Partick Thistle 2-3 Saints U20's (13.9.16)
U20s

Partick Thistle 2-3 Saints U20's (13.9.16)

14th September 2016

Joe Gormley bags a brace in a 3-2 win over Partick Thistle in the Development League.

New signing Joe Gormley shone for the Saints U20's as they picked up their first win of the season on Tuesday night at Firhill.

The Northern Irishman bagged a brace alongside a goal from George Hunter to seal a 3-2 win in Glasgow, Saints' second win away to the Jags in the space of four days.

MATCH REPORT

The young Saints made the trip to Firhill, Glasgow, looking to get their first win of the development league this season following defeats against Dunfermline and Ross County and a 1-1 draw away to Celtic so far.

Partick Thistle got the game under way, and it was the home side who pressed for an early goal in the opening minutes but their chances on goal were unable to trouble Saints goalkeeper Ben MacKenzie.

But it was Saints who opened the scoring. Captain Aaron Comrie went down the right-hand side and crossed a promising ball into the box which the Thistle keeper, Cullen, looked to have covered but he spilled the cross right in front of forward George Hunter, who made it 1-0 to Saints.

Then on 16 minutes, Saints made it two. Partick had been caught offside while chasing an equaliser but St. Johnstone made their way up to the park in a fluid attacking move which ended with new first team signing Joe Gormley heading home a Paul Simpson cross to double the lead.

Straight after that Saints almost made it 3-0 when Paul Simpson had a one-on-one with the home goalie. Simpson managed to beat the keeper with his shot but unfortunately not the post.

As the second half came to a close, Saints kept possession of the ball very well but were unable to fashion any more clear cut chances to add to their lead.

It was a good start for the away side, who easily could have gone in at the interval four or five goals up. The Jags had a lot of the ball but had no final product up front, with communication between defenders letting Saints in on numerous occasions.

Partick started the second half far brighter and quicker, with a few attempts on goal early on leading to a goal through Declan McDaid, who rounded MacKenzie before rolling the ball into the empty net.

That goal seemed to fire up the home side with a boost of confidence, however their enthusiasm was short-lived as Gormley scored his second of the match only ten minutes later to make it 3-1.

Saints seemed to take their foot off the pedal after that, which let Partick pile on a bit of pressure as they tried to get back into the match. The Jags won three free kicks in dangerous areas but were unable to test MacKenzie from them.

In the final minute of normal time they did manage to get on the score sheet again, this time through James Stokes who got his head onto a cross to the backpost to narrow the deficit to one.

Chris Elliot and David Wilson saw their efforts go wide in stoppage time for Partick, but Saints held on to secure their first win of the campaign and a second win for St. Johnstone at Firhill in the space of four days.

Next up for the development side is a home match with Hearts on Monday the 19th of September as they look for back-to-back wins in league.

Match report by Matthew McLellan

Partick Thistle – Cullen, Elliot, Penrice, Mclnally, McMullin, Barton (Docherty 45), Lamont (Stokes 75) D. Wilson, McDaid, McCarthy (C. Wilson 82), McLaughlin. St Johnstone – MacKenzie, Comrie, Thomson, McCawl, Kerr, Gilchrist (Page 64), McLaren (Docherty 74), Jardine (McCann 63), Hunter, Gormley, Simpson.

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