Just In V Raith

[Hopeisimportant]

Not the prettiest performance, but great drama and a fine result.

 

We started quite well and were quite unlucky to go a goal behind, I thought. After that we had a bit of a poor spell but we were brought out of our funk by a terrific equaliser.

 

I wasn't sure if Craig ahead of Doolan was the right decision but he did so well at the first goal. Fouled by their centre half but kept it going, set up Bannigan and what a great finish.

 

Once we got in front it looked like we'd stroll it but Raith came back into it and deserved to be level really. How many times did the ball hit our post before it was finally knocked in? Three?

 

But thankfully it just set it up for a great bit of late drama. Not entirely sure what happened from the north stand but just saw the net bulge after a scramble and grown men leaping into the air and hugging total strangers. What a fantastic feeling, made even sweeter by hearing that Dunfermline dropped points.

 

Bannigan was deservedly man of the match. He covered so much ground and never gave up. Sinclair and Bannigan in the same team seemed to work really well and we had a decent balance without Murray playing. We missed O'Donnell, nothing really came off for Erskine today, but Lawless was a menace.

 

Smith was solid too. Made a great save from a Graham header in the first half and was really brave with the block he made when Raith broke clean through. We've played much better, but these three points are the type we need to grab if we're winning the league this year.

[Lin1876]

Would agree with pretty much everything there, but I think Balatoni deserves a mention. He was excellent again today and got us out of a few tight spots.

[erty13]

Good game of football as the result went in our faviour. Plenty of crowd participation, mainly due to the very poor quality of men in black, who seemed to either miss everything, or flagged for offside when players were level.

 

Team did not look as solid with Archie in the back four, and we really missed O Donnel breaking on the right. Keeper made a few good saves and we rode our luck.

 

A deserved win, against a solid team who will take pionts off our rivals.

[Trotter]

We missed O'Donnell, nothing really came off for Erskine today, but Lawless was a menace.

 

Smith was solid too. Made a great save from a Graham header in the first half and was really brave with the block he made when Raith broke clean through.

 

Agree about O'Donnell. Thought Lawless didn't have a great game game today though kept trying. Hoping that decision to take Erskine off ahead of Lawless was due to an injury, otherwise very strange choice for me.

 

Disagree entirely about Smith. Though he was slow & hesitant for the block you refer. Can't say too much on their 1st as think everyone switched off. As for his dribbling skills.... Least said!

 

Ross Forbes is looking like a liability in midfield again. How many times did he give the ball away today or not put his foot in on a challenge? To be honest, I wasn't convinced about the clamour to sign him but thought he would be at best a squad addition so I'm sure plenty will come & disagree.

 

Referee & linesman? As poor as I've seen in a long time & we've had a few dodgy ones this season. This guy decides to play advantage in some cases then doesn't on others. Fouls when there are none & misses blatant blocks! We had a stonewall penalty just before the corner from which we scored. How he didn't give it I still have no idea.

 

That said, i thought Sinclair's arm might have been up in last play of game. seen them given & who knew what Clown Clancy was going to do next! The JHS linesman didn't know offside rule which & prob was as bad for both teams.

[kennymac29]

A game that previous jags teams would have crumbled but this team is full of winners!! Paton my man of the match but plaudits to bannigan and balatoni. Ref was a total joke with some farcical decisions and inconsistency especially the pull on mcguigan before the goal. Have to disagree about smith however, slow to come out and rooted to his line at every cross and corner.

 

Still great attitude from the players after losing the equaliser. Great to be a jags fan at the moment.

[Stewarty]

I thought we were pretty awful today, but bagging the 3 points is what counts. Here are some things I think we've learned:

 

1. Aaron Muirhead struggles at right-back. He was caught out of position several times, particularly in the first half.

 

2. Archie's days of playing at this level may be over. He's been a brilliant servant but he's creaking loudly now. Given the above, I'd have played Paton at RB, brought Shuggie into midfield and stuck with the Conrad-Aaron partnership in the middle.

 

3. Forbes may have a fantastic delivery but his lack of mobility is a problem against a team who counter-attack with pace.

 

4. Welsh is a really important player for us. Without him we struggle to get ourpassing game going. Bannigan is no replacement in the middle.

 

5. Smith cannae dribble!

[Lindau]

Great game but very uncomfortable! Graham and Spence ran us ragged and thats as uncomfortable as we have been at the back this season, however great credit to the team foir digging out a result. Did anyone else hear the rumour about Dools going to Tynecastle in January. Heard it from 2 different sources. Wouldnt be a surprise as he now appears to be behind Craig in the pecking order. If it happens I wouldnt mind seeing big Graham in the red n yella!!

[chunky jag]

Thought raith were the better team if im honest, not by much, draw prob fair result, but delighted we kept going for the win.

 

Thought bannigan deserved motm, balatoni done ok although i felt he was bullied by graham a bit. The opposition had too many headers won in our box for me to praise any of our centre halfs.

 

Craig done well to hold the ball up for 1st goal, he's definitely best option for that position.

 

Thought Forbes was really off the boil, too slow and casual at times. I've enjoyed his performances a few times, and when he's poor his set pieces are usually worth his inclusion alone, but he didn't contribute much today.

Edited December 15, 2012 by chunky jag

[Jaggyman]

Great 3 points today from what was not a great performance. Good to get the win especially after going a goal down and conceding a lateish equaliser so the team deserve great credit for that. Ref was absolutely awful and the linesmen wrent much better. Tackle on lawless from behind just as he was about to shoot and mcguigans mauling and shirt pulling were stonewallers in my eyes. Archies booking was a disgrace and the one when mcguigan was called offside when clean through an absolute joke. Given that these went against us and that Raith played pretty well and caused us a few problems it was brilliant to get the 3 points and dunfermline drawing was the icing on the cake. Bring on the Morton should be a cracking game in front of a big crowd.

[Winter of '63]

The game and our performance were a real mixture of good and bad... a dramatic finish and I thought we just about deserved the win...again getting the sort of result which wins Leagues.

 

More dopey defending for their first goal similar to the Dunfermline Cup game where Muirhead got sent off...an easy goal from a simple through ball. I would have preferred Doolan to start and groaned when Smith punted a long ball to Craig on his own...but he did really well to set up Bannigan. Good strike from Lawless for the second.

 

A few scares at the back and sadly Archibald struggled...good to see Smith was confident enough to nutmeg their striker in the 6 yard box though.

 

Some inexplicable decisions from the officials - ref was definitely not a homer.

 

Some great vocal support and some baffling criticism...it was that sort of day.

[johnkebab71]

Poor performance but a great result. Craig's goal could turn out to be one of the biggest goals of the season!.

 

Thought lawless was poor and nothing came off for Erskine. Bannigan was my man of the match along with big Conrad and Paton.

 

Thistle teams of the past would have come away with nothing. First time in a while I'm not that nervous about going a goal behind, although I'd rather we didn't, always confident that we will get the goals required.

 

Ref had a shocker!

 

Great feeling to be top at this stage and hopefully now we can start to make that gap bigger.

 

Promotion!

[Duke Gekantawa]

 

Strange game, we we're outplayed for long periods BUT every time we did get forward we looked like we might score. First goal aside, I actually thought the defence played pretty well under a lot of pressure. We did seem to lose the Midfield battle though.

 

Anyway, this is precisely the sort of win which shows we are truly championship potential. More than ever, I think we will be playing SPL football next year.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Duke Gekantawa

[Dimairt]

Really pleased to see us fight back from that awful first goal and their equaliser to get a well-deserved winner - great feeling to see the ball in the net.The ref and his linesmen were the worst I've seen this season but.... nine home games, nine wins.

 

Durachdan,

 

Eddy

[digger]

Paul Paton had a slight thigh strain before the match so it was a cracking job that was done by the physio to get him fit. And if ever a player showed us a performance of sheer grit , determination and a winning mentality then this was it by Paton. Terrific display.

[jagsfan1963]

Great 3 points today and once again this team shows its fighting spirit to come back from a goal down and win. This time a year ago we would have lost that match.

On the downside, I thought Archie struggled today and was caught ball watching for the opener, although did come into the game later on and his booking was a total joke.

Also think that Brian Graham leads the line really well for Raith Rovers and it wasn't a surprise to see him score. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Jags top.

[flashman]

Funny how you can see the game so differently from the same stand. I thought Lawless was great, with better finishing he would have had at least a hat-trick. Between him and Craig for my MOTM, Erskine had one of his off days and was lucky to last as long as he did. Forbes was also poor today and his set-piece delivery was 90% shocking. I thought Muirhead was excellent in the first half and only shaded a little in the second half. At the start of the game Paton (?) and then shortly afterwards Archie for the goal, were caught very square on and both took an age to turn, hopefully lesson learned for both of them. Sinclair looks to be coming back onto a game.

 

Credit to Graeme Smith for a few decent saves, put himself on the line for his block but wouldn't have needed to if he'd read that Balatoni was never making that ball. He doesn't know the defence and they don't have confidence in him yet. Get well soon Foxy.

 

This was I game I felt we needed to win, and thanks to a gutsy display we did. A fantastic result and the type of game we would have lost last season.

 

Just read above about Paton's thigh strain, taking that into account had a great, busy game.

Edited December 15, 2012 by flashman

[The Earl of Hathaway]

Bit of a thrilla at Firhilla today. To employ the cliche, one for the neutrals and thus - great entertainment, but squeaky bum time until the mentalness that was invoked by the 87th minute winner. Playerwise, I thought Erskine was poor today and Lawless worked his socks off. How much have we missed Paul Paton? Fully committed and then some, he epitomises the spirit of this team. Never say die only begins to describe it....

Have a good Christmas, Jags and Jagettes and see you on Boxing Day for a real six pointer. No such thing as a meaningless game from now on.....

[briogadh]

Great 3 points today and once again this team shows its fighting spirit to come back from a goal down and win. This time a year ago we would have lost that match.

On the downside, I thought Archie struggled today and was caught ball watching for the opener, although did come into the game later on and his booking was a total joke.

Also think that Brian Graham leads the line really well for Raith Rovers and it wasn't a surprise to see him score. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Jags top.

Yes, I think Archie is probably past it, except as a back-up. My greatest disappointment today was Chris Erskine..I know he's a flair player, but there are days when absolutely nothing comes off,,and this was certainly one of them.

The Morton match is going to be crucial to our season.. Here's hoping that O'Donnell is back and that the defence is stengthened by the return of Muirhead to centre-back. I' sorry that Doolan has been out of scoring form, but Craig is a more than competent replacement. Any word on how the negotiations with Ross County have gone ?

[Aberdeenjag]

When our third goal went it it felt like we had won the league....just for a second or two......

 

That time will come ........

 

Great to finally have a Thistle side that never gives up....when our injury worries clear up we will be unplayable.

 

Singing was great today ...from both stands!!!

[lewcal]

fantastic three points for the jags.going a goal down i was expecting raith to defend and frustrate but fair play to them, they made a game of it.big guy up front was a real handfull.wouldnt mind seeing him turning out for us.encouraging thing for me was that while not playing particularly well we still won.still not convinced of smith in goal.find him to be very slow off his line.i'm a big fan of erskine but not for the first time recently i have found him to be in-effective.could his mind be elsewhere???

[Lenziejag]

It is amazing how things change. I thought that when Erskine got the ball he was direct and was a threat all game. If he had played like that last season, we would have been singing his praises. It just seems that his standard has been so much higher this season, that if he doesn't rip through the opposition then it is poor game. I was a bit concerned when he went off.

[Lindau]

Jackies view from the stand!

 

http://ptfc.co.uk/teams/senior/seasons/2012-2013/fixtures_results/1512_raith/match_reaction

[Willjag]

Any word on how the negotiations with Ross County have gone ?

IIRC they have said they are happy for him to leave and negotiate his own terms. So I don't think negotiating with Ross will be the problem.

[The Arch]

I see Forbes is getting a bit of grief.

 

One thing I would say is that he's probably worth about a goal a game with his set pieces, and he could be the difference between us winning promotion and not, despite him sometimes being slugglish and ponderous.

 

Would we have won Livi game if he hadn't set up Sinclair with that cross? Dunfermline 5-1 game could have been completely different without his cross for Balatoni's goal to make it 2-1. I wasn't there yesterday but sounds like he had the corner for Craig's goal.

 

Given the tight margins he is absolutely vital. Even though I think Welsh, Paton and Bannigan are all better all-round players than him, one would have to make way for Forbes because of how important his delivery.

[Jaggernaut]

Raith Rovers played some pretty good stuff, and I wouldn't have grudged them a draw if it hadn't been for the incompetent referee refusing to give us what looked like two clear penalties in the 2nd half. So how sweet was it when the 3rd went in!

 

Smith: I'm actually liking him more with each game. Another couple of good saves, and decent kicking. Not too dissimilar to Fox in style. Hope we can hold on to him.

 

Muirhead: In the first half especially he looked just like O'Donnell when he was tearing forward. Too many overhit crosses, however. Did well enough, but would rather see him in central defence.

 

Sinclair: He's just great to watch when he goes on one of those runs. The one in the 2nd half when he took it from his own half right into their penalty box was class. He should probably have knocked it across goal rather than going for a goal at the near post, but understandable, as it would have been the goal of the season.

 

Paton: Mr. Tenacity. A real motivator.

 

Balatoni: Solid enough. Not sure that he and Archie have as good an understanding as Balatoni and Muirhead.

 

Archie: He did get caught cold for their first goal, and had another couple of hairy moments, but mostly went about his business in uncompromising Archie style. His booking was ridiculous. He jumped and headed the ball clear when he was entirely alone, and then the Rovers player ran into him and fell down. Also, our more patient passing game actually suits Archie, as he is now less likely just to blooter it upfield.

 

Lawless: Lively throughout, even though his dribbling wasn't always coming off. But the wee man is a bit of a goal-scoring machine!

 

Bannigan: Deserved MotM. He might not have the flair of O'Donnell, or Sinclair, or Erskine, but he's a gem of a player. Scores some right peaches.

 

Craig: Excellent work rate throughout. Did brilliantly to win the high ball in the tussle with the gigantic defender then set it up for Bannigan. And his winning goal was Doolanesque; kept his head and went for it in a stramash.

 

Forbes: Quiet, and tended to slow moves down too much for my liking. Also the poorest set of dead ball deliveries that I've seen him make in any match.

 

Erskine: Caused a ripple of excitement every time he got the ball, but it was just one of those days where almost nothing came off for him, except one absolutely beautiful fast pass right across the pitch in the 2nd half. He'll rip plenty of teams to shreds in the coming weeks.

 

McGuigan: Caused their defence a lot of problems when he came on. Looks as keen as mustard, and uses his size well.

 

The Fans: Great throughout!

 

The officials: Officious and awful.