So far on this tour I have seen some great games and this was truly one of them. It was Motherwell who travelled to Firhill to take on a struggling Partick Thistle side who were low on confidence going into the game. Low on confidence was not what you could have said of the Glasgow team at half-time. But things would change in a game which proved to be one of the games of the season.
The Stadium
I will always have fond memories of Firhill as it was the venue where my village team played in the Scottish Cup third round. Junior side Culter FC managed to hold Partick Thistle at the football Mecca that is Crombie Park and earned a replay at Firhill the following Saturday. Remember when Ross County got to the Scottish Cup final against Dundee United and Dingwall was empty because everyone was at the game? Well that was the case in this tie. What a day it was! Culter got humped 4-0, but it was a day out and many from the small village will never forget it.
For the game against Motherwell I was sat in the modern looking Jackie Husband Stand. It is a single tiered covered stand which runs the full length of the pitch. From the outside it is just a normal stand but within the body of it there is a brilliant shop which I could have spent hours at. Two men were selling old programmes. When I say old programmes I don’t just mean ones from last season I mean ones going way back. It wasn’t just Partick Thistle programmes either, there were Aberdeen ones, Hearts ones, Rangers ones, anything you wanted they had. I asked the two guys if they had any old Aberdeen ones. Within seconds I was greeted by a large box full of nostalgia. I could have taken the whole box but instead went for one from 1979 during the Alex Ferguson era. Instead of me rambling on about some of the names in the Dons team I will let you feast your eyes on it.
So, opposite the Jackie Husband Stand is the Main Stand where the away fans are housed. Having sat there many times with the Dons I can honestly say it is a terrible place to watch football from. The seats are raised above pitch level so it isn’t too bad but the pillar problem exists. To the right of me was the North Stand where the singing section of the Partick fans were. There weren’t many of them but they made a fair noise so credit to them, especially on another baltic night in Glasgow. Like the Jackie Husband it is single tiered and covered. Opposite the North Stand is nothing, literally nothing. Just a grass bank.
The Match
On a freezing cold night you want entertainment and that’s exactly what I got. Five goals and a raging Keith Lasley, what more could you want? The first goal came as early as the 13th minute through a magnificent free-kick by Blair Spittal. He managed to out fox the keeper with a free-kick on the 18 yard box and put it in the top right hand corner. If Messi or Ronaldo scored a free-kick like that we would all be salivating for days on end about it. The second was also a thing of beauty, but in other ways. It was a great counter-attack by Thistle. They were ripping the League Cup runner-ups apart. Former Dons striker Miles Storey broke down the right wing and played a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Ryan Edwards who lifted it over the oncoming keeper. Thistle were in dreamland. I don’t think the fans had seen them play that way all season. Just 6 minutes later on the half hour mark they were 3-0 up. It came through Conor Sammon who finished his chance really well. The goal was created by Miles Storey who was having an absolute stormer. Hassling and not giving defenders any time on the ball whatsoever. On that performance I can see why Derek McInnes signed him for the Dons. It stayed 3-0 till half-time and everyone needed a breather.
Steven Robinson (Motherwell manager) made two subs at half-time and they made an instant impact. The Well players must have got a rollicking at the interval as they came out the same way Partick had done so in the first-half. The home side, on the other hand, were flat and allowed Motherwell to get back into the game. They got one back on 56 minutes from the head of Ryan Bowman after a Craig Tanner corner. The home fans were getting restless as Partick kept giving the ball away. In the first-half you wouldn’t have though they were bottom of the league but in the second they were lacking confidence and kept giving the ball away. It was 3-2 on the 79th minute after Craig Tanner slotted a right footed shot inside the box into the corner of the net. If the Partick fans were not nervous before the second Motherwell goal then they were definitely now. Wave after wave of attack was coming their way but they held out and secured a vital three points. What a rollercoaster it was. Brilliant entertainment and also a great advert for the game.
The Mug
I think Patrick wanted something artistic but this mug really isn’t the best looking. The designer has made himself look like a right mug here. I shall not apologise for the pun.
The End…kinda
I was very impressed with Partick in the first half, yes they were gifted a couple of goals but they deserved them. Their awful start to the season has not gone unnoticed and many are saying they will go down. I don’t agree. Alan Archibald has enough fire power in his team to see them out of trouble. Motherwell are going to have to adapt without Louis Moult. No Moult, no party. They may struggle to get into the top 6 now especially as Tommy Wright has got St Johnstone playing now. I could be wrong, they could find another gem and propel themselves into the “lucaradive” top 6.
Fact: The record attendance at Firhill was during the British Home Championships when Scotland played Ireland. Over 54,000 turned up.
Price: £22
Attendance: 2,452
The Forty Two 
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