Arbroath impressed at Gayfield to earn their first Scottish Championship win of the season and move into fourth place at the expense of Partick Thistle.
The away side took the lead on 33 minutes after Kyle Turner burst into the box and fired a shot at goal. It was parried by Arbroath goalkeeper Derek Gaston but the ball bounced off his defender, Colin Hamilton, and trundled into the net.
Turner caused a goal. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group via Getty Images)
Arbroath levelled on the stroke of half-time. Michael McKenna caught Thistle goalkeeper Harry Stone napping with his free-kick which hit the post and fell into the net. Dick Campbell’s side took the lead after 55 minutes with Joel Nouble doing well to get past two Partick Thistle defenders before crossing the ball finding the unmarked McKenna.
His shot was beyond Stone before Nicky Low doubled Arbroath’s advantage three minutes later, Nouble putting pressure on the Thistle backline once more which caused a slack clearance by Stone. It found Arbroath’s creative midfielder, who struck a first time shot from 25 yards out into the bottom left corner.
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Victory for Campbell. (Photo by David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)
Goal sprung momentum
Partick Thistle looked settled in the first half and looked to be going into half-time with a 1-0 lead until a McKenna free-kick changed the complexity of the game. A resurgent Arbroath came out for the second half with goals. McKenna added a second followed by Low completing the scoring.
McKenna brace
The double-scoring midfielder offers so much to this Arbroath side and another energetic performance was summed up by his brace. The equaliser was a bit of intelligence to leave Stone stranded followed by a powerful header to put Campbell’s side into the lead.
Learning curve
During the game, Partick Thistle were slow in their approach, with only 2 shots on goal summing up what was a difficult afternoon at Gayfield. The McKenna free-kick on the stroke of half-time was defining in the outcome with Thistle offering very little once Arbroath edged in front.
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