Match preview – Thistle v Bellshill Monday 29th April

Thistle improved their chances of promotion on Saturday – without even kicking a ball. Two of the games involving other contenders finished in draws and only Lanark among the chasing pack managed to get a win.

Tonight however will be a tough test and although Bellshill have nothing to play for in terms of the league, they will be only too pleased to scupper our push for the Super League. The Jags have had an up and down season but the one consistent factor is our failure against our local rivals. Of the seven games we have played so far against Lanarkshire teams other than the doomed East Kilbride – Lesmahagow, Carluke, Lanark and Bellshill we have only manged a single win and have lost five of them. Indeed if we had only won half of the derby fixtures we would be going for the league tonight instead of scrambling for the remaining promotion spot.

Tonight is probably our biggest game of the season and a win would put us in a really strong position with only three games left, against East Kilbride and the double header with Port Glasgow.