Kris Doolan believes momentum is key for Partick Thistle’s bid to return to the cinch Premiership through the play-offs.
The Jags finished their Championship campaign in fourth place, one point behind Queen’s Park, whom they play in the first leg of the Premiership play-off quarter-final at Firhill on Tuesday night, with the second leg on Friday at Ochilview.
The Maryhill side are unbeaten in six matches and as he prepared for the first of a possible six extra games this season, boss Doolan said: “We have come into the play-offs in really good form.
“We are probably one of the stronger form teams, if not the top, in terms of form in the Championship so we feel we are in good shape and we have a full squad now.
“I have been on the other side of it, I have been in the Premiership team going into the play-offs having not had a good season and you come up against a side, regardless of whether they finished third or fourth, and they have good form and momentum and it is such a difficult situation to be in.
“I was with Partick in 2017-18 when we played Livingston who were going really well in the Championship (and lost).
“So I understand that form coming into the play-offs is massive and momentum is massive. You build up more steam with victories and that can carry you a long way.
“I am hoping that form can continue and those good spirits and that momentum can carry on through the play-offs.”
Queen’s Park have won three of the four league meetings between the sides this season but they suffered a 4-0 defeat at Firhill last month.
Owen Coyle’s men lost 5-3 to Dundee in their thrilling title decider on Friday night and are now without a win in three.
However, Doolan is focused mainly on his side and said: “They are in the play-offs for a reason like the rest of us.
“They are there on merit. They will be disappointed that they didn’t get the result they wanted but they will still be a dangerous side, they have a lot of threats.
“First and foremost, we are at home which is great.
“The last time we played them at home we played really well and the style of play worked well so there is a lot of positives to take from that and we hope to see that again.
“The fans will back us from start to finish and it drove the players on the last time they played Queen’s Park so we are hoping for more of the same.”
Genoa 0-3 Juventus: Vlahovic double ends goal-drought to send visitors top of Serie A
Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to help Juventus to a 3-0 win at Genoa in Serie A as Thiago Motta's side moved top of the standings.
Vlahovic scored Juventus' first goal in four league games when he converted from the spot after they were awarded a penalty for a handball following half-time.
He added his second in the 55th minute from a tight angle after Teun Koopmeiners found the Serbian striker on the edge of the box with a deep cross-field pass.
Substitute Francisco Conceicao then sealed the win with a low, one-touch finish late on.
The game in Genoa was played behind closed doors after crowd violence during their Coppa Italia fixture against Serie B side Sampdoria left more than 50 people injured.
Juventus, who drew each of their last three league games 0-0, top the table with 12 points from six games, one point ahead of second-placed Torino who host Lazio on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Vlahovic gets Juventus firing
Vlahovic broke the deadlock on Saturday and is now only one of the two players to score at least two braces in Serie A this season, level with Marcus Thuram.
The Serbian was bound to score from the sport having converted 18 of his 22 penalties taken in Serie A, including his last three in 2024.
Fellow goalscorer Conceicao scored 8,252 days after his father, Sergio, last bagged in Serie A on 24 February 2002, meanwhile, for Inter against Udinese.
International record goalscorer Sinclair to retire after NWSL season
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men's and women's football.
She has played for the NWSL's Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil's Marta and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sinclair retired from international football in December 2023, and will now call time on her club career.
"Portland, thank you will never be enough. Soccer has been my passion since I was four years old and it has taken me on a journey I could never have imagined," Sinclair wrote on Instagram.
"As I finish out this last ride, I want to say what a privilege it has been to represent this unique, beautiful, and passionate city that I will always call home."
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
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