Royal Albert 1
Clydebank 3
Scottish Junior Cup (4th Round)

Match Report

Clydebank progressed to the last 16 of the Scottish Cup for the first time in four years with a less than resounding 3-1 victory over Royal Albert at Tileworks Park. Finding themselves a goal down at the break, the Bankies made two substitutions that helped turn the tide and a quick-fire double from Shelvey and McClair settled the nerves. Stevie Higgins added a third near the end to give the scoreline a bit more of a gloss to it.

Nicky Little wasn’t risked for a full comeback so he remained on the bench for another week and he was joined by Chris Black who is now back to full fitness. The only other change was Chris Dooley coming in for Adam Asghar.

For the third game in a row the Bankies were a bit slow off the mark, and this allowed Royal Albert to settle and create the first chance of the match. Baptie mis-hit a pass from the left hand side that fell into the path of Campbell who tried to steer the ball first time towards goal, but it was off target.

The Bankies had possibly their best opportunity to score in the whole half after 8 minutes. Dooley crossed the ball deep into the back post area. Several Albert players either missed it or let it pass through, only for Jordan Shelvey to sneak in at the back post and divert the ball goalwards. Somerville was well placed however to save the ball.

After that the Bankies disappointed and Royal Albert were the better side for long periods without ever looking like they were working too hard for it. There was a distinct lack of dynamism that has been so prevalent this season from Clydebank, and any worthwhile action in front of goal was at the wrong end.

The home side had three shots at goal before they finally took the lead. Neil left Dooley for dead, but his shot ended up being weak, then Fernie nipped in front of Fitzpatrick and shot on the turn which defelcted out for a corner. With 25 minutes on the clock Neil who had acres of space on the left crossed for Baptie and his driven effort ricocheted off of Campbell’s back and luckily into the arms of Waters.

Five minutes later and Royal Albert got their noses in front, and not undeservedly. The ball was chipped in to the Bankies penalty box, and Fernie was able to knock it sideways to Campbell who expertly finished it off with his side foot.

The Bankies reaction was decidedly muted and Albert could have score again just three minutes later. Neil rushed down the left wing with Fitzpatrick dangerously close to bringing him down for a penalty. The ball was cut back across the box and was only half cleared to a home striker who shot from the edge of the area. This time a challenge was made and the ball was diverted for a corner.

The Bankies were making little headway and it was no surprise when McAnespie and McCuloch made changes at half time, Hepburn and Dooley made way for Little and Black. Initially it made little difference with Royal Albert playing doggedly and Clydebank finding it difficult to make any inroads.

However, the Bankies began to probe a little more and when Shelvey finally got beyond the home defence on the left hand side things started to look up. In this case Shelvey ballooned the ball over the bar, but the intent was there.

It was Shelvey who was to get the equalising goal after 61 minutes. Liam Rowan prodded the ball through the Royal Albert defence to the Bankies striker who timed his run to perfection and lifted the ball beyond Somerville to notch his 10th goal of the season.

Two minutes later and the Bankies went into the lead. Shelvey was in the thick of it again supplying the assist by crossing the ball across the six yard box. Cammy McClair composed himself before calmly slotting the ball into the net.

It was difficult to know whether the home side had anything left in the tank to attempt a comeback, however it was pretty much decided by Harty that there wouldn’t be one when he scythed down Andy Paterson on the left hand touchline to receive a well deserved straight red card.

The Bankies controlled proceedings for the last 25 minutes and played with a bit more freedom and made a few chances to kill the game off once and for all. Rowan had a cheeky attempt at the near post saved by Somerville, and Higgins had made the keeper work with a neat side-footed shot low on his left hand side.

Stevie Higgins did get on the score sheet with a minute remaining. He received the ball from his namesake Sean in the box. The striker showed great persistence to hold off a couple of challenges before finding the corner of the net.

Overall, the Bankies were quite sluggish in the match, and only after the half time changes did they slowly look more like their usual selves. As ever with cup matches the results are more important than the performances, but the players will know that they have to do better when the come up against more challenging opponents. On a damp cold day the best Bankies players on display were Shelvey and Little who gave the side a bit more drive when he came on.

Match report written by Stuart McBay