Azeez delighted to come to the aid in Firhill side’s basement battle
ADE AZEEZ finally got his longawaited first league goal of the season as he opened the scoring in Partick Thistle’s win over Dundee on Wednesday night.
It had been a long time coming for the striker who, rather like the Thistle side as a whole, had been playing well enough without displaying much of a cutting edge.
Azeez has certainly missed easier chances than the one he took at Dens Park, climbing well to loop a clever header back over Scott Bain in the Dundee goal. And while he was relieved to finally get off the mark, he selflessly insisted that a much-needed victory for the Firhill side – their first since the campaign’s opening day – was much more important.
“I am more pleased about the win than anything,” Azeez said. “We needed the win and we got it, which was good. Both strikers also got on the scoresheet but it was just great to win.
“It felt like a cup final. Both teams knew how big this win was. You could sense it in the game but I thought we controlled massive parts of it.
“After the goal, they had a 10-minute spell where they looked quite dangerous but after that, it was all us.
“We forced them to change their shape numerous times and it just shows how much we imposed ourselves on them. I was pleased with the whole team’s performance.
“I thought they were more nervous than us. We could hear the fans getting on to them. We knew that could happen because the manager mentioned it in his team talk.
“It went our way and we carried on pressing them and when we got the second goal, they came out even more and I thought we controlled it even more.
“I was so pleased [to get the goal]. It had been coming for a while so it was a massive relief.
“It is a big weight off my shoulders and I am just delighted to get off the mark.”
As Azeez mentioned, Kris Doolan was also on the scoresheet on the night, as he benefitted from an assist from his strike partner after Azeez had robbed Kevin Holt of possession.
It is early days for the attacking partnership after manager Alan Archibald decided to abandon his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation for a bold 3-5-2 for the second match in a row. Even this soon, though, Azeez can see real potential in the understanding he is striking up with Doolan and he hopes that his boss will continue to pair the frontmen rather than leave one on the bench.
“Dools is a great goalscorer and a clever footballer,” he said. “If you play with him, you are always going to get chances and I feel we are getting better and better.
“We are getting closer and closer in training and we will continue to link up and get more goals between us.”