Motherwell 2
Clydebank 1
League (Division 2)

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Motherwell 

2 - 1

Clydebank

League (Division 2)
Saturday, March 8th, 1969
Fir Park. Att. 2,484
3:00 PM Kick-off

Goalscorers
Tom Forsyth (16)
Jimmy Wilson (61) 		Ian Hawkshaw  (30)

Team Managers
Bobby Howitt Jack Steedman

Starting Eleven
1 Keith MacRae
2 Davie Whiteford
3 Joe Wark
4 Tom Donnelly
5 Bobby McCallum
6 Bobby Campbell
7 Jim Murphy
8 Jackie McInally
9 Dixie Deans
10 Tom Forsyth
11 Jimmy Wilson 		Dick Madden 1
Paul McMillan 2
Davie Mitchell 3
Dennis Ruddy 4
Jim Fallon 5
Dougie Hay 6
Gerry O'Brien 7
Bobby Love 8
Ian Hawkshaw 9
Alan Munro 10
Jimmy Caskie 11

Bench
12 Jim Muir Tommy McGhee 12

Substitutions
None. None.

Cautions
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

RD Henderson (Referee)
JP Tainsh & RJ Connell (Assistants)





Match Report

Motherwell Times

Those who expected the talented and highly rated young Clydebank side to give Motherwell a stiff test in Saturday's Fir Park encounter were by no means disappointed. For the teenage tear- aways from Dumbartonshire gave as good as they got for a large part of the match, and at one time were in with a real chance of victory.

The factor which finally proved vital for Motherwell was their greater experience which offset the youth and enthusiasm of the Bankies. The know-how of 'Well's seasoned men, Campbell, McCallum, Wilson and McInally enabled them to come out after the break and pin the visitors in their own half for most of the second 45.

But even at that Motherwell could never relax, for the Clydebank side was always a danger in a breakaway.

This was apparent from the kick-off as they repelled Motherwell's opening attack and burst out from defence to force a corner.

However the sheer power of Motherwell's opening burst gave the young Bankies a hard time. All their energies were spent in keeping the scoresheet blank in the first 15 minutes.

This was far from easy and in eight minutes Campbell brought a great save from Madden when he turned and shot from 10 yards.

Two minutes later 'Well were awarded a free kick 20 yards out, David Whiteford took it and his direct shot whistled past Madden only to hit the cross-bar and rebound out.

Motherwell's next attack saw Murphy meet a Campbell cross with his head, again beating Madden, But this time centre-half Fallon cleared on the goal-line.

At such a pace a goal was inevitable, and it came in 16 minutes. A Campbell throw was transferred by Wilson to Forsyth who controlled the ball and flashed a brilliant shot home from an acute angle.

The spectators would have been forgiven for thinking at this stage that they were about to witness the public execution of the Steedman Babes. But as it turned out this was far from the case.

Instead of wilting under a goal barrage, Clydebank forced their way back into the game, and soon that one goal margin didn't seem all that much.

Motherwell were in trouble in 27 minutes when Forsyth was penalised for obstructing Munro, well inside the box. Caskie's short free was chipped by Hawkshaw and hit the bar with McCrae beaten.

But three minutes later the visitors equalised, with the best goal I have seen this season.

Former Motherwell trialist Hawkshaw gathered the ball inside his own penalty area and raced into the Motherwell half. Challenged by Whiteford he cut inside and sent a 25 yard shot bending past McCrae, who hadn't a hope of saving it.

'Well were visibly shaken by this sudden set-back and they lost much of their rhythm as a result. The only dangerous moment for Clydebank before the break came when an artful Murphy lob was touched over the bar in a desperate dive by Madden.

But whatever pep-talk manager Howitt gave Motherwell at half-time, it seemed to work. For after the interval they played a more aggressive game concentrating much more on midfield control through Wilson, McInally and Forsyth.

They were not as efficient around goals, and could have regained the lead on several occasions. In 51 minutes a Murphy shot, from good position, was blocked on the line and four minutes later Donnelly hit the advancing Madden after a good move.

Sixty seconds later McInally had the ball in the net, but the "score" was chalked off when referee Henderson rightly awarded a foul against Deans.

The constant Motherwell pressure was bound to bring a goal, and in 61 minutes it finally happened. Jim Wilson was on the bail some 30 yards from goal. Unable to find an unmarked colleague he did the only thing left and shot. Madden got his fingers to the ball but couldn't prevent it hitting the back of the net.

Clydebank were still dangerous in patches, but Motherwell had too much know-how to allow the lead to slip through their fingers for a second time. The last half-hour was played at a modest pace with 'Well content to hold the ball, looking for chances to increase their lead.

While this was not one of 'Well's more memorable victories, it was an efficient piece of work against a team which will be very hard to beat in another year/ Brilliantly lead by Hawkshaw, a former Fir Park trialist, Clydebank were quick on the break, and strong in defence.

They had excellent defenders in Mitchell, Fallon and Hay.

Motherwell's best were their midfield men, who were in the long run the architects of the victory. Tops among these was Tom Forsyth who took his goal very well, and contributed his usual quota of "mopping up" around the centre circle.

His left-wing partner Wilson came on to a good game in the second half, as did McInally. Dixie Deans whose fitness was in doubt until shortly before the game had a quiet time, but he was very well policed by Fallon.

Motherwell's best defenders were once again their speedy backs Whiteford and Wark, with Willie McCallum doing a solid job of work in the middle.

Keith McCrae seems to be gaining confidence in goals after a shaky game against Celtic last week. Match practice is just the thing to bring a 'keeper up to scratch as the Lanark boy seems to be finding out.

Sunday Post

Motherwell, so often praised for skilful football this season, were given a lesson in the finer arts by a young Clydebank side that was unlucky not to share the points.

Clydebank's main asset was their ability to draw the whole side into defence, then break quickly, following a Motherwell mistake.

Their one tactical error was to push high balls into the 'Well penalty area, which the big defenders had no difficulty in clearing.

In the outfield, Motherwell never linked as well as their opponents. With centre-half Fallon playing Deans right out of the game, the home attack was never a cohesive force, and they must have been a happy lot to see Wilson's winning shot find the net.

Clydebank were good all round, but special mention goes to Madden, Mitchell, Fallon, Love, Hawkshaw, and Caskie.

Motherwell's best were Whiteford, Wark, McCallum, McInally, and Forsyth.



Squad Statistics (as at March 8th, 1969)

1968-69 All Time
League Cups All
Dick Madden (GK) 26 - 7 - 69 -
Davie Mitchell 21 - 6 - 1004
Jim Fallon 2323 - 262
Ian Hawkshaw 2610723312
Paul McMillan 11351164
Dennis Ruddy 20 - 7 - 31 -
Dougie Hay 24 - 5 - 431
Bobby Love 1511 - 161
Alan Munro 21133 - 2413
Gerry O'Brien 2317 - 331
Jimmy Caskie 2583 - 349







Recent Results

League results since Clydebank's last match
1st March 1969
Alloa Athletic1-2Montrose
Ayr Utd4-0Dumbarton
Berwick Rangers1-3Motherwell
Brechin City4-4Stenhousemuir
East Fife3-2Stirling Albion
Forfar Ath2-4East Stirlingshire
Hamilton Accies1-3Stranraer
Queen of South3-0Albion Rovers
Queen's Park0-1Cowdenbeath
5th March 1969
Queen's Park1-0Hamilton Accies
8th March 1969
Albion Rovers2-0Alloa Athletic
Cowdenbeath1-2Queen of South
Dumbarton2-3Forfar Ath
East Stirlingshire0-1Brechin City
Montrose1-0Berwick Rangers
Motherwell2-1Clydebank
Stenhousemuir3-1Hamilton Accies
Stirling Albion0-0Ayr Utd
Stranraer1-1East Fife

League Table (as at March 8th, 1969)

Pld W D L +/- Pts
1. Motherwell 26 22 2 2 +66 46
2. Stirling Albion 28 20 4 4 +33 44
3. Ayr Utd 25 17 4 4 +43 38
4. Queen of South 27 16 5 6 +29 37
5. Albion Rovers 27 16 5 6 +10 37
6. Forfar Ath 26 15 3 8 +19 33
7. East Fife 27 14 5 8 +18 33
8. East Stirlingshire 25 13 3 9 +18 29
9. Stranraer 26 11 7 8 +10 29
10. Queen's Park 29 11 5 13 -7 27
11. Montrose 27 10 3 14 -19 23
12. Dumbarton 29 9 4 16 -19 22
13. Clydebank 27 5 11 11 -9 21
14. Cowdenbeath 26 7 4 15 -23 18
15. Berwick Rangers 28 6 6 16 -24 18
16. Brechin City 24 6 3 15 -19 15
17. Hamilton Accies 28 5 5 18 -36 15
18. Alloa Athletic 29 4 6 19 -36 14
19. Stenhousemuir 26 3 5 18 -54 11