Cameron's command performance

25 Mar 1996

Hearts 2, Partick Thistle 5

PARTICK Thistle manager Murdo MacLeod admitted that, despite his pre-match confidence, he had not expected such a comprehensive win.

His opposite number, Jim Jefferies, also found the result hard to take in.

"Unbelievable," and "criminal" were among the words he used to describe his team's defending.

There is no doubt that Hearts ineptitude was a major factor in helping Thistle continue their mini-revival.

There were, however, more positive reasons for MacLeod to feel pleased.

The recent signings of Andy Lyons and Jim Slavin, from Wigan and Celtic, had "given everyone a lift," he said.

"There's a good spirit at Firhill just now and the attitude today was superb." Both players made significant contributions.

Lyons scored his second successive brace of goals, while Slavin, a commanding figure at the back, had a hand, or rather a chest, in Partick's second goal since he used that part of his anatomy to lay off Alan Dinnie's free kick for Tommy Turner to shoot home a minute before half-time.

But MacLeod singled out one man for particular praise.

"I thought Ian Cameron was magnificent," he said.

In the absences of Rod McDonald, Stephen Docherty, and Wayne Foster, Cameron and Derek McWilliams were an unfamiliar striking partnership, who made full use of the space Hearts gave them.

Cameron thoroughly deserved to score the fifth goal nine minutes from time, when he turned on the right edge of the penalty area to curl a superb shot into the far corner.

Lyons opener was cancelled out by Allan Johnston, who took advantage of a mistake by Gregg Watson to equalise at the far post.

At 1-1, Hearts enjoyed their best spell and had three great chances from John Colquhoun and Allan Lawrence, and then when Tommy Smith swept the ball against his own post.

Mostly, however, Thistle were content to let Hearts have possession, wait for them to give it away, and then break forward with much more incisiveness.

Jefferies lamented the fact that his three-man defence of Pasquale Bruno, Dave McPherson, and Paul Ritchie "never got near their front two." After Billy Macdonald's header for Thistle's third goal, Bruno was dispossessed, allowing McWilliams to set up Lyons for the fourth.

Substitute Hans Eskillson's goal near the end was barely a consolation.

Taken from the Herald