Jags can’t afford off days like this, declares Cardle

JOE CARDLE admits Partick Thistle were nowhere near their best as the Jags got their league campaign off to a disappointing start. Alan Trouten had Alloa in front as he deflected Steven Hetherington’s shot past Jamie Sneddon after a dominant first-half display from the hosts. But Thistle responded after the break as Cardle fired home the equaliser. ‘We went with a different formation today. It was just one of those where it never really happened for us, especially the way we wanted to press,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately, it never worked first half, but we come away with a point. ‘We’re frustrated because we can do so much better — both defensively and attacking. ‘We’ll look at the video now, but it could have been 100 times worse if we’d come away with nothing. We weren’t at it today, nowhere near the levels we’ve been performing every day in pre-season.’ Thistle have become notorious for starting their league campaigns slowly in recent years and were staring a third consecutive openingday defeat in the face here. It looked like their chance to equalise had gone when Neil Parry tipped Cardle’s header on to the post, but the ball bounced back into play, where he reacted first. ‘I’m glad to get a goal but the performance and three points mean everything just now,’ said the Jags playmaker. ‘It’s my job to create and score goals and, hopefully, I can continue to do that.’ Thistle now host Dundee United at Firhill on Friday ‘United seem to be one of the stronger teams in the league, so it’s going to be a tough game,’ admitted Cardle. Alloa boss Peter Grant, hoping to build on the fine work of predecessor Jim Goodwin, said: ‘We deserved more out of the game. I was really pleased with a lot of things so, hopefully, it’s the start of something.’