Thistle have been strangers to Fir Park in recent years. There was a League Cup tie in 2006 and the last league match took place at the end of February 2004. There are a few survivors of that 3-0 victory from the starting eleven who will be on the pitch on Saturday (Marshall, Craigan, Quinn, Hammell, Corrigan, Fagan, Lasley, Adams, Burns, Clarkson, McDonald). Hammell scored a rare goal in that game.
The visitors have stormed into the new Premiership with a win and a couple of draws. Their determination to play the game on the ground has won justifiable praise and the confident passing game that won them the First Division title last season is paying dividends.
Faddy scored a couple against Thistle in 2003
To their credit the players that were so successful have been given the chance to strut their stuff in the top division. Among them are Steven Lawless and Ross Forbes, ex-Motherwell men who will be keen to show us that we missed a trick by letting them go. Kallum Higginbotham is a new recruit to their ranks and we're familiar with his ability to score in style.
Motherwell have yet to open their account on home ground and there will be some disappointment in the squad that our three games have resulted in the loss of six goals with only two on the credit side. Those two were scored by Henri Anier and we can expect him return to the starting line up this week.
Manager McCall promised much work on the training field as he made clear after the Inverness defeat that our poor defending was unacceptable. We can expect that the same back four will be given a chance to make amends.
The new squad is still bedding in and it will take some time for them to adjust to the strengths that they have. Nevertheless, certain games demand that the players lift themselves to deliver a performance that secures the points though sheer hard work and a determination not to concede. There's no better time than immediately after last week's shambles and if the mindset is correct we should be celebrating a 2-0 win on Saturday evening.
Remember the last timeThistle were at Fir Park?
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