Match Report
For more than an hour Clydebank looked capable of producing one of the biggest surprises of the season, but once Forfar finally found a way through, the contest slipped rapidly away from the visitors in a devastating second-half spell at Station Park.
Jack Steedman's side arrived in difficult circumstances. First-choice goalkeeper Sandy MacLachlan was taken ill on the journey to Angus, forcing Ronnie Wilson into the starting line-up, Tommy McGhee failed a late fitness test on his injured shoulder, and Davie Mitchell's car trouble further disrupted the team's preparations. The return of Joe Rankin after almost three months out was one welcome boost on an otherwise troubled afternoon.
Despite Forfar dominating the opening exchanges, it was Clydebank who struck first. Wilson produced several excellent saves to keep the Loons at bay before, on the half-hour, Ernie Collumbine was brought down by George Potter inside the penalty area. Tony Moy calmly converted the resulting spot-kick to give the Bankies an unlikely lead.
The advantage was not entirely undeserved. Although Forfar had created the better chances, Clydebank had gradually settled into the contest and almost doubled their lead when Moy narrowly failed to connect with a low ball only a couple of yards from goal.
The second half, however, became an increasingly desperate defensive exercise. Wave after wave of Forfar attacks crashed against the Clydebank rearguard, with Wilson continuing to frustrate the home forwards through a series of outstanding saves. The resistance lasted until the 62nd minute, when Jackie Thoms' low effort found its way through a crowded penalty area to finally bring Forfar level.
That goal transformed the match. Five minutes later Ian Matthew forced home from close range following Tommy Mackle's corner, and with Clydebank's confidence visibly shaken, the home side seized complete control. A defensive error allowed Thoms to race clear and score his second after 73 minutes before Dennis Kennedy rounded off the scoring with a well-taken header four minutes from time.
The final score perhaps exaggerated the difference between the sides for much of the afternoon. Clydebank had defended with great determination for over an hour and Wilson's display kept them in contention far longer than had seemed likely. Once Forfar forced the equaliser, however, the visitors' makeshift line-up finally succumbed under relentless pressure as a promising position dissolved into another heavy defeat.
It was another painful afternoon in a difficult campaign, but one that also illustrated the fine margins facing this young Clydebank side. For sixty minutes they had frustrated one of the division's established clubs and threatened an overdue victory. When the breakthrough eventually came, experience told, and the scoreline quickly became far harsher than the balance of the contest had suggested.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
