Clydebank 1
Kilbirnie Lade 0
League (Super Premier Division)

Match Report

That was more like it. A response was needed after Wednesday’s debacle at Arthurlie and the players came up with the goods. Despite being down to ten men for nearly seventy minutes the Bankies worked their socks off to grind out a single goal win against Kilbirnie. The Ayrshire side don’t have a lot to play for with a top half finish pretty much secured and a title challenge being out of their reach, but they are always dangerous opponents.

Pearson and Paterson were relegated to the bench and Vezza was moved in to the midfield to give it a bit more steel. Kieran McAnespie was starting his six match ban after being sent off at Beith.

The match had three major incidents. It was a tale of a sending off and two penalty kicks, one scored and one missed. The sending off midway through the first half for Higgins was a quick fire double yellow and red. He was booked for dissent and as he backed away the ref called him back to give him a red. My initial reaction was that he stupidly kept the dissent going after the yellow and he had put his team mates in a perilous situation. However, it later transpired that the ref had sent him off for spitting in his direction. I was right in line with the incident and do not believe this to be the case so maybe he was unlucky to have been given an early bath.

From this point the Bankies really dug in and were as much an attacking force as Kilbirnie were. In fact, Ladeside were quite disappointing in that respect and failed to make the extra man count at all. Clydebank took the lead from the penalty spot just before the hour. The Bankies had a free kick into the box, and the ref spotted McLaren commit some kind of foul. I didn’t see what it was, but in fairness the ref had warned both sides about holding and pushing in the box at set pieces. Ryan Deas made no mistake from the spot. Shortly after, Jordan Shelvey had the chance to wrap it up with one of the few clear cut chances in the match. He cut in from the left, but fluffed his lines with his bad foot and Hughes ended up with an easier than expected save.

The ten men started to tire in the heat. Yes, the sun was out for the first time in 2018, and Kilbirnie were looking much more likely. They got a reward of sorts when they were awarded a penalty with seven minutes remaining after Darroch handled in the box. Scullion struck the penalty low and hard to Water’s left hand side, but the keeper showed remarkable agility to stop the ball with his left hand. That’s two from two for Waters as he continues his impressive start to his Clydebank career.

The Bankies held on for a great win and with other results going their way they have re-established the points gap lost in midweek. Everyone put in a great shift, but once again Ryan Deas ran himself into the ground. The midfield looked much stronger with Vezza mopping up. Forsyth and Darroch were secure at the back, and the young kids are showing up well. All in all a satisfying afternoon’s work.

Match report written by Stuart McBay