On many occasions, I’ve said that the Thistle team of the last four or five years has played some of the best football I’ve seen in forty years as a supporter. That they are predominantly a very young team still provides me with great hope. Perhaps the only team which comes close in terms of great football was during one of my first full seasons as a fan, the 77-78 season. The sight of the great Dougie Somner brought it all back yesterday. I recall a winning goal against Aberdeen in front of 11,000 fans when were on a nine game unbeaten run, beating Celtic, drawing at Ibrox: second in the league. Who could blame those men of a certain age, looking on wistfully as the great Somner took to the pitch yesterday, Oh, how we could do with someone like that again.
We had many opportunities to win yesterday but that would have been unfair on an impressive Hamilton team. Ryan Scully, again, made a string of good saves, at least two of them outstanding. There may come a time when we have to acknowledge his ability instead of focusing on his flaws. Too many of us are waiting for him to make a mistake, expecting it even. That can’t be good for his confidence. The reality is that we were holding on by the end, despite Christie’s late chance. There are simply too many of our players off form to expect much more.
It seems to me that three of our four defenders are either off form or struggling to fit in. Our full backs haven’t been providing the attacking threat our system needs; Booth’s couple of good runs failed to disguise what has been a poor season so far; Ziggy Gordon simply hasn’t found his place yet. Too much breaks down around him. Stevie Lawless, again, had a disappointing game, although when he went off we lost the midfield and, ultimately, the equaliser. Osman isn’t yet the player he was last season although his cross for Lindsay’s goal was outstanding. In fact, there are players throughout the team performing below their best.
What worried more than anything else yesterday was a feeling of inevitability when Hamilton scored their second and an assumption that they would score again. There looked to be fear in the defence and a lack of any tactical strength when we were under pressure. When chances to break came we rarely capitalised on them because of a lack of pace up front. Amor can run at players but is not causing enough panic. Azeez, while he had an excellent shot out of almost nothing, still needs to convince. Something is failing to click.
Despite that, it’s not a time for panic: we’ve been here before. This time last season we had nine points from eleven games and were second bottom. Soon after, the team began to play and we never really looked like struggling for the rest of the season. This season might be different unless players find form, come back from injury and start taking chances. My fall back was always that, despite everything, we’d be better than Hamilton and Killie this season. I still think we are. However, on the strength of another disappointing Saturday afternoon, we’re not there yet
'Hurry up and take yer time!' 