Partick Thistle 0-0 Limassol: Gabriel impresses

Partick Thistle completed their on-field preparations for life in the Scottish Premiership with a goalless draw against Cypriot First Division ­visitors AEL Limassol at Firhill.

The Jags played Gabriel Rojo de la Vega Piccolo as a trialist in the centre of their ­defence, and the 23-year-old Mexican, who has been training with Thistle for the past two weeks, was confirmed as having signed a two-year deal just after his 53-minute appearance.

The centre-back, who will be known simply as Gabriel, played for Rayo Vallecano’s B side in Spain last season, and manager Alan Archibald is pleased to get him aboard. “I am delighted to add Gabriel ahead of the season kicking off,” he said. “He is strong and aggressive and I have seen him play well against a good standard of opponent.”

He added: “That was a step up in our preparation as there was a competitive edge to it. Too often friendlies can become tedious but that had some strong challenges in it which you do not mind as long as nobody gets injured.

“I thought our shape was good and our passing game went well and for a hot day I thought the players put in a good shift. We made nine changes which can be frustrating but I wanted to give some players extra game time.”