate, she will be greatly missed by the players and coaches at Drumchapel United “We cannot wait to see Morgan wearing a Partick Thistle game kit and see how she develops her game. We hope she serves as an inspiration for the other girls at the club to show what they can achieve and that the opportunities are there for them” As Morgan embarks on the start of her Thistle career another was reaching a personal landmark. A late appearance as a substitute for Clare Docherty last Sunday at Motherwell saw Cheryl Rigden clock up her 50th Partick Thistle appearance. Since joining Thistle in February 2019, Cheryl has played a pivotal role in our journey to SWPL1 her influence stretching beyond what happens on the pitch on a match day. Hopefully there will be opportunity aplenty for her to add to her appearance total.
MATCH REPORT
MOTHERWELL 2 v 2 PARTICK THISTLE
Thistle included new signing Linzi Taylor for the first time in this SWPL1 clash and she was quick to make an impact on her debut as Thistle made an impressive start to the game. As early as the very first minute Taylor whipped over an excellent cross from wide on the Thistle left that Motherwell keeper Ramsay was able to get to ahead MacDonald. Taylor was again involved a short time later finding McBrearty in space who in turn fed the ball to Docherty who saw her effort blocked by a defender. This was already shaping up as an extremely open game, and at the other end it took a good block from Murphy to deny Pollard a glimpse of goal. The left foot of McBrearty is always a threat at set pieces and after 16 minutes Falconer, up from her defensive beat, was able to get a touch to a McBrearty free kick on the left but couldn’t divert the ball towards goal. Four minutes later though Thistle were in front and it was that Cara McBrearty left foot that provided the goal. McBrearty herself was fouled a few yards outside the Motherwell box and she sent the resultant free kick high over the Motherwell wall and into the net leaving Ramsay grasping at air. It was an advantage that Thistle would hold for just 8 minutes when Anderson sent a shot past McGregor from the corner of the box after the ball had been touched back to her. Another McBrearty free kick just past the half hour mark offered the prospect of another spectacular goal but this time the free kick was thundered straight at Ramsay when a yard or so either side would have had her struggling. Thistle were close again to regaining the lead after 33 minutes. Taylor was able to connect with McBrearty’s corner from the right with McGowan unable in turn to direct her header on target. Despite that Thistle pressure Motherwell were close to nudging themselves in front at half-time neared. Firstly Boyce lifted a shot over McGregor’s crossbar and right on half-time Crichton tried to catch McGregor out with a free kick but McGregor was across quickly to save. Eight minutes after the restart the home side went in front. Motherwell were able to profit fully after being awarded a corner in highly debatable circumstances when McDonald-Nguah hooked home after Watson had nodded Crichton’s corner on. Fleming tried a long range effort that Ramsay saved as Thistle looked to try and find a quick equaliser but the equaliser did arrive with 20 minutes of a pulsating match remaining. The goal was a reward for Clare Docherty’s determination as she was able to bundle the ball over the line when Ramsay was unable to grab hold of a McGowan shot from the corner of the box. Suddenly from being a goal down, Thistle had the scent of victory in their nostrils and immediately after the restart they were on the attack again. Docherty won the ball in midfield and was able to find McBrearty who with two Motherwell defenders in close attention looked to be nudged to the ground for a Thistle penalty but no award was forthcoming. Of the two teams it was Motherwell that would come the closest to a late winner twice striking the frame of the Thistle goal. Firstly Inglis saw her shot come back off the bar before Hay saw her effort hit the outside of the post near the junction of post and crossbar. It would though have been extremely harsh on Thistle had they not taken something from this game. Team: McGregor, Slater, Murphy (Trialist), McCulloch, Falconer, Docherty (Rigden), McBrearty, McGowan, MacDonald, Bulloch (Fleming), Taylor (McCann).
OUR VISITORS CELTIC
Although last Sunday’s fixtures represented the first round of league matches since the resumption following the winter break the results from seven days ago still had a significant look about them, at least at the top end of the league table. With Rangers, as expected, comprehensively brushing aside the challenge of Hearts and Glasgow City leaving it late but ultimately collecting all three points from their home game with Hamilton, it was our visitors today that suffered potentially the most damaging result. An away fixture against Hibernian is always a potentially difficult one with Hibs looking the most likely to prise points away from the top three in the division. On another day Celtic may well have returned from Livingston with three points but despite Charlie Wellings’ 14th SWPL goal of the season, after Chloe Craig had earlier missed a penalty, giving Celtic a lead right on the stroke of half-time; Ellis Notley’s goal in injury time secured a point for the home side. A quick look at the league table that now shows Celtic trailing league leaders Rangers by 7 points just underlines the potential significance of that last gasp equaliser. Looking forward, Celtic’s four remaining fixtures against their two title challengers, Glasgow City and Rangers now take on huge significance for Fran Alonso’s side. The fact that of these four games, three are away fixtures doesn’t make clawing back that 7 point gap any easier, although Celtic will point to the fact that the final game of the league season sees them face the current league leaders at home. What a potential finale to a thrilling season that fixture might yet provide. The fact that outside of their head to head fixtures with other top three sides there is little further margin for error for Celtic only makes our meeting with a side no doubt still smarting from Hibs’ late equaliser last Sunday all the harder. This is a side with quality packed right through it as well as being the first side to claim silverware this season when they won the SWPL Cup for the second time having previously lifted the trophy back in 2010 when they defeat Spartans 4-1 in the Final. This season having been paired with ourselves, St Johnstone and Hearts they progressed to a quarter-final meeting where a goal from Charlie Weillings, her again, gave them a 1-0 victory over Rangers who they have been drawn against in the next round of the Scottish Cup. A straightforward 3-0 semi-final win over Spartans set them up for a Firhill final with Glasgow City providing the opposition. A record crowd for a domestic women’s final in Scotland of 3,645 turned up to see Caitlin Hayes’ 26th minute goal win the cup for Celtic prompting manager Alonso to declare after the game; “We beat the best teams in the country to win the trophy”. The fact that Celtic had to overcome their fellow title challengers to bag the first piece of silverware on offer this season offers hope that the SWPL Cup might not be the only trophy that will be sitting in the Celtic WFC trophy cabinet come the end of the current season.
OUR VISITORS CELTIC
LAST 10 MATCHES Date
Competition
Opposition
Score
16.01.22
SWPL1
Away v Hibs
D 1-1
12.12.21
SWPL1
Home v Motherwell
W 7-0
21.11.21
SWPL1
Home v Aberdeen
W 3-1
14.11.21
SWPL Cup
Neutral v Glasgow City
W 1-0
07.11.21
SWPL1
Home v Rangers
L 0-1
03.11.21
SWPL1
Away v Hearts
W 3-0
17.10.21
SWPL1
Home v Spartans
D 2-2
10.10.21
SWPL1
Away v Hamilton
W 6-0
03.10.21
SWPL1
Home v Partick Thistle
W 6-0
29.09.21
SWPL1
Home v Motherwell
W 4-0
TOP SCORERS Player
Goals
Charlie Wellings
18
Kathleen McGovern
5
Jacynta
4
Olivia Chance
4
Clarissa Larisey
4
Chloe Craig
3
Caitlin Hayes
3
THISTLE V CELTIC THE STORY SO FAR
Today’s SWPL1 fixture with Celtic will represent the third time that the two teams will have met this season and it will come as little surprise to learn that Celtic hold the upper hand after those two games. Thistle though can take heart from the previous Petershill Park meeting. That fixture was the opening SWPL group match and the very first game of the current season. Thistle could hardly have got off to a better start and they stunned their more illustrious opponents when Teigan McCann’s perseverance provided the home side with a 7th minute lead. It was thought that that early lead would be a short lived one but a brave first half performance from Thistle saw them come within three minutes of taking a half-time lead only for Charlie Wellings to bring Celtic level after 42 minutes. It was Wellings that nudged Celtic in front just before the hour mark and it wasn’t until an injury time strike from Kathleen McGovern that Celtic could be sure of victory with a 3-1 win. As it turned out, after Thistle inadvertently fielded an ineligible player, Celtic would be awarded a 3-0 win in any case. Thistle: Grant (McGregor), Slater, Falconer. Fleming, McCann (S Payne), Craig (Smith), McBrearty, Vernal, Gallon, Rigden (E Payne), MacDonald. Celtic: Johnstone, Bartle, Galabadaarachchi (Gros), Clark, Toland (Harkes), Atkinson, Hayes (Craig), Wellings, Warrington, Bowie (Donaldson), McGovern. The Celtic win when the teams met in Airdrie in SWPL1 back on October was altogether more comprehensive. Thistle were in the middle of an incredibly demanding schedule of matches and just a matter of days earlier had given Glasgow City a real fright before going down to a 3-1 defeat having scored first. Perhaps as a direct result of the energy expended during the Glasgow City, Thistle found on this occasion the challenge presented by Celtic just too much to overcome. It was Thistle though that had the ball in the net first only to see Cheryl McCulloch’s effort disallowed after she knocked a Rigden free kick into the Celtic net. Just three minutes after that they found themselves trailing when Charlie Wellings netted. Thistle were still holding their own and while still just a goal behind they remained very much in this game but the writing was on the wall when Kathleen McGovern made it 2-0 after 33 minutes with Wellings added her second two minutes before the break to give the home side an almost unassailable lead before the half-time whistle. Wellings completed her hat-trick after 63 minutes and the score remained at 4-0 until, with Thistle clearly tiring, Celtic added a further two goals before the finish, the first from Maria Gross and then Mengyu Shen. Celtic: Johnstone, Craig, Shen, Larisey, Chance (Toland), Donaldson (Warrington), Clark, Hayes, Wellings (Gros), Bowie (Galabadaarachchi), Johnstone, McGovern (Shorts). Thistle: McGregor, Slater, McCulloch, Falconer, McCann, Docherty (Smith), McBrearty, Vernal (Dalziel), McGowan, Rigden (Bulloch), MacDonald (McGlashan).
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 25. Summer Christie Louise Magilton
CELTIC 1. Chloe Logan 3. Jodie Bartle 4. Cheyenne Shorts 5. Natalie Ross 6. Chloe Craig 8. Jacynta Galabadaarachchi 9. Shen Mengyu 10. Clarissa Larisey 11. Olivia Chance 14. Sarah Harkes 15. Kelly Clark 16. Tyler Toland 17. Izzy Atkinson 18. Caitlin Hayes 19. Maria Olafsdottir Gros 21. Charlie Wellings 22. Chloe Warrington 24. Tegan Bowie 25. Rebecca McAllister 52. Rachael Johnstone