Girvan 0
Clydebank 3
League (Super Premier Division)

Match Report

The Bankies jumped off the foot of the table for the first time in weeks with a fine 3-0 victory at Girvan this afternoon. The weather was bitterly cold with a bracing wind, and the pitch did not lend itself to a footballing spectacle, but the players put in a great shift and the result was never in any real doubt.

The new signings are a huge improvement on what we had seen earlier in the season. Kieran McAnespie may have some detractors, but he deserves praise for identifying the problems and trying to sort them. He is a young manager and it would be easy to say his recruitment at the start of the season wasn't great and point the finger. however, he hasn't accepted his fate with those players. Instead, he has shown them the door, and brought in what looks like a better standard of player more suited to the level we are playing in.

Two of those signings shared the three goals today and this new found goal threat bodes well for the season's run-in. Some of the games this season have been fairly tight, but the lack of a goalscorer more often than not has seen the Bankies lose out narrowly.

The first goal was a cross from the left to the back post which Vezza Cleverly headed inside to Cunningham, the on-loan Alloa youngster. The striker spun and struck the ball firmly with his left foot into the back of the net. The Bankies should have been out of sight at the break but a lot of bad decision-making in the final third kept the scoreline in the balance.

Girvan came out on the front foot after the interval, but the Bankies knocked the wind out of their sails just five minutes in. A wonderful ball from the improving Chris Black put Steven Higgins through on goal. The keeper did well to block the striker's first effort, but the new signing from Lesmahagow kept his composure to finish at the second attempt.

This was as poor a Girvan side that the Bankies have faced. The clashes with the clubs have been fairly tight but the Bankies were easily on top. The Seasiders could have pulled one back late on but their forward shot past the post from close range when it looked easier to score. It was a miss that summed up their day.

Cunningham grabbed his second near the end with a tap in after a fine run into the box by Josh Watt. This goal gave the score a fair reflection on the day's play.

The Bankies are now out of the play off positions and it certainly feels like the club is on an upward trajectory. Girvan and Arthurlie are both in the doldrums at the moment, and the aim is to keep ahead of those two. Hurlford are in the mix as well and with the clubs still to meet this season, these two matches could go a long way to deciding the Bankies final league position.

Auchinleck are the visitors to Holm Park next week, and this will be the first real test for the new signings. Hopefully, the new front pairing can pose them some problems. Shelvey came off injured at half time today, and he will be a loss if he doesn't recover for next week as he carried a significant threat on the wing today. The centre of midfield still looks problematic, and is the one area of the pitch that we definitely look weak in. Overall though, the signs are much more promising than they were a couple of months ago. We are back in the mix, and we have given ourselves a great chance of staying out of the play offs.

Match report written by Stuart McBay