Pollok 4
Clydebank 0
League (West Region Premiership)

Match Report

Well, it keeps going wrong for the Bankies. What has happened to the side that sat second top of the table for much of the first half of the season? Some people on the terraces are saying the departure of assistant coach at the end of December has something to do with it. Maybe it has, but when he left we had already begun a run of three games without a win. So how did we get from being a side who won nine of their first fourteen league matches gathering 28 points to the one that is now showing all the characteristics of relegation candidates picking up only 11 points in the last 12 games.

The 4-0 gubbing at the hands of Pollok today was the 5th league defeat in the last seven, with each performance getting progressively worse. Luckily for me, I was spared a good chunk of the match having been held up on the way to the ground due to a road accident. The 60 minutes I did see was grim viewing with the lack of cohesion plain to see. Whatever is going on is running through the whole side from back to front. What is definite is that the season can’t end soon enough.

Pollok took the lead after only two minutes due to an error from Declan Fitzpatrick that allowed Stuart McCann to easily put the ball past Waters. The second goal came midway through the half from a text book near post cross, and finish from Forde. The game was already done at this point as Clydebank had done nothing to suggest they could get back into the match.

Pollok were content to sit back and attack as and when necessary and they added two fairly simple goals in the second half. The third was a fine flowing move down the left wing with McCann firing a low cross into the box that was slammed home by Forde. The fourth came in the last minute with the unmarked McCluskey steering a header into the net from a back post cross.

The Bankies didn’t create anything of any note from open play, though Nicky Little did hit the post with a free kick when the score was still 2-0.

The concern for next season is that we are ending this one on a real downer. There is no sign that we can enter next season with any confidence. This does not look like a side that are going places. If anything, it is more reminiscent of the first half of last season when we looked certainties to get relegated. The formation looks all confused at the moment. Where is Cammy McClair playing? We have no width in the side. The full backs aren’t getting forward to compensate. We aren’t defending properly. The midfield is rudderless. None of our central midfielders can link up with Little and Shelvey who are becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of service. It is worrying that some of these players have been given two year deals on the back of some very poor performances.

I’m sure Kieran McAnespie is already on the case regarding new players. We need several in key defensive and midfield positions, and not just squad players. They need to be players who are going to be main contributors. We need to get pace and width back into the side as well. We are very laboured and predictable going forward just now. This is not just a case of a bad a day at the office. We have been exhibiting these signs for some time now. The squad is a bit thin at the moment, so options are a bit limited but the players should be doing better. It is just a shame that such a successful first half of the season has been spoiled by such a huge downturn in the second.

Match report written by Stuart McBay