Harkin Back To Good Old Days

Nov 4 2007 Alan Mcmillan Reports

Clyde 1 Partick 2

GARY HARKINS was the hero as Thistle won a hard-fought derby to record their first away league win of the season.

A Harkins free-kick set up the first goal for Scott Chaplain and the attacker himself scored the second with a fierce shot.

Clyde put in a better performance than they did during their 4-0 defeat at Firhill earlier this season but missed a string of first-half chances.

In the end, though, all they had to show for their efforts was a late penalty by Dougie Imrie.

The Bully Wee started the brighter and should have opened the scoring after 14 minutes.

Keeper Craig Hinchcliffe could only push out Steve Masterton's powerful drive but David McGowan picked up the loose ball and fired wide.

Masterton tried another long-range shot that finished way off target but with Thistle stretched he should have fed team-mates McGowan and Joe Cardle, who were screaming for the pass.

It took the away team 37 minutes to get their first shot at goal but Greg Cameron got underneath the ball and his volley sailed over.

Liam Buchanan played a perfect pass toDavid Rowson minutes later but there was no power or direction in his shot and Clyde cleared easily.

Cardle had a shot saved by Hinchcliffe after neat play by Imrie and McGowan as Clyde began to grow in confidence.

However, it was Thistle who took the lead from a set-piece after 51 minutes. Harkins chipped a free-kick into the box, Marc Twaddle headed it on and Chaplain netted fromclose in.

Two minutes later Chaplain came to the ref's attention again but this time for a bad challenge on Craig McKeown and whistler Alan Freeland showed the goalscorer a yellow card.

Clyde almost equalised in the 61st minute when McGowan hit a 12-yard shot that beat Hinchcliffe but bounced back into play off the keeper's right-hand post.

Neil McGregor was booked in the 73rd minute for pulling down Buchanan as he headed for the Clyde goal. That gave Thistle a free-kick just outside the box on the left-hand side and when Rowson rolled the ball to Harkins he thumped a screamer past David Hutton to make it 2-0.

Imrie got one back for Clyde from the spot in 88 minutes after David Robertson had fouled him.

MoM: Harkins (Partick Thistle).