Largs Thistle 0
Clydebank 2
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

The Bankies performances have been getting progressively better as we get into the season, and today the players took it up another notch with one of the most emphatic two-nil victories you will ever see.

Largs Thistle are always a tough task to overcome as they are full of energy and compete for every last ball. However, Clydebank stood up to the early barrage and once we took the lead we never looked back.

For long periods of the second half, there was some irresistible football on show and the margin could easily have been much higher. Thistle appear to be a bit of a one trick pony and once you get their tactics under control they have no plan B and the subsequent seven yellow cards received tells its own story

Gordon Moffat stuck with the same starting eleven that took the field for last week’s comprehensive defeat of Glenafton, which meant no place for Nicky Little, Callum Graham or Jamie Darroch.

For the first twenty minutes Largs were by far the better side as they set out to overwhelm the Bankies with their up and at ‘em style. They chase down everything out of possession with extreme vigour and they move the ball quickly when they have it. You need to be strong to combat this, as it could be easy to collapse under this bombardment.

The Bankies defence held firm, and despite some nervy moments coming in the main from the wriggly Willie Sewell, Bankies keeper Kieran Hughes didn’t really have any saves of note to make.

It was after this spell that the Bankies showed as an attacking force for the first time, when Gallacher and Collins combined with the latter making Wilton dive to his left to keep out the striker’s right footed shot.

After a period of stalemate the Bankies took the lead after 28 minutes through Nicky Low. He received the ball inside from Lee Gallacher at least 25 yards from goal and with no obvious pass around him, he shot for goal. Trying to excuse the keeper a little here, as the ball bounced directly in front of him, but he really should have been saving this. The Bankies weren’t complaining though as ball went over his diving arms and into the net.

The Bankies were in the game now and had a couple of half chances to extend the lead, but a free kick from Slattery which went a whisker past the post was the closest to a goal before the interval.

The second half got of to the perfect start as the Bankies went two up within four minutes of the restart, and what a fantastic strike it was too.

Frazer Johnstone poked the ball out to Lee Gallacher on the right flank. Largs made the fatal mistake of trying to jockey the winger, but he simply turned inside two defenders on to his left foot and smacked an unstoppable shot into the top corner from just inside the box.

This was the cue for the Bankies to turn on the style for the next twenty minutes. The home side could not cope and how they did not concede more goals is anybody’s guess.

Chances from Slattery, Mulcahy, Collins and Gallacher came and went as Largs goals lived a charmed life. The excellent Thomas Collins was involved in most moves and he seems to be striking up a bit an understanding with fellow forward Ciaran Mulcahy, and the game should have been killed off after 69 minutes when Collins crossed from the right only to see Mulcahy’s header come off the bar.

In fairness to Largs, they did come into the game in the last fifteen minutes as they tried to get a foothold in order to stage a comeback. They threw a few crosses into the box, but the Bankies defence were resolute, apart from one occasion when Cory Hughes sent a header goalward only for the crossbar to deny him.

The Bankies made their substitutions and took no real risks late on and comfortably ran the clock down for a great away win. It was a first clean sheet for keeper Kieran Hughes which will do his confidence no harm in front of a hard working defence.

This was a very strong team performance from the Bankies. The defence played it’s part in the early stages of the game nullifying the exuberance of Largs. This allowed the midfield and attack to flourish and get the goals at the right time. And the quality coming off the bench just added to the overall picture.

Gordon Moffat seems to have the Indian sign over Largs having won seven out of eight meetings against the Ayrshire side and hopefully some of that can rub off for Wednesday’s match against Hurlford United where his record is just two wins from eight.

It is these games against the likes of Hurlford, Beith and Darvel where we failed last season which will truly give us an idea of our title credentials. Hurlford top the table at the moment so it will clearly be a difficult game. Win that and maybe we could be on to something.

Match report written by Stuart McBay