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Albion Rovers 1 - 3 Partick Thistle |  |
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Albion Rovers 1 - 3 Partick Thistle | |
| Tennent's Scottish Cup 1st Round Replay 22nd November 2005 |
Scorers ~ Albion Rovers : Chisholm (73). Partick Thistle : Roberts (43, 84 pen.), Smyth (78).
For the second time in a few days the two teams met in the Scottish cup, the previous match having bust a few coupons when Rovers drew at Firhill to force this replay. Home captain Scott Friel sat out the game after picking up 2 yellow cards in the first match but Gordon Lennon started despite taking a knock in Maryhill.
Stephen McConalogue who had been quoted in a Glasgow newspaper saying Cliftonhill wasn't a nice place to visit ended up on the ground requiring an application of the "magic sponge" within 10 seconds of the kick-off. Undeterred he picked himself up and had the first noteworthy shot a few minutes later when his high shot was plucked from the air by Rovers 'keeper Jamie Ewings.
Rangers on-loan striker Jukka Santala had a golden opportunity shortly afterwards when Ewings was retreating to his empty goal but the ball was given just too much elevation.
11 minutes into the match a good move orchestrated by Messrs. Wallace and Lennox led to a free-kick which deflected to Lennox whose shot was blocked inside the box.
Thistle were on the attack once more when Brady dragged the ball back from behind him to put in a predictably ineffective shot which Ewings picked up.
McConalogue came close again with a header from a Gillies free-kick from the far touchline. A Rovers 30 yard free-kick was blocked, there then followed the first of many Jags penalty claims and a couple of poor Santala efforts, firstly from distance then closer in.
Stephen Reid's shot was easily mopped up before Finn Santala had a low ball go straight to Ewings. More Santala misses preceded Gordon Lennon dispossessing a Jags attacker.
Another unsuccessful penalty claim ensued when Santala went down in Rovers box with McGhee being the alleged culprit. Gordon Lennon was in the thick of it once more when he saved the day with 2 important tackles which eventually resulted in an unproductive corner.
With a couple of minutes of the first remaining Partick grabbed the lead when Santala laid off the ball to Mark Roberts who put in a well placed shot.
Half-Time
The second half started with Santala doing what he seemed to do best against Rovers - namely get into a great position only to contrive to miss. Scott Chaplain had his shot saved before Ewings had to ground himself to stop Santala in his tracks.
Gibson and Brady shots failed before McConalogue put in a shot which Ewings did well to save following a Santala cross.
Jimmy Gibson found himself with the ball and Rovers stopper Ewing in no-man's-land but put the ball a yard over the crossbar. Santala missed again when a long ball cross the park found him 3 yards from goal with Ewings scrambling to get back - the header was straight into the 'keepers arms.
Gordon Lennon was in the right place at the right time when a Roberts shot seemed certain to be goal number 2 for the 2nd division side. The star of the Rovers performance on the night cleared off his goal line.
In 71 minutes Iain Chisholm replaced Tommy Lennox and within 2 minutes he pulled Rovers level. A couple of defence splitting passes gave the defender turned striker a relatively easy tap-in to give home and away fans a sense of déjà vu from the 1st match.
A Brady shot rattled off the base of Rovers goalpost from 25 yards only to cause a penalty claim seconds later when a Partick player went down. Before home fans could get too used to being on level terms the Jags went ahead once more when Gillies set up Smyth who scored with a quality strike from the edge of the box.
With 6 minutes remaining any lingering hopes for an equaliser were extinguished when yet another penalty claim was this time granted by Mr. Boyle. Strachan being the player adjudged as victim, up stepped Roberts who placed the ball neatly at shoulder height close to Ewings right-hand post.
Brady, Jimmy Gibson and Santala of Partick joined Chaplain and Donachy in the referees book during the game.
Summary
Another tough match in which Rovers spirit shone through even though they were up against a team doing well in the 2nd division. The element of surprise which may have helped in the 1st match was gone but nevertheless the visitors weren't given an easy ride.
Albion Rovers : Ewings, Black, McGhee (Wilson 84), Lennon, Donnelly, Bonnar, Lennox (Chisholm 71), Chaplain, Wallace (Young 84), Reid, Donachy. Subs Not Used : Noble, Creer.
Partick Thistle : Stewart, Murray, Craig, Billy Gibson, Smyth, Brady (Snowdon 84), Jimmy Gibson, Gillies, McConalogue (Andy Gibson 79), Roberts, Santala (Strachan 69). Subs Not Used : Arthur, McGoldrick.
Referee : Chris Boyle
Man of the Match - Gordon Lennon
