cinch Championship – Partick Thistle v Ayr United (Saturday 15th April)
With just 4 games to go until the play-offs, every kick of the football matters. Firhill is the venue for this huge cinch Championship clash between two teams battling it out for promotion.
Last Friday’s 4-0 thrashing of Queen’s Park showed the very best of this current crop of Partick Thistle players. Hard-working, cohesive, and playing an attractive brand of football which has become a hallmark of the Jags during Kris Doolan’s short tenure in the dug-out. The team’s upturn in form in recent weeks and months has put Thistle in the driving seat for the play-offs and keeps them in with an outside shout of being crowned champions.
Ayr on the other hand were only able to pick up a 1-1 draw against fellow play-off chasers Greenock Morton last Saturday. Having led the division at various points, the Honest Men have fallen from the summit but still find themselves in with a chance of promotion in 4th place. Recent defeats to Dundee and Arbroath have all but ended Ayr’s title hopes, but the team’s strength in depth and the firepower of star striker Dipo Akinyemi means that Premiership football isn’t totally out of the question.
This season’s previous meetings have gone in favour of Partick Thistle. The Jags have won the two most recent meetings while Ayr prevailed at Somerset back in October. For either side a win could prove crucial. Three points could prove to be the difference in catching 2nd-placed Queen’s Park and fending off 5th-placed Caley Thistle. Regardless of the outcome, it seems as though the battle for the play-offs will go right down to the wire!
cinch League 1 – Dunfermline Athletic v Queen of the South (Saturday 15th April)
Denied a title party in Peterhead on Tuesday, Dunfermline Athletic have the chance to confirm their seemingly imminent return to the cinch Championship on home soil. However, in-form Queen of the South will no doubt be keen to spoil the party.
The Pars travelled to Peterhead knowing that a win, coupled with Falkirk dropping points in Montrose, would be enough to clinch the cinch League 1 title. Dunfermline took care of business at their end, with Nikolay Todorov and Craig Wighton (this week rewarded with a new 2-year deal) scoring the goals in a routine 2-0 win. The Bairns were also successful on the road in midweek meaning the promotion party could potentially kick off at East End this Saturday. A fitting reward for a team who have been by far and away the stand-out performers in the division.
Queen of the South have experienced quite the resurgence under new boss Marvin Bartley. Since taking over on 7th January, Queens have risen from 8th to 5th in the cinch League 1 table and now find themselves just 3 points behind 4th placed Alloa Athletic with 4 games to go. Last weekend’s 2-1 win at the Recs showed just how far the Doonhamers have come in such a short space of time, with divisional top scorer Ruari Paton’s double proving invaluable. A win away to the runaway league leaders this weekend would be a key moment in Queens’ season and potential promotion push!
It seems like a matter of ‘when, not if’ Dunfermline Athletic are crowned champions. Having lost just once in the league all season, the Pars look set for a quickfire return to the second tier. They have already beaten Queens twice away from home this season, with the points shared in the last East End meeting. Both teams will be desperate for the win for very different reasons, meaning it should be an absolutely blockbuster clash in Fife on Saturday!
cinch League 2 – Stenhousemuir v Stirling Albion (Saturday 15th April)
Stirling have established a nine-point lead at the top of the table and have the chance to take another big step towards the title this weekend but it’s also a huge game for the Warriors as they chase a play-off place.
The Binos return to Dumbarton on Tuesday after their midweek match was postponed for a fourth time – on this occasion due to a waterlogged pitch shortly before kick-off. Darren Young’s men first make the short journey to Ochilview on the back of a 2-2 draw with East Fife last weekend when Dale Carrick scored a double to take his tally for the season to 24 goals.
Albion remain unbeaten since early December and have already defeated Stenhousemuir three times this season, including a 3-1 win at Ochilview in October. However, this will be the first meeting since Gary Naysmith took over as manager from Stephen Swift. Stenny have suffered just two league defeats in 2023, albeit three of their last four matches have ended all square.
Their most recent outing was on Tuesday when they drew 1-1 at Elgin thanks to a last-minute goal from Ross Forbes. That result edged Stenny to within a point of fourth-placed Forfar Athletic and lifted them above East Fife on goal difference in a tight race for the play-offs.
There should be a good crowd at Ochilview for the derby match – a win for Stirling would take the Binos closer to their first title since 2009/10 while a Stenhousemuir victory would be a huge boost to their hopes of a top-four finish.
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