Clydebank 0
Beith Juniors 1
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank were taught an object lesson in finishing after they lost rather tamely in the end to league Leaders Beith by a solitary goal at Holm Park this evening.

The Bankies had umpteen chances to score in the first half, but failed to take any of the opportunities that came their way whilst Beith netted with virtually their only shot at goal in the same period just before the break.

With their noses in front, Beith showed why they top the table as they formed an impenetrable barrier in the second half which saw the Bankies become increasingly clueless as time wore on. The visitors were always in control, and were well worth their win in the end.

There was just one change from Tuesday’s win over Pollok with Creag Little coming in for Matt Niven. Beith are strong all over the pitch and the fact that they have seven players who have barely missed a game all season has given them real continuity and understanding within their ranks.

Despite the strength of the visitors, the Bankies played quite well in the first period and should really have taken at least one of the many chances that they created. All the best scoring opportunities fell almost exclusively to Alan Kelly and he will be disappointed not to have got his name on the scoresheet.

Three of the shots came from almost identical positions around ten yards from goal on the left hand side. He flashed one of those efforts wide of the post whilst the other two were saved by keeper Stott.

The stopper dived to his left to turn one such shot away for a corner and the second was well blocked by his left foot.

The best chance for the Bankies came from a move started by Jamie Darroch of all people as he strode forward on a breakaway. He slid the ball down the right wing for Lee Gallacher who raced into the penalty area and squared it across the six yard box.

Kelly was challenged as he met the ball, and it spun free right in front of him. He reacted instinctively to scoop the ball towards the goal, but it struck the post before it was hacked clear.

Beith had some decent possession, but it took them 41 minutes before they even had any kind of shot at goal when Monti blasted a 30 yarder over the back fence.

Then, the missed chances came back to haunt the Bankies on the stroke of half time. A corner kick was subject to a couple of aerial challenge before it spun towards the centre of the goal. It looked like the ball skidded off the back of Hodge’s head and went straight into the path of Fowler in the six yard box.

Donnelly reacted superbly to block the striker’s point blank volley, but the ball landed right at Fowler's feet and he easily tapped it into the net.

It was a body blow the Bankies never recovered from. Beith were in complete control of proceedings for the most part of the second half. The Bankies barely troubled the visitor’s goal and it was particularly disappointing that Moffat waited until 18 minutes from time before introducing any substitutions when it was obvious that we were making zero in-roads into the Beith rear guard.

There also seems to be a few players in the side who are rarely taken off even when it is merited. These do tend to be the players who can get you something out of nothing, so it is understandable for the most part. However, it seemed strange to remove Johnstone from the field of play when his counterpart Nicky Low looked quite spent. Low has come to the club with high recommendations, but in his half dozen games so far we have only seen it in dribs and drabs.

The Bankies passing went out the window as they struggled to string two together, and they went increasingly long with the ball which Beith had no bother dealing with. The only real proper effort on goal in the second half was a side footed shot by McMahon which slid past the post with Stott covering it.

At the other end, a well organised Beith side with a centre forward who knew when to run, when to come short and the right positions to be in at the right times could easily have added to their lead through the various breaks they had.

This was particularly noticeable in the closing stages as Clydebank threw more men forward to no real effect. Beith wasted several chances to kill the game off and Donnelly helped keep the Bankies in the game to the very last.

This result well and truly put the nail in Clydebank’s season as far as the league is concerned. The odd positive result kept a very faint flicker alive, but it has now been extinguished. The league campaign has been quite disappointing overall this term. We have now lost almost as many games as last season which had 38 games in it, and with a very difficult run-in it is only sure to increase.

There is not a lot to choose between a large swathe of the clubs in this league and it looks like the title will be between Beith, Auchinleck and Darvel. Those three will probably end up a distance ahead of everyone else, and we can only hope to try and finish the best of the rest. Incidentally, this result means we have now only won once against Beith in our last thirteen meetings. We will definitely playing them again next season as they cannot be promoted due to them not being SFA licenced, so we need to set straight that appalling record.

The Bankies travel to Auchinleck on Wednesday. We might not be able to win the league now, but maybe we can have a say on who does.

Match report written by Stuart McBay