Kirk Rob Roy 1
Clydebank 2
League (West Region Premiership)

Match Report

Clydebank don’t half know how to put their fans through the wringer, as they scraped home by the odd goal in three against Rob Roy in a match that they should have had in the bag much earlier. Leading by two goals at the break the Bankies looked on course for a very comfortable afternoon but then proceeded to hit the self-destruct button due to a crazy own goal by Liam Rowan – the third time a Clydebank player has put past his own keeper this season. The last twenty minutes saw Clydebank display the kind of inconsistency that has dogged their season so far as Rob Roy could have snatched a share of the points. However, the Kirkintilloch outfit are bottom of the table for a reason and the Bankies held on.

Kieran McAnespie kept the same starting eleven that beat Kilbirnie during the week and despite a quiet start to the match the Bankies began to impose themselves and were reward by two quick fire goals midway through the first half.

The first after 25 minutes was the result of some possession football that saw Byrne release Lynass down the left wing. Lynass delivered a perfect low cross behind the Rob Roy defence which was met by the inrushing Nicky Little who steered the ball into the net from six yards.

This was quickly followed by the second just three minutes later. It was Lynass again causing a problem on the left had side. This time his cross was intercepted by the toe of a Kirkintilloch defender, but he only succeeded in finding Jamie Darroch near the penalty spot and he thundered the ball past Kerr giving him no chance.

Clydebank were well in control, but losing Darroch and Byrne due to injury forced a re-shuffle that did the line up no favours. The return of Liam Rowan to midfield has coincided with the upturn in fortunes but he ended up at right back and the failed Black/Alexander midfield partnership was restored.

This should not have been an issue as the Bankies had two gilt edged chances to kill the game in the opening ten minutes of the second period. Cammy McClair was the instigator of both opportunities. With 53 minutes on the clock, McClair pressurised Durham, stole the ball from him and hit the bye-line. From here he fired in a perfect low cross for Lynass, who although under a bit of pressure cracked the ball over the bar from only a few yards out.

Two minutes later, McClair was prominent in a good footballing move that saw him deliver a fine cross into the box giving Millar a free header from only six yards out, but the big striker contrived to miss the target with the goal gaping.

The Bankies were to rue these misses just two minutes later when under no pressure a Rowan back pass went under Water’s foot and bobbled into the goal. It’s hard to say who should take the blame here, but Rowan should know better not to hit a back pass directly at the goal and Waters really should be dealing with it better in any case. An all-round disaster.

Clydebank’s tendency to be their own worst enemy then began to come to the fore again. Not learning the earlier lesson, Bailey hit a pass back that Waters completely mis-controlled giving Carroll a clear sight of goal but he recklessly blasted the ball over the bar.

From being in cruise control to having to battle, the Bankies started to struggle as Waters had to be alert to touch a Brennan cross-cum-shot over the bar, and then a McKenzie dink to the back post was headed off the outside of the goal frame by McBride.

Still, the Bankies could have sealed the three points as a quick McClair breakaway saw him play in substitute Hepburn who showed a complete lack of composure by blasting over the bar.

The match ended on a real scare for the Bankies as McPherson broke through the defence only to be subjected to what could be kindly described as an awkward challenge by Bailey causing the Rob Roy substitute to go to ground. The Gods smiled on the Bankies defender as the ref waved away the penalty claim and booked McPherson for diving.

The positive from the match is firstly and most importantly banking the three points. The first half performance was also encouraging. Nicky Little looked dangerous and the midfield were much more cohesive with Rowan in there. The second period was much more worrying as Rob Roy, who were easily the poorest team the Bankies have faced this season, were able to make inroads into the Bankies defence. With Rowan and Darroch missing from the central areas the Bankies looked less able to cope defensively and better teams will exploit that better than Rob Roy could. Overall, everyone will be feeling much better with back to back wins and next up is Largs Thistle who are a club pretty much on a par with the Bankies and will provide a stern test.

Match report written by Stuart McBay