Clydebank 2
Hurlford United 4
West of Scotland Cup (2nd Round)

Match Report

Ben Cameron’s contentious ordering off just after half time was the turning point in this West of Scotland Cup tie against Hurlford United. The visitors raced to a two lead but were pegged back by the Bankies before the break. The extra man told in the end as goal out of nothing six minutes effectively won the tie for Hurlford with a killer fourth added deep into injury time to make sure.

Bankies boss Gordon Moffat was forced into a couple of changes with Craig Holmes replacing the suspended Chris Black and Andy Paterson starting his first game of the season for the injured Paul Byrne.

The torrential rain wiped out a large section of the Junior football card with Holm Park’s artificial surface meaning the game could go ahead as planned. The attendance held up quite well despite the dreadful weather, but most Bankies were wishing they hadn’t bothered as they were two down in the first fifteen minutes
The first goal was coming as the visitors had the Bankies on the back foot from the beginning. The opener came after just twelve minutes. A cross from the right was headed home from close range by Fisher too easily. It was a cross that the dropped Jamie Darroch would probably have gobbled up.

Four minutes later, and the lead was doubled. Sean Dickson had too much space on the left hand side, and was allowed to crack a diagonal shot to Water’s left hand side. The keeper kept it out but only managed to touch the ball into the path of McKenzie who gratefully tapped it into the unguarded goal.

Fears of a tanking were quickly allayed as the Bankies pulled on back just two later in rather fortuitously. Craig did well to hit the bye line on the left wing and belted the ball low into the near post area. Chris McKnight made a mess of his attempted clearance and could only divert the ball into his own net.

Clydebank picked up considerably after this and it was much more of a competitive match that led to the equalizer on the stroke of half time. Conor Lynass who scored a hat trick the last time the teams met worked a fine move with Cammy McClair. Taking the return pass Lynass burst into the box and drove the ball past Murchie for a fine goal.

Just like last week the Bankies looked like they could go on and win the match, but were to be undone with a red card early in the second half. There were no complaints last week, but this sending off looked much more contentious, certainly from my viewpoint. Ben Cameron appeared to make a clean slide tackle in the middle of the pitch and quite clearly hooked the ball away. Whether there was a follow through it wasn’t plain to see, but the way the ref ran up to the situation it was obvious that the red card was coming out. Bankies gaffer was booked in the aftermath, but it certainly made the Bankies task that much harder.

Like last week, Clydebank responded well to being down to ten men. They should have had a penalty after 58 minutes when Craig Holmes drove into the penalty box. He was quite clearly brought down and the clicking of the boots was distinctly audible from the terracing, but the ref waved away the claims for his second dreadful decision in five minutes.

Then, the Bankies best moment came when Cammy McClair kept possession well on the left wing. He came inside and laid the ball off to Nicky Little who fired in a piledriver from 25 yards that had Murchie diving to tip over the bar for a corner.

The Bankies had defended very well, so it was a great disappointment to lose a nothing goal just six minutes from time. The ball found McKenzie at the edge of the box, and he just wasn’t closed down quick enough allowing the striker to get a clear shot on goal. It was low and accurate with enough power to beat Waters dive on his right hand side. As the Bankies piled forward to try and force a penalty shoot out, they were caught out at the back and McMenamin added a fourth deep into stoppage time.

A slow start allied with the red card really done the Bankies today. Hurlford were impressive for the first quarter of an hour, but the Bankies had earned their way back into the match. Just like last week the red card changed the whole landscape and unfortunately we couldn’t hold on. This means the club are out of all cup competitions and now have to focus on the rebuilding job for next season. Moffat will need to spell out that the players need to perform in the remaining games if they want to stay at the club, as the manager will undoubtedly be looking to bring in his own players for the new term.

Match report written by Stuart McBay