Dumbarton 1
Clydebank 0
League Cup (Group 7)


Dumbarton 

1 - 0

Clydebank

League Cup (Group 7)
Saturday, August 23rd, 1969
Boghead Park. Att. 3,313
3:00 PM Kick-off


Goalscorers
Alan Watson (15) None.

Team Managers
Unknown. Jack Steedman

Starting Eleven
1 Steven Anderson
2 George Muir
3 Allan McKay
4 Eddie Ferguson
5 Johnny Graham
6 Len Campbell
7 Angus Moffat
8 Kenny Jenkins
9 Alex McMichael
10 John McGhee
11 Allan Watson
Dick Madden 1
Davie Mitchell 2
Danny Gray 3
Dennis Ruddy 4
Jim Fallon 5
Dougie Hay 6
Gerry O'Brien 7
Bobby Love 8
Alan Munro 9
Andy Cumming 10
Jimmy Caskie 11

Bench
12 Richard Cuthbert Tommy McGhee 12

Substitutions
None. Tommy McGhee for Andy Cumming (62)

Cautions
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

J Grant (Referee)





Match Report


Clydebank Press

This match was nothing short of a farce. After Wednesday night's game against Stranraer it brought 'Bankies back down to earth with a good solid bump, which must have hurt considerably!

With Ian Hawkshaw out of the team, the forward line amounted to exactly nil as far as tactics were concerned. Not until Tommy McGhee was brought on in place of Cumming half way through the second half, did it look as though 'Bankies might get somewhere.

Certainly Clydebank started well but the wind was soon knocked out of their sails when Dumbarton went into the lead with the only goal of the match, after 15 minutes' play.

This goal came against the run of play, but Dumbarton made the most of it. They were awarded a corner and Watson scored directly from the kick.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Clydebank players are still looking for that ball. It dropped in neatly behind Dick Madden before any of them had a chance to touch it.

After this Clydebank gave up the ghost and seemed almost to resign themselves to defeat and an obvious loss in their section.

Not so the many fans who had travelled to, Dumbarton, to see Clydebank crush the Rock!

Three times in the previous two games Clydebank had pulled back from being a goal down, to win both matches.

The fans hoped and yelled for the come-back (more than the players did) but it was not to be. Fourth time unlucky for Clydebank they were 1-0 down and there they stayed.

Just before half-time Danny Gray, the Clydebank left back, moved up-field and tried to show his forwards how football should be played and he nearly did!

After lurking on the wing he ran in towards the centre of the field and met a cross from the left wing. He then unleashed a 30-yard shot which a packed Dumbarton defence only just managed to knock out to safety.

Seventeen minutes into the second half Tommy McGhee was introduced to the game.

Straight away he moved into the thick of what was supposed to be a football match, and nearly made something of it!

Clydebank were awarded a free kick outside the penalty area. Hay sent the ball across the goalmouth and McGhee tried to shoot from a very acute angle.

'Keeper Anderson managed to block the ball but couldn't hold it. One of his defenders was lucky enough to be on the spot to boot it clear.

Jimmy Caskie brought out some of his latent energy not long after this. Taking the ball upfield he sent a pass into McGhee, who managed to get himself into a tangle of defenders. The ball went out to Douglas Hay who tried a shot, in vain, from 15 yards, which Anderson managed to knock past the post.

To cap it all Dumbarton missed a penalty only minutes from the final whistle.

The reason for the penalty was somewhat obscure, but the fact is that it was awarded and loomed over any chances Clydebank might have had of dredging some sort of compensation from the match.

Centre-forward Jenkins, the man reputed to have a big kick, took the shot, and sent it clean past the left post: Dick Madden didn't even have to dive for it.

In my opinion this match was something of a damp squib. It had been built up to a fantastic extent by the positions in Section 7, but when it came to lighting the blue touch paper nothing happened.

Dumbarton certainly didn't deserve to win the match, but from that point of view neither did Clydebank. It all boils down to one thing, goals count! Even if it's only one goal, an oasis in a desert of boring football.

Lennox Herald

This game had all the promise of a real cup-tie thriller but unfortunately for the 3,000 or so fans the game did not really live up to expectations until the last twenty minutes when Bankies staged a fight-back that brought them no luck.

Admittedly Sons won the match but they could have made it a lot easier for themselves. At the end they were hanging on for grim life to their slim lead as the Clydebank side threw everything at them in a desperate last ditch effort to equalise. Credit must go to the Sons' defence who handled the young Bankie forward line with confidence.

The game opened quietly enough with the visitors having most of the play. The goal when it came in the 15th minute, was not only a surprise to Clydebank but also to the man who scored, winger Alan Watson.

The wee man chipped over a corner kick and was astounded to see the ball slip through 'Keeper Madden's hands into the net. The young Bankies side took a long time to recover from 'this and Dumbarton failed to cash in on that fact.

The first-half deteriorated into rather mediocre football and neither side seemed to be getting anywhere. Both 'keepers had a fairly quiet time of it and most of the play came to a halt when the respective attacks got to each other's eighteen-yard line. The defences worked hard with the half-back men coming up with the forwards. Hay worked well for Clydebank and found a partner in Love who was more often in defence than in the attack. Ferguson and Graham were the Sons' never-say-die men. especially Graham who worked like a beaver.

A lack of imagination up front killed this game as far as the fans were concerned, and everyone was glad when the whistle went for half-time.

The second-half opened with a bit of needle coming into the play, and Referee Grant was a busy man for the space of the first quarter lecturing players and giving fouls right, left and centre, some of them warranted but on the whole he gave the impression of a man rather whistle happy.

After 17 minutes of the second-half had gone. Bankies brought on Tommy McGhee for inside-left Cumming. Almost immediately the powerful McGhee nearly got his side's equaliser when he smashed the ball net-wards from about six yards, but Steve Anderson in the Sons' goal managed to block the shot.

McGhee seemed to be the spur that the game needed and there was a more noticeable urgency about the Bankies' attack as they slowly began to build up pressure.

The Sons' defence was just as determined to hold out and Muir appeared to have O'Brien tied up so much so that the wee fellow had to move into midfield to look for the ball.

McKay on the right had Caskie in his pocket and with these two players being watched, Munro in the middle was not getting the service. John McGhee at centre-half for Sons was beating him to all the high balls.

Some excitement came when Caskie collected the ball on the right and worked his way systematically through the Sons' defence to find McGhee on the right wing. McGhee switched the ball to the left. Hay, coming in like an express train, hit the ball from 20 yards and Anderson had to move smartly to touch the ball over the crossbar.

This then became the picture as the end drew near. Bankies hammered the Sons' defence but the home attack were not just sitting back acting as spectators.

Several break-aways almost ended in disaster for the visitors but Dennis Ruddy, newly returned to their side, and cool Jim Fallon at centre-half, managed to hold the trio of Watson, Jenkins and Moffat at bay.

A sensational incident two minutes from time should have given Sons another goal. Watson was pulled down by Madden and the referee pointed to the penalty spot despite angry pleas from the Bankie players.

Kenny Jenkins stepped forward to take the kick and slammed the ball wide past the goal.

Sunday Post

The local derby between the joint-leaders of Section 7 was a bit of a let-down. Defences dominated, and flashes of good football were few and far between.

Clydebank began enterprisingly but faded rapidly from the 15th minute, when Dumbarton took the lead against the run of play. Thereafter the link between their defence and attack was non-existent, and the forwards floundered around without a leader.

Dumbarton were little better up front and Jenkins completed a dismal day for forwards in general by missing a penalty just before the end.

The good players were all defenders, with Muir, McGhee, and Ferguson outstanding for Dumbarton, and Ruddy, Fallon, and Hay passing muster for Clydebank.

Sunday Mail

Dumbarton, the slightly stronger team, scored the only goal of the match to top their section. They went ahead after 16 minutes with a shock goal when outside-left Watson took a corner-kick and then watched the ball curve round the post through 'keeper Madden's arms and into the net.

Clydebank, after scoring a decisive win over Stranraer on Wednesday, looked very much under par. Towards the end of the first-half the play began to slacken off, but Clydebank, fighting vainly for an equaliser, kept 'keeper Anderson on his toes.

Clydebank inside-left Cumming went off in the second half and substitute Tom McGhee did a lot to liven up the home team's defence. With two minutes to go Clydebank 'keeper Madden pulled down Watson in the penalty box but the spot kick, taken by Jenkins, went harmlessly past.




Squad Statistics (as at August 23rd, 1969)


1969-70 All Time
League Cups All
Dick Madden (GK) 0 - 5 - 82 -
Davie Mitchell 0 - 5 - 1144
Dennis Ruddy 0 - 1 - 41 -
Danny Gray 0 - 5 - 14 -
Jim Fallon 0 - 51403
Dougie Hay 0 - 5 - 551
Bobby Love 0 - 5 - 301
Jimmy Caskie 0 - 524815
Andy Cumming 0 - 1 - 1 -
Gerry O'Brien 0 - 5 - 472
Alan Munro 0 - 553720
Tommy McGhee (sub) 0 - 5 - 10012







Recent Results


League results since Clydebank's last match
None.

League Table (as at August 23rd, 1969)


Pld W D L +/- Pts

No games played.