ALAN Archibald, the Partick Thistle manager, hopes to bring in a further three or four new signings after his injury-depleted squad lost their opening Betfred Cup group stage match to Livingston on a penalty shoot-out. Archibald could only name five youth players on the bench due to injuries to a handful of first-team regulars and felt he had nobody in reserve who could “change the game” after Keaghan Jacobs had cancelled out Chris Erskine’s first-half opener.
Neil Alexander, recently returned to Livingston after a 16-year absence, was the hero of the subsequent shoot-out, the goalkeeper saving three of Thistle’s four penalties to earn his side a bonus point. Archibald hoped that reinforcements would arrive soon to give him greater options.
“This year we are short of numbers and we had nobody who could change the game for us,” said the manager whose team still get a point for drawing after 90 minutes. “We had young kids on the bench. And that showed.
“Mustupha Dumbuya and Gary Fraser are both out long-term and we’ve got three other first-team guys injured who we hope to get back as soon as possible.
“We’re trying all the time to bring new players in. It just takes time. That’s the downside of this competition, it comes really early on. So we’ve still got work to do. Ideally I’d like to bring in three or four more.”
In their first competitive outing of the new season, Thistle were the better side in the first half but found themselves increasingly on the back foot in the second period as Livingston came back into it.
“We started brightly and the first 20 minutes was probably our best spell in the game,” admitted Archibald. “To be fair to Livingston they came back into the game and scored at a good time for them and a terrible time for us. They definitely shaded the second half.”
One positive for Thistle was the return of Stuart Bannigan who coasted through 90 minutes in his first competitive match since sustaining a serious knee injury.
“Stuart was fantastic in his first game for 15 months,” added Archibald. “It was a great test for him as Championship teams don’t mess about. You saw the 50:50, or maybe 40:60, tackle that he rode and that game will stand him in good stead for the season.”
David Hopkin, meanwhile, praised the contribution of Alexander who, as well as making the key penalty saves, has also been a calming figure off the pitch too.
“Neil has been magnificent,” said the Livingston manager. “We had been speaking to him over a period of six or seven weeks to try and get him in. I'm delighted that he has decided to come in. He has been inspirational for us in the changing room. He's a calming influence for us, too.
“And as you saw today, his position during the game and for the penalties showed he is someone who will win us points this season. It's great to have someone in goal we can rally round.”
The low-key atmosphere was akin to a pre-season friendly but the game was mercifully livelier, with plenty of chances at both ends in the first half especially. Erskine put Thistle in front after 15 minutes, the player turning Declan Gallagher before sending his finish past Alexander.
Livingston drew level just a minute into the second half, Jacobs finishing well after making room for the shot.
The home side almost snuck the win when Jacobs’ mishit cross forced Tomas Cerny to scramble backwards to tip the ball over his crossbar. Instead it went to a penalty shoot-out where Alexander emerged as the hero.
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