1993 AGE GROUP
Under 19s League match
Gleniffer Thistle 6 Faifley 1
As the score line suggests Gleniffer 19's were well in control of this their opening match of the season played at Abbotsinch on Wednesday night.
The first 15 minutes were completely dominated by the home side with keeper Yates having little to do other than collect over hit long balls at the edge of his area. From one such collection his early release to full back Pettigrew was instrumental in Thistle's first goal. With half of the Faifley team caught up field Pettigrew raced away and found McFadden with a fine pass. McFadden stepped inside his marker and coolly rolled the ball across the keeper in to the net at the far post to open his, and the teams, account for the season after 16 minutes.
Five minutes later Thistle doubled their advantage with a goal down to the persistence of MacKenzie who twice gathered possession of a ball that could have been cleared. Having won the ball he delivered to Jordan Devine who blasted home from only a yard.
Despite continued pressure Gleniffer were unable to add to their tally, thanks mainly to some fine goalkeeping by the visiting keeper, and the home side had to settle for a two goal lead at the break. Thistle were caught cold right at the start of the second half when some poor marking allowed Faifley to pull a goal back although the striker did finish with a good header.
Stung by the concession Gleniffer put the match out of sight with four goals inside the following fifteen minutes. Straight from the kick off after the Faifley goal Darren Boyle burst through two tackles and set up MacKenzie to score Gleniffer's third and within minutes Boyle got himself on the score sheet for number four with a clever flick over the keeper, having been picked out by an excellent Pettigrew pass.
Number five followed almost immediately and again involved a great pass; this delivered by trialist Christopher Brough and collected by striker Devine on the edge of the area. Devine's strength allowed him to turn and hold off his marker before firing home his second of the match.
Devine completed his hat trick and the scoring 20 minutes into the half, racing onto a long ball in behind the Faifley defence. Gleniffer's entire back four claimed credit for the delivery so it probably wasn't any of them. "Sid" didn't care who it was and crashed it home anyway
Gleniffer did have a chance to add a seventh from the penalty spot after Scott Crawford took a sore one as he burst into the area late on but Darren Boyle's well struck spot kick was brilliantly turned over by the impressive Faifley keeper.
A very encouraging start, from Thistle, with all four strikers scoring. On this form Devine's first hat trick won't also be his last. Keeper Yates, although not overworked with attempts on target, showed his concentration and awareness of the game situation with some superb distribution and Pettigrew and Crawford in particular already look match sharp.
Under 19s League
Gleniffer Thistle 6 Dunterlie 1
The 6-1 score line would suggest a fairly comfortable afternoon for Gleniffer but doesn't come close to reflecting Thistle's domination of this match. In the opening 25 minutes that Gleniffer took to open the scoring they laid siege to the visitors goal but couldn't get the ball into the net.
In that period they produced a master class in approach play, but unfortunately not in finishing, until McFadden eventually put them ahead with a cracker, struck from the angle of the box across the keeper and into the net at the far post in text book style.
The goal should perhaps have opened the floodgates but no such thing happened. Play continued to be very much one way with Pettigrew and Herrington in particular at their entertaining best, but they still couldn't get the ball in the net. A brilliant double block on the goal line by first the keeper followed by a central defender prevented Devine doubling the home side's advantage. Dunterlie were under such pressure that they were continuously forced to clear long and the Thistle back line mopped up with ease to set up the next attack.
It looked like it might be one of those days where a side completely dominates a match and is left regretting missed opportunities. The regret kicked in a minute before half time when yet another long ball was thumped goal ward from the halfway line, without a single Dunterlie player anywhere near the Gleniffer box. The unexpectedness of the attempt, if attempt it was, caught keeper Yates unawares and it sailed over his head into the net to send the teams off at the break all square at one a piece. Perhaps the shock of the 45th minute equaliser gave Thistle the urgency they required for they not only regained the lead two minutes into the second half, another McFadden rocket from 20 yards, but grabbed another a minute later with a powerful Devine header from a Bryson corner.
Pettigrew continued to race down the left until his markers frustration finally boiled over and he was correctly yellow carded for a tackle on the Thistle man from behind. Danny Johnstone had to leave the field with a head knock necessitating some rearrangement in shape for Gleniffer which saw McGrath move to centre half, Pettigrew to left back and McStay filling the Pettigrew berth. If Pettigrew's marker was glad to see the back of him his joy didn't last long as McStay turned him inside out on numerous occasions and set up McFadden's hat trick after a great run and cut back which McFadden smashed into the roof of the net from 18 yards.
By this point the visitors had grown weary of the task and Gleniffer were able to finish the game at half pace but still managed to grab another couple before the end. Number 5 came from a McGrath free kick cleverly chipped over the wall and perfectly controlled on the chest of Devine to drop at the feet of McStay who curled it round the keeper from the penalty spot and for number 6 the head of Scott Crawford put the finishing touch to another well delivered Bryson corner.
Gleniffer's early season form continues and when they put their minds to it they can't stop scoring.
Last week's tally of a Devine hat trick with McFadden adding another was exactly reversed this week along with a couple from attacking midfielders. Excellent stuff throughout the side but for skill and entertainment value Pettigrew, Herrington and McStay take the medals
Under 19s Scottish Cup
Under 19 League
Ardeer Thisle 1 Gleniffer Thistle 3
Two Gleniffers turned up at Ardeer Rec. on Saturday to take on the as yet undefeated and top of the league Ardeer Thistle. Gleniffer No.1 played the opening 30 minutes in total control and Gleniffer No.2 played the remaining 60 which was a much more even contest. The match however was decided in the first 30 completely dominated by Gleniffer and took place almost exclusively in the home sides' half.
Straight from kick off the visitors took charge and despite the underfoot conditions; swampy describes it best; Gleniffers passing was crisp, high paced and accurate and first touch control was the order of the day.
Gleniffer mounted attack after attack with Crawford and Herrington the principle string pullers in the midfield and with the power and pace of McFadden and Devine up front the Ardeer back line won’t have worked harder this season. Added to the Gleniffer threat was a fully fit MacKenzie deployed in the midfield. His bursts forward from that position left home side players trailing in his wake as well as countering any offensive ambitions the Ardeer midfield might have entertained, leaving their strikers pretty much isolated up field.
It looked like a matter of when rather than if Gleniffer would open the scoring and the when arrived in the 16th minute. A long McGrath throw into the box was superbly cushioned by Crawford's left foot, a smart turn, and lashed home on the volley by his right. Crawford's third strike of the season and everyone a peach.
Gleniffer doubled their lead 20 minutes in. A brilliant pass and move attack saw a final ball delivered to McFadden on the left side of the box and the Gleniffer attacker wasted no time in smacking it back across the keeper for the visitors second and taking his personal tally to five in four matches.
Gleniffer maintained their dominance and stretched their lead to three in 28 minutes. An out swinging Bryson corner to the edge of the area was met on the volley by MacKenzie and the keeper wouldn't even have seen it as it flashed into the net.
It shouldn't be thought that Ardeer are in any way a weak side. On the contrary they had accomplished players in all positions, tactically aware, skilful on the ball and certainly know how the game should be played. They just had the misfortune to come up against Gleniffers' A game and their's not many would have coped with it.
At about this time Gleniffer No.1 stopped playing and Gleniffer No.2 took over. Perhaps complacency, perhaps something else but they dropped the pace, the edge disappeared from their passing and moving and they slipped from A game to B game in a matter of minutes As a result the Paisley side found themselves under pressure and Yates in goal made his first, and perhaps only, significant save of the match; a brave dive at the feet of an Ardeer striker and taking a sore one for his trouble. With no further scoring the half ended with Gleniffer three up.
The home side pulled a goal back two minutes into the second period with a cracking header from a well delivered corner. Gleniffer might need to examine their marking at set pieces as the scorer appeared completely unattended.
The goal encouraged the home side and they stayed in the match to the end thinking that the points might still be rescued. Gleniffer dug in however and although under much greater pressure than in the first half they protected their goal well and Yates had little serious keeping to do.
The visitors did fashion a chance or two to kill off the game before the end; White clipped the crossbar with a fierce drive, a Bryson effort was brilliantly tipped over by the Ardeer keeper and five minutes from time the keeper again excelled to turn a MacKenzie effort round the post with his feet.
With no further scoring Gleniffer ran out deserving winners and collected a hard earned three points.
A brilliant 30 minutes from Gleniffer followed by a fairly good 60 in difficult playing conditions but not without cost in terms of injury. McGrath pulling a hamstring, White suffering a recurrence of a knee problem and McFadden with a thigh strain all failing to finish the match and almost certainly unavailable for next week if not longer.
Under 19s League
St. Mirren 0 Gleniffer Thistle 3
Last week's excellent performance against Ardeer proved to be something of a false dawn for Gleniffer 19s as their standard of play against St Mirren at K.G.V. on Saturday was well below that of last week.
They played well enough but nobody played great and it could be argued that the home side produced the better quality football in the first half even if the better chances fell to Gleniffer. St. Mirren's pass and move game in the midfield carried them forward on numerous occasions but their progress faltered, more often than not, when they came up against the wall that is the Gleniffer back four; a back four which, incidently, contained striker and leading scorer Conor McFadden at right back as Thistle suffer something of an injury crisis and the Gleniffer front man put in a more than competent shift as Gleniffer back man.
St. Mirren's probing brought keeper Yates into action with a couple of quality saves though generally he had a trouble free afternoon. Not to be outdone the keeper at the other end produced a couple of saves in the brilliant category; one in particular from a Jordan Devine effort almost unbelievable. Thistle finally made the breakthrough from a set piece on the right in the 40th minute. Gleniffer captain Jamie Henderson curled the free kick to the back post where Jordan Devine got up highest to knock the ball back across goal for MacKenzie to tap home from a yard.
Having gone ahead just before half time Gleniffer needed only ten minutes of the second period to double their lead, again from a set piece and again MacKenzie, but twenty times the distance of his first half strike. Bryson made the dummy run over the ball, shaping a curler to the keeper's left but it was MacKenzie who curled it the other way and although the keeper managed to get fingertips on it he couldn't keep it out of the net. At two behind St. Mirren certainly didn't throw in the towel, if anything they pressed even harder to get back into the match, and it took Gleniffer until the 80th minute to finally put the game beyond doubt with their third set piece goal of the match.
Yates delivery from deep in his own half was allowed to bounce at the edge of the area and Jamie Henderson raced in behind to slam the ball across the keeper and into the net. Yates was adamant that this was a prepared move but then again it may just have been a big sclaff up the park. A decent performance from Gleniffer, if not a great one, and the three points maintains Thistle's perfect start to the season- played four ,won four.
LARGS COLTS 1 GLENIFFER THISTLE 8
Under 19 League
Gleniffer Thistle 2 Largs Colt 0
The Largs side which lined up against Gleniffer on Saturday bore no resemblance whatsoever to the side Thistle faced four weeks ago at the same venue. Gleniffer controlled that match from start to finish, found the net eight times and could have had a good few more. Not so on this occasion as the Paisley side required 35 minutes of end to end football to take the lead compared to the two minutes it took in the previous meeting. Gleniffer might have taken the lead much earlier following an excellent passing move which fashioned a good chance for Thistle striker Devine, only denied by a brilliant save from the Largs keeper and two desperate blocks by defenders inside the six yard box as the loose ball twice fell to eager Gleniffer attackers. At the other end Gleniffer again had stand in keeper Boyle in goal and although the big man was never under intense pressure, being well protected by an excellent back four, he did what he had to do and collected his second clean sheet of the season. Not bad for a centre forward. Thistle's opening goal when it came started with the back four. Having broken up a Largs attack sweeper Henderson burst forward into midfield to link up with Man of the Match Bryson. An exchange of passes saw the ball switched wide to Herrington and he in turn found Henderson, who had continued his forward run, on the left hand side of the Largs box. Nobody knows for sure what he was doing so far up field but Thistle striker Devine didn't care as he rose highest to bullet Henderson's driven cross past the home side keeper ten minutes before the break. With the game far from settled neither side took the foot off the pedal in the second half as Gleniffer pressed to extend their lead and Largs searched for an equalizer. Tackling became a bit over the top and with occasional outbreaks of handbags both sides collected yellow cards which inevitably turned to red and both sides lost a player before the end.
Indeed Thistle finished the match with only nine as a full back finally found a strategy for dealing with the practically unstoppable Gary Pettigrew-- kick him off the park. By the time this unfolded however Gleniffer had more or less decided the match with a glorious second from Kris Bryson. Gleniffer's Man of the Match, and architect of more than half of Thistle's 37 goals this season, must have got fed up making them for others and decided to get one for himself. Bryson's 30 yard free kick was perfectly curled over the wall at into the net at the junction of bar and post with the Largs keeper a spectator. A hard shift for Gleniffer who had to work hard for the points. Fine performances from Crawford in the midfield, Pettigrew on the left and Jordan Devine continues his goal every game average. Pick of the bunch goes to Bryson, not only for his peach of a goal but his work all over the park.
If Largs can continue the progress they have made in only 4 short weeks they won't be losing many more this season.
Under 19 League Cup
Everton 1 Gleniffer Thistle 6
A blistering 37 minutes ensured that Gleniffer 19's collected the points in the opening game of their League Cup section at Seedhill on Saturday, recording a 6-1 win for the third time this season. Opponents Everton were blown away as Thistle struck 5 times in that period and there could have been little complaint had it been many more. Gleniffer took the lead in only four minutes. With Pettigrew absent throw-ins’ level with the opposition area fell to central defender Johnstone and when he delivered into the six yard box Matt McStay stepped off his marker to head home at the front post.
Thistle maintained their early pressure and despite the best efforts of the Everton back four, at times back eight, the visitors doubled their lead in 13 minutes. A long clearance from keeper Boyle seemed an easy collect for the Everton keeper but when he failed to gather McStay nicked the ball away to notch his own and Gleniffer's second with a tap in. Thistle were three ahead inside the 20 minute mark with a goal made in the midfield. Gathering possession in their own half a high paced exchange of passes between the outstanding Crawford and Bryson carried the ball forward allowing Crawford to find striker Devine with a precision pass on the right side of the area. Clever movement by his partner MacKenzie dragged the central defender wide and Devine stepped inside to hammer the ball across the keeper and into the net at the bottom left corner. The third hat trick from a Gleniffer player this season took the margin to four in the 29th minute and again came courtesy of a Danny Johnstone throw in collected inside the box by McStay. McStay's excellent first touch made the space to turn and he lashed the ball home to complete a 25 minute hat trick. With the Thistle back four under little pressure full backs McFadden and Bramma raided forward almost at will and frequently accompanied by Henderson who was somewhat redundant in his usual sweeper role. In the 37th minute McFadden burst out of defence to start the move which led to the visitors' fifth of the half. As the Gleniffer full back turned infield team mate Herrington moved wide right to receive McFadden's pass. An outrageous back heel nutmeg from Herrington set MacKenzie free in behind the Everton back line and his ball inside found top scorer Devine just inside the area. Despite being closely marked Devine was able to turn and hammer number five into the net with a curling shot struck with the outside of his right foot. At five ahead, and with the match decided, Gleniffer seemed to lose shape and concentration and Everton weren't slow in showing them the error of their ways when they deservedly got themselves on the score sheet just before the break. With the entire back four posted missing Everton enjoyed an easy finish to end the half trailing by 5 goals to 1 but considering that MacKenzie saw two cracking drives come back off the woodwork, a Devine header cleared from the goal line and another ruled out for the narrowest of off sides, things might have been a whole lot worse.
Gleniffer's complacency may yet come back to haunt them before the end of the season as they have conceded unnecessary goals on more than one occasion when they have been in total control of matches. Devine completed the scoring 11 minutes into the second half with another pin point finish from the edge of the area following fine build up play between Purdon and Pettigrew who had come on as second half substitutes. Also on the field was goalkeeper Yates who, unable to fulfil keeper’s duties because of his hand injury, proved more than capable in an outfielders jersey. Devine's goal gave him his second hat trick of the season, the second of this match and Thistle's fourth of the season. The Gleniffer striker's personal tally now stands at 12 in 9 matches. Despite having 30 minutes left the match petered out after Devine's goal and finished at 6-1 to Gleniffer with little of note being produced by either side in that time. An outstanding first half performance from Thistle, though poorer in the second, with hat trick heroes McStay and Devine taking the plaudits. Stand in keeper Boyle has been something of a revelation in goal since taking over from usual keeper Yates and barring the indiscipline which creeps into the side when they have a commanding lead things look good for the remainder of the season.
West Region CupGleniffer Thistle 1 Barrhead Yellow 0
The rust of seven inactive weeks for Gleniffer was clearly evident in this West Region Cup tie against Barrhead, who played the better football throughout and must be kicking themselves for the ten second lapse in concentration in the second half which condemned them to the wrong end of the narrowest possible score line.Thistle's game relies heavily on accurate passing, pace and decision making but these factors were mainly noticeable by their absence in this match. Gleniffer must have kicked away possession more times in this one game than they've done in the rest of the season combined. Their place in the third round of the competition is due in no small part to their keeper who kept Barrhead off the score sheet on at least four occasions with excellent saves.Occasionally Gleniffer did manage to raise their game above the ordinary but none of the opportunities created could be converted and the 0-0 score line at half time was a better outcome for the home side than for the visitors.What a difference a half time makes. Whatever was said to the Gleniffer players at half time seemed to work some magic and the opening ten minutes of the second period saw a much more offensive Thistle. They managed to get in behind the Barrhead back line for the first time in the match, delivering good quality crosses and forcing a series of corners.The only goal of the game arrived in 55 minutes and was the result of two crosses. The first was delivered from the Thistle right and knocked clear to the left flank. From there it was immediately returned to the back post where MacKenzie had peeled off his marker and found the back of the net with a side foot volley.Gleniffer failed to kick on having taken the lead and the final third of the match was played out in much the same style as the first half with the visitors looking dangerous to the end but unable to get back on level terms. Not many Gleniffer players get pass marks for this performance, Crawley, Boyle and goalkeeper Morrow being the exceptions, and ten or fifteen minutes out of ninety isn't really good enough at Gleniffer.It's' often said that to win the prizes you have to win when playing poorly but it's much better to win because you're the better team and on Saturday Gleniffer definitely weren't.Lets hope the rust is gone before next week and normal service is resumed.
Gleniffer Thistle 5 Everton 0In the first 44 minutes of this league game, played at Ferguslie on Saturday, nothing happened. There was no passing, no crosses, no shots on goal, no constructive play from either side and the likelihood of a 0-0 score line at the interval was as close to certain as you could get. This lack of anything resembling football can in large part be put down to the howling gale blowing in all directions at the same time and the horizontal rain in the players faces regardless of which direction they happened to be facing. If you had a bet on the 0-0 you would have lost.Out of nowhere Gleniffer grabbed two goals in the 45th minute to go off at the break two in front and both came from driven crosses which actually made it into the area. The first, a MacKenzie corner, found Danny Johnstone the most alert and he swept the ball home at the front post. 30 seconds later Matt McStay did exactly the same thing and in a half which contained no football Gleniffer had two goals.The weather improved considerably in the second period, there may even have been a blink of sunshine, and suddenly a football match was taking place as both sides proved they could play a bit when they weren't being blown about like a washing line.The wind hadn't entirely left the building and it was instrumental in putting Gleniffer three up. A looping cross from David Morrow, one of Thistle's better performers on the day, was caught in an unexpected gust causing an Everton defender to misdirect his clearing header and it flew into the net with his keeper helpless. An hour played with absolutely nothing between the teams and Gleniffer had a three goal lead.Thistle's three goals hardly belong in the "just reward for brilliant play" category but the next two might just deserve a place there.Strike number four came from a dazzling Morrow dribble which took him from deep in his own half to the edge of the opposition box. A quick pass and return set him free in the area and as the keeper went down the Gleniffer player was composed enough to lift the ball over him for his first goal of the season.They say the best is often kept for last and it's certainly true of this match. Despite playing up front on his own for most of the second half, after Gleniffer were reduced to ten, striker Darren Boyle put in a great shift and was basically the home side's only out ball. With only minutes remaining Boyle gathered a long clearance wide on the right. The Thistle player was strong enough to hold the ball up but with reinforcements slow to arrive he let fly with his left foot and his shot rocketed home an inch below the bar at its' junction with the far post.Thistle were best served by Morrow and Boyle with Crawley and McStay making decent contributions and deserved the victory: but by a margin of five: never.