Stirling Albion 0 Partick Thistle 1

Last updated : 07 January 2006 By Footymad Previewer
Thistle gained revenge for a Boxing Day beating by the Binos to deservedly book their place in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

In doing so, they ended Albion's run of 10 games without defeat – ironically a sequence that began after a defeat by Partick in the league back in October.

Dick Campbell's men started this match as if they were on a mission and were rewarded with a goal inside 12 minutes. Myles Hogarth pushed a Paul Ritchie shot round the post for a corner and, when the ball came over, David Craig nodded it down to Ritchie, who pounced from close range – his first goal for the Jags since his recent move from Brechin.

Willie Gibson came close to a second goal, but his effort was repelled by Hogarth before Stirling started to show the sort of football that has brought them so many wins of late.

They thought they had equalised after 19 minutes when Paddy Connolly swept home a Steven Bell cross, but the ex-Ayr man was denied his 13th goal of the season by a narrow offside decision.

Kenny Arthur also thwarted Connolly with a fine save, but generally Stirling struggled to find openings against a Thistle defence which has tightened up considerably in recent games.

Referee Craig Mackay brandished a total of nine yellow cards – eight of them after the interval – and the match struggled to find any fluency, although Ritchie could have settled the tie on the hour mark had he not headed a Will Snowdon cross too high.

Mark Roberts missed two good chances for the Jags while Stirling's Andy Graham had a header cleared off the line with 19 minutes left. The Binos threw keeper Hogarth forward for a couple of injury-time corners, but it was all to no avail.