Girvan 1
Clydebank 7
Scottish Junior Cup (5th Round)

Match Report

Clydebank were heavy favourites going into their Scottish Cup 5th Round tie at Hamilton Park against struggling Girvan who had conceded 23 goals in their last four matches. It was, therefore, no real surprise that the Bankies hit the Seasiders for seven and faced little resistance as they did so. This result sets up a quarter final tie against last year’s beaten finalists, Hurlford United in the quarter final.

After two aborted attempts to get this fixture on due to the weather, Hamilton Park was looking in fine fettle with a stiff cross-field breeze for the players to contend with. Bankies changed things around with Lee Duncanson making a first start at right back with Jamie Darroch and Liam Rowan sitting on the bench.

The result of this match was never in any doubt as Jordan Shelvey almost scored with only 10 seconds on the clock. His cross cum shot from the left hand side of the box almost sneaking in at the far post. Shelvey was again involved only a minute later when he breached the Girvan defence only to find his cut back desperately hacked away.

Before the opening ten minutes had passed the Bankies were two goals to the good with Nicky Little doing the damage. The first after eight minutes was thanks to a Sean Higgins slide rule pass that put Little clear and he expertly side footed the ball into the net. Less than two minutes later he met a corner kick with his head which he directed high into the net giving Little his 21st goal of the season equalling his tally for each of his last two seasons at the club.

A further twelve minutes passed before goal number three arrived. Del Hepburn nudged the ball inside from the left channel to Ross Alexander who curled a beauty into McInnes’ left hand corner.

Girvan managed to give themselves a lifeline two minutes later as Harvey rode a few challenges, only for the ball to break for Mitchell at the edge of the box. His finish was fine as he cracked the ball past Waters into the top corner.

This was a minor blip in the one way traffic as Hepburn almost restored the three goal lead when he sent a header off the base of the post just before the break. On the other side of the interval Cammy McClair brought out a fine one handed save from McInnes after he was put through by Shelvey.

The Bankies fourth was only delayed by a matter of minutes as a poor attempt at a clearance in a crowded penalty box saw the ball spin high in the air. As the ball dropped back to earth everyone just seemed to stop and watch as Jordan Shelvey guided it into the bottom corner of the goal with a deft header.

More goals were prevented by McInnes in the home goal after he stopped shots by Higgins and Hepburn. The latter was to go on to score goal of the game when he chipped the ball beyond the Girvan defence. A bit like a chip and charge in Rugby he collected his own through ball and calmly placed it into the net.

The same player claimed number six from the penalty spot after Copeland needlessly barged Shelvey in the back. Hepburn stroked the ball home for his eighth goal of the season. The scoring was completed soon afterwards when Fitzpatrick was the recipient of a kind break of the ball in the box. He wasted no time in cracking the ball into the net from close range.

After not playing for a few weeks this was the ideal game for the players to shake off the cobwebs. The incentive of a Scottish Cup quarter final also meant there would be no lack of effort. Although the Bankies weren’t made to work very hard for the win, they kept the pressure up continually looking to add more goals and this is a sign of a hungry side. Next week its back to league business, before the cup tie at Hurlford. The Bankies have shown that they can take goals off the Ayrshire side, but they will have to be more adept at keeping them out at the other end as the last two defeats at Blair Park will testify.

Match report written by Stuart McBay