Recap

4^th Dec 2016

Corstorphine Dynamo vs Bathgate Thistle

Saughton Park 3G (1PM KO)

Thistle travelled to Saughton for their last game before the Christmas break against Corstorphine Dynamo. Thistle went into the game with some momentum after two wins on the bounce, and were looking to take themselves onto 3 wins from 6 games in the league.

A low sun was always going to make the first half difficult for whoever was defending against it and with Bathgate winning the toss, Ryan Weir made the sensible decision to put Dynamo under that pressure. Buoyed by the switch of ends and easier playing conditions, Thistle started the game brightly and were knocking the ball about well on the 3G. Some good link up play down both sides led to some dangerous crosses being fired across the Dynamo penalty box, but unfortunately for Thistle, no-one was able to get on the end of them. Still 0-0 but a positive start.

Dynamo started to settle in the conditions and made some attempts of their own to pass the ball around, but Thistle were pressing well and forcing them into a number of long balls which the Thistle midfield and back line were dealing with in a relatively comfortable manner.

Around 20 minutes in, Craig King picked out a pass from the back to Michael Cruckshank who turned his full back for the umpteenth time already, before firing the ball across the box to Ross Steel who then laid it off to Ryan Weir, who took a touch before slotting it beyond the goalkeeper. 1-0 Thistle!

The breakthrough was well deserved for Thistle and Dynamo looked a little shell shocked up against a very different starting XI than the one they faced at Bathgate earlier in the season during the group stages.

Credit to Dynamo however, they rallied in the last 20-25 minutes of the first half and put Thistle under some pressure, hitting the post once and missing a couple of headers from crosses into the box. That said however, Thistle were continuing to defend well as a team and creating chances themselves on the break going the other way, with Dynamo having to make a few last ditch tackles to stop Thistle grabbing a second.

Not long before the half time whistle, Michael Cruckshank who had been a thorn in the Dynamo left back’s side all game, went on another mazy run and could possibly have gone down for a penalty, but instead stayed on his feet and the attack fizzled out. Another sign however, that Thistle’s pace was causing Dynamo problems.

Half Time – Dynamo 0-1 Thistle

Noticing the issues being caused to Dynamo by Thistle’s pace, Brian McAllister made the decision at half time to change from the 4-2-3-1 formation deployed in the first half, to a 4-1-3-2 with Ryan Weir and Michael Cruckshank through the middle.

This change didn’t pay off, and the first 15 minutes of the second half saw Thistle camped deep in their own half, struggling to get out. Again, credit to Dynamo, they never once lost belief and kept pilling bodies forward, creating some half chances but all in all, Thistle continued to frustrate and defend well.

Brian McAllister made some changes on the 60 minute mark, with Ryan Weir and Aaron McIlwraith going off, to be replaced by Reece McBain and Ally McDonald. Thistle reverted to 4-2-3-1.

Dynamo won yet another corner on the 65^th minute mark, and whipped another dangerous delivery into the box. There was a lot of pushing and climbing going on in the box, with the main offender getting his head on the ball, and nodding it past Marcus Havern in the Thistle goal. No foul deemed by the referee though and Dynamo were level. Dynamo 1-1 Thistle.

Feeling hard done by, Thistle took kick off, and the ball was played back to Calum Kelly. Spotting a gap, he drove through the centre of the park, before playing a neat 1-2 with Michael Cruckshank. Now into the Dynamo box, Kelly took a touch beyond the last defender before reversing the ball back past the keeper, to give Thistle an immediate response and they regained their lead. Dynamo 1-2 Thistle!

Dynamo looked shocked, and Thistle started to build up some momentum, making more chances on their forays forward. For all his hard work, Michael Cruckshank had found a goal evading him so far, but he wasn’t to be denied. He won the ball high up the park off a Dynamo defender delaying his pass, and burst clear of the defence to slide the ball past the keeper and give Thistle some breathing space. Dynamo 1-3 Thistle!

More changes were afoot for Thistle in the last 15 minutes with Michael Cruckshank being replaced by Craig Innes and Ross Steel being replaced by Cameron King. Dynamo threw bodies forward but Thistle wanted to go into the festive break on a high, and weren’t to be denied their 3 points, with Calum Kelly epitomising the fighting spirit shown by the boys when he took a half volley to the stomach.

Thistle created a few good crossing opportunities of their own late on with Andrew Wood just failing to pick out Reece McBain and Cameron King, however the 3 goals were enough and Thistle earned a 3^rd consecutive win to lift them up to 3^rd in the table.

#MTT

Man of the Match: Calum Kelly