Thistle lose out in tight Hamilton encounter

Boroughmuir Thistle suffered their second 2-0 loss in as many weeks at the hands of Hamilton Academical on Sunday afternoon.

Josi Giard opened the scoring for the visitors at Meadowbank on 35 minutes in what was essentially their first chance of the game.

Sophie Townsley then added a second after half time and Thistle couldn’t quite find a response as the game petered out.

The result means that Thistle now sit in 6th place after three SWPL 2 games, with immediate attention turning to Sunday’s Sky Sports Cup First Round tie at home to Rossvale.

The pre-match conditions at Meadowbank Stadium certainly did not look conducive to free-flowing football, and that turned out to be the case as a scrappy game played out amidst howling wind and persistent rain.

Despite the result, Hamilton didn’t dominate proceedings and both sides generally cancelled each other out in terms of clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

Becky Galbraith went close for Thistle on 18 minutes when her glancing header hit off the crossbar, bounced on the goalline, and was cleared by the Hamilton defence.

Moments later, Hamilton’s Lauren Kerr saw her speculative effort deflect off Holly Aitchison and rattle the junction between the crossbar and the post.

Thistle debutant Leni Parrish then broke into the box and cut the ball back for Galbraith who looked certain to slot home but for some brave goalkeeping by Chloe Nicolson to save low at the Thistle number 18’s feet.

The visitors opened the scoring just a minute later when Townsley nipped in front of Ria McCafferty to intercept Toni Harkness’ pass and squared it to Giard before the striker danced past Erin Sheehan and fired low into the net.

Shortly after the restart, Hamilton bagged their second goal via Townsley who slotted into the bottom left corner from six yards following some slack play at the back.

Despite some huffing and puffing, and a raft of substitutions, Thistle just couldn’t quite pull any goals back as Hamilton looked comfortable sitting in.

Maria Novoa-Torrente’s effort from the penalty spot flew just over the bar just before Emily Arthur fired wide on the turn following Louise Mason’s free kick shortly before the referee’s full time whistle.

So another frustrating day at the office for Boroughmuir, conceding some soft goals to a side that didn’t overly dominate proceedings.

However, the early-season games keep coming thick and fast as our attention now turns to Sunday afternoon when we welcome Rossvale to Meadowbank in the first round of the Sky Sports Cup. Kick-off in that one is 1pm.

Boroughmuir Thistle: Harkness, Gibson, McCafferty, Sheehan (Hinchcliffe 90+2’), Aitchison (Brady 70’), Michie, Novoa-Torrente, Borthwick (Arthur 70’), Mason (C), Parrish (Simmons 70’), Galbraith

Subs: Angelini, Hinchcliffe, Forbes, Armstrong, Brady, Simmons, Gallagher, Forsyth, Arthur

Hamilton Academical: Nicolson, MacDonald, Quinn (C), Coakley, McIntosh, Giard, Townsley, Reid, Ritchie, Kerr, Tobin

Subs: Halliday, McGuire, Love, Skelton, Brown, Stoddart, McStay, Docherty

Referee: David Gallagher

Goal highlights

Post-match reaction