First Team
Match preview: Saints v Partick Thistle
10th February 2017
Friday 10th February
St Johnstone face Partick Thistle tomorrow afternoon at McDiarmid Park, knowing a victory will take them into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. St Johnstone have won three of their five matches in all competitions this calendar year, with the two defeats coming at the hands of league leaders Celtic. Saints' last game in this competition came at the end of January, when goals from Steven MacLean and Blair Alston secured a 2-0 home win over Stenhousemuir. Micheal Coulson and Ally Gilchrist are both out of this match, they remain sidelined through injury.
Saints and Partick have already met three times this season. The most recent encounter between the two sides ended in a 1-0 win for St Johnstone at the start of February. Partick's last visit to McDiarmid however ended in a 2-1 victory for the visitors. The two sides last met in the Scottish Cup in 2011, when Saints were 2-0 winners at McDiarmid Park.
Midfielder Chris Miller, who played an integral part in Saints' 2014 Scottish Cup win and is also close to making his 300th appearance for Saints, is confident Saints can go far in the competition this season.
"We've been given a difficult draw, it'll be a test playing Thistle as they play good football and are a difficult side to face," he said.
"But we know we're a good side and have a chance of winning silverware come the end of the season.
"The Scottish Cup is special to me and it would be fantastic to reach another cup final and be in with a chance of winning the cup again."
Match preview by Joshua Barrie