Clydebank 4
Jordanhill TC 1
League (Combined Reserve League - 1st Series)

Match Report

Clydebank had barely been out of the newspapers for the past year or so following the ES Clydebank merger and the subsequent decoupling through the courts. There was an initial flurry of publicity when Clydebank emerged as a senior club in their own right, but once the season was underway attention quickly turned elsewhere, and the Bankies' name virtually disappeared from the nationals. It was up to the local paper to keep fans up to date which for the most part did a good job. In comparison to other local newspapers, however, it was often lacking. Long periods of games not being reported on were common place, and it was really when the Bankies began to move up the leagues in the mid 1970's that the Clydebank Press could be relied upon week in week out.

This was Clydebank's first home game as a senior club and the Clydebank Press reported the crowd as either 400 or 1000 in separate articles. We've gone with 400 as being more the likely number. It was a surprisingly good crowd considering Kilbowie Park had hosted Hibernian, Sunderland and Ipswich Town in the previous twelve months. The fans had come through a lot in that period from Juniors, to challenging for the Second Division title, to finding themselves in a second rate reserve league. The fans voices were never recorded and I wonder if many would have preferred a return to the Juniors at this stage, as the future must have seemed fairly uncertain.

Jordanhill were brushed away fairly easily in this match, and Clydebank needed tougher opposition. In the Second Division of the Scottish League there was one idle team without a game every Saturday due to the league having an odd number of clubs, and arrangements were being made to have these teams visit Kilbowie where possible. The number six for the Bankies was a Junior trialist who we've never been able to name.

Modern reflection by Stuart McBay (9th September 2025)

Reports from the Time

Clydebank Press