Match Report - By Steven Mew

Ian Campbell made 5 changes to the squad that did so brilliantly against Hamilton, only to concede a stoppage time winner. ‘Pink’ gave several fringe players a chance to shine but I’m sure he wouldn’t have been too happy with the response. Nelson started between the sticks, while Steven Hamilton and David Craig took the place of Craig McEwan and Gary Bollan respectively in defence. Scott Walker paired with Craig in the centre of defence while Paul Deas started in his natural position, left back. Steven Ferguson and Craig Winter started in midfield to the expense of Mitchell and Johnson who started on Saturday. Charlie King retained his place in the squad along with Graham Gibson and Steven Hampshire. Stuart Callaghan got a start in midfield while Paul Ritchie was relegated to the bench. Partick fielded former City favourite Scott McCulloch in defence.

Partick completely dominated the opening stages of the match. First of all a shot an awkward angle hit the side netting before Craig Nelson made an acrobatic save to tip a shot over the bar from a shot from outside the box. Partick came very close to opening the scoring minutes later but Scott Walker was on hand to block the shot when Nelson was in no mans land. A corner swung in from the right was headed goalwards by a Partick defender, only for Nelson’s fantastic reflexes to keep it out.

The Brechin defence was clearly struggling against the Partick forward line which had a lot of pace. The best chance of the half fell to Sean Kilgannon, who struck the ball towards an open goal, only for David Craig to save the day with a goal-line clearance.

Mid-way through the half Steven Ferguson slid on clumsily on Scott McCulloch which big ‘boab’ reacted angrily to; this sparked a huge melee which saw Bert Paton and Dick Campbell dragging their players away from. Referee Ian Frickleton drew a line under the incident by booking both Steven Ferguson and Scott McCulloch. Brechin’s only real chance of the half fell to Stuart Callaghan, who headed tamely into the hands of Kenny Arthur.

Brechin changed into their away shirts at half time as the home kit slightly clashed with Thistle’s. Brechin came out a slightly better side in the first half, stringing some good passes together but there was no end product as Thistle continued to have the chances. Partick had a shot which was flew well over the bar before Nelson had to make another excellent save, tipping a shot from outside the box over the bar.

Brechin had a rare chance of the game looked to be heading for extra time as Alex Burns flighted a shot which flew just went past the top corner. In the last few minutes Craig Nelson showed just why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the SFL after making a couple of fantastic saves. First of all a point blank save from inside the box before saving a deflected effort from outside the box.

The referee blew the whistle before the two teams prepared for extra time. Partick fans, players and officials must have been wondering why they hadn’t settled the game well before half time, never mind extra time! The one thing between Partick Thistle and the victory they deserved was Craig Nelson, who was nothing short of outstanding.

Extra time was uneventful, in fact, there was no real chances worth mentioning. In the first half of extra time Steven Ferguson was given a second yellow for persistant fouling. As the game went into a penalty shootout, Alex Burns confidently netted the first penalty but Scott Walker, Graham Gibson and Stuart Callaghan all had their penalties saved by Kenny Arthur which meant Partick did eventually get the win they truly deserved. Shaun Kilgannon, Ricky Gilles and Derek Fleming scored from the spot for Thistle.

Overall, a very disappointing display, but thankfully it can be said that the squad Brechin had out was definitely not the strongest. Saturday’s Man of the Match Grant Johnson wasn’t even listed in the first 16. All credit to Dick Campbell and Thistle though; they really should have won the game well before penalties only for the heroics of Craig Nelson in the Brechin goal to deny them, who was awarded Man of the Match funnily enough.

The players will have to do a lot better than that on Saturday if they are to get a result down in Dumfries against Queen of the South.

Other Results - CIS Cup Round 1

Alloa Athletic 2 Arbroath 1

Local rivals Arbroath go down to Alloa after extra time.

Berwick Rangers 4 Elgin City 2

Berwick come back from 2-0 down to hammer Elgin.

Cowdenbeath 2 St Johnstone 3

Cowden give the Saints a scare.

East Fife 0 Stranraer 1

Stranraer edge out lower league opponents.

East Stirlingshire 1 Queen's Park 3

Queens Park comfortably defeat the Shire.

Forfar Athletic 1 Ross County 4

Local rivals Forfar hammered by Ross County after extra time.

Hamilton Academical 2 Dumbarton 1

Hamilton come back from behind to avoid a shock exit.

Montrose 0 Clyde 1

Local rivals Montrose edged out by Clyde.

Morton 1 Ayr United 2

Shock of the round as Ayr beat Morton at Cappielow.

Raith Rovers 2 Airdrie United 0

A comfortable win for Raith against higher league opposition.

Stenhousemuir 0 Peterhead 1

Peterhead edge out a strong Stenhousemuir side.