The scoreline at sun-kissed Meadowbank finished Edinburgh City 1, Partick Thistle 4 in Group B, of the Premier Sports Cup. On paper, that appears an improvement on the 6-0 defeat inflicted by he Jags on the Citizens on the same competition in a previous season.
However, manager Michael McIndoe has much to ponder when he reviews the game and re-watches the video.
Thistle stung the home side with four first-half goals, two in the first nine minutes, after the visitors started brightly in front of a large contingent of travelling fans from Glasgow, a welcome boost to City coffers.
The first was cooly slotted by former City loan player Cameron Logan after six minutes, the Jags robbing defender Lewis McArthur just inside his own half and punishing the mistake. The second from Robbie Crawford, followed a swift move down the left.
The third arrived after 23 minutes and was a comedy capers own goal, caused by defensive uncertainty, Robbie Mahon sending the ball towards goalkeeper Mark Weir and an untimely slip by stopper allowed the ball to trundle over the line.
The fourth followed with five minutes of regular time remaining in the half, and a neat move down the left which was crisply dispatched into the net by Logan Chalmers.
City gave their fans hope with a goal five minutes into injury time in the first period, a dipping free-kick from just outside the box causing Thistle goalkeeper Lewis Budinauckas a problem. He palmed the ball into the air and 23-year-old former Camelon Juniors forward, Tiwi Daramola, seized on the opportunity to nip in and bundle the ball home.
Home fans naturally hoped that goal would lift their men for the start of the second half, but City failed to up their game and the fixture petered out as a spectacle as fatigue kicked in.
Frankly, Thistle’s rearguard were rarely troubled despite City working hard, and the City midfield failed to take make any real impression on the Championship side.
Chances were few and far between, but McArthur headed over when in a good position.
Basically, the home side lacked any real punch up-front and, when they broke, it was more of an odd man rush rather than a co-ordinated thrust forward by several players.
One plus was the competitive debuts of Jack Duncan, Callum Brodie and Logan Myles who replaced Innes Lawson, Lewis McArthur and Jake Service, but McIndoe’s lack of options from the bench was evident.
City named four substitutes while Thistle boss Mark Wilson had nine available.
So, Thistle left balmy Meadowbank with the three points to open their account in the group and City manager McIndoe would probably have wished to meet Thistle later in the group stage once his semi-professional team, who play in the fourth tier of Scottish football, have upped their fitness levels, but that is the hand he was dealt.
Now City travel to Dumfries on Tuesday (19.45) to square-up to Queen of the South, who play in Scottish League One, the third tier of the Scottish game, in the same competition looking for points.
It would have been good to know McIndoe’s thoughts post-game, but a request for a chat was turned down, strange for a club seeking to boost their profile and to encourage more fans to take an interest and possibly follow them.
PICTURES: All action pictures of the match taken by Tommy Lee
