cinch Championship – Partick Thistle v Queen’s Park (Friday 7th April)
The promotion race in the cinch Championship takes another turn this evening when Partick Thistle welcome league leaders Queen’s Park to their former temporary home, Firhill. Catch all the action live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm.
The Maryhill Jags were in fine fettle last weekend, thrashing Cove Rangers 5-0 on their own patch. It was a fabulous away display and, unsurprisingly, Thistle’s biggest away win of the campaign. Notably, Kris Doolan’s side had 5 different goalscorers in Aberdeen showing the depth of attacking options which the former goal machine has at his disposal. With fellow promotion chasers Ayr United tasting defeat last Friday, the Jags’ away day triumph brought them to within a single point of the Honest Men, who occupy 3rd place.
The next two games are crucial for Partick Thistle. They welcome fellow promotion contenders to Firhill on consecutive weekends with Ayr United following up this evening’s visit of Queen’s Park. The Spiders have been somewhat of a bogey team for Thistle this season. Three meetings, 3 defeats doesn’t make for great reading. However, the Maryhill side have built up a decent bit of momentum while their opponents are on a run of two consecutive defeats. Four points from their next two fixtures would probably be enough to see the Jags into the play-offs.
Despite their recent dip in form, Owen Coyle’s side remain in pole position for an unlikely promotion to Scotland’s top-flight. For now, anyway. The Spiders have in-form Dundee currently breathing down their necks, just a point behind with a game in hand. For Queen’s Park it’s just a case of getting back to winning ways. Their squad is littered with quality and ambition in equal amounts and they will be buoyed heading into this evening’s fixture knowing they’ve had their opponents' number thus far this season.
Back-to-back defeats to Arbroath and Raith Rovers has put the Spiders in a relatively vulnerable position, with their grip on pole position in the cinch Championship seemingly becoming more loose by the week. But, the nature of competitive football is such that a single positive result, with a fellow promotion chaser dropping points could see the pendulum swing back in their favour. Their last away win came away to Accies over a month ago and tonight would be the perfect time to recapture some of their previously remarkable away form.
cinch League 1 – Falkirk v Dunfermline Athletic (Saturday 8th April)
A mouth-watering cinch League 1 clash is almost upon us, with the division’s top two sides set to face off in a derby which could all but decide the destination of the league title.
Ever since their 2-0 loss at East End Park in March, Falkirk’s league form has taken a bit of a nosedive. Without a win in the 3 matches since, and without a league goal since the 5-0 win over Peterhead on 4th March. A fantastic, Hampden-clinching performance against Ayr United in the Scottish Cup aside, the Bairns have been sub-par in all aspects of their game since the most recent derby defeat.
Despite this, with the narrative now heavily focused on their derby rivals, Saturday could well be the time for John McGlynn’s side to pick up a much-needed morale boosting win. While the Bairns’ spot in the play-offs is in little doubt thanks to their early to mid-season displays, momentum is very much needed for any potential promotion push as well as their huge Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Inverness at the end of the month. What better way for forwards to throw themselves into contention for a possible starting spot at Hampden than by bagging a crucial goal in a derby win on Saturday?
It seems much more of a case of ‘when’ than ‘if’ Dunfermline are crowned cinch League 1 champions. Ever since their relegation from the second tier the Pars have been the best team in the division. Whilst not necessarily possessing the goalscoring abilities of some of their fellow divisional rivals, Dunfermline have consistently found a way to win in tight matches right from the word go. It is this mixture of consistency and ruthlessness which will almost certainly see James McPake’s side crowned champions in a matter of weeks.
Derby day has been an enjoyable one for fans on the Fife side of the Kincardine bridge this season. Three matches played and the Pars are yet to taste defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals, scoring two victories of their own in the process. Crucially, Dunfermline have had the upper hand over Falkirk in FK2 for the past 5 years, having won on each of their last 4 visits to the Falkirk Stadium. James McPake’s side will no doubt be fully motivated to make it 5 in a row and further dent the Bairns’ promotion prospects.
cinch League 2 – Albion Rovers v Elgin City (Saturday 8th April)
A huge match in Coatbridge as the bottom club in League 2 host an Elgin side one place and three points above them in the table, albeit City also have a game in hand at home to Stenhousemuir on Tuesday.
Only Annan striker Tommy Goss has scored more goals in the division than Rovers' Charlie Reilly and Elgin's Kane Hester but that hasn't been enough to keep either side away from the wrong end of the table as the end of the season approaches. The visitors head south tomorrow having won just two league games in 2023 - they are on a run of five straight defeats and have lost seven of their last eight outings. That said, Gavin Price's men played well at Forthbank in midweek and were unlucky to lose 1-0 to leaders Stirling Albion, whose goalkeeper Blair Currie pulled off a number of fine saves.
Rovers won 3-0 at the Reigart Stadium when the sides last met in February but they have lost five of their six games since - the exception was a stunning 5-1 victory away to then leaders Dumbarton. They parted company with manager Brian Reid after the recent 1-0 defeat to Bonnyrigg Rose and Sandy Clark is now in charge but his first fixture ended in a 2-1 reverse at Forfar. Narrow defeats have been a feature of Rovers' season and they can ill afford another one this weekend as they try to avoid ending in the relegation play-off spot.
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