Clydebank 0
Gartcairn 1
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

If, and it’s starting to look like a big if, Clydebank are going to win this league, then it is likely we are going to fall over the line rather than burst through the tape. It was an uninspiring and pedestrian performance against Gartcairn – the latest club with a big wallet, and little else - that saw the Bankies fall to their second successive defeat with a goal just four minutes from the end.

Too many players are off-form, especially in the attacking areas. We simply look like a team low on confidence, and we are not moving the ball about quickly enough to hurt the opposition. It’s fine recycling the ball, but those passes with a little bit of risk attached that open up a defence are either not being attempted or not played with enough conviction. Time and time again we allowed Gartcairn to get men behind the ball and reset.

We really only had just the one good chance in the whole game and it came from a defensive error that allowed Callum Graham to swivel and shoot which keeper Kelly pushed away for a corner.

Gartcairn generally played with more intent than the Bankies with Ian McShane pulling the strings, particularly in the first half. We got on top of that particular problem in the second period, and that allowed us to be more forward thinking, however the visitors always posed more of a goalscoring threat.

They had a few chances to open the scoring in the first 45 minutes, the best of which was a fine save by Kieran Hughes from a low McShane shot. The keeper dived full length to his left hand side to turn the ball away for a corner.

The closest the Bankies came was due to a mazy run by Craig Truesdale, which ended with a through ball to Jimmy Grant in the box. He looked a bit undecided, and his shot whilst well hit, was straight at the keeper.

Matt Niven was also lost to the action just before the interval with what looks like a hamstring injury. He pulled up after under-hitting a passback which required Oisin McHugh to perform heroics when Gartcairn had a two on one situation.

The second half looked to be heading down the same route as the first with Gartcairn starting stronger, but the Bankies did finally grow into the game. What this ended up doing was turn the match into a bit of a stalemate. Clydebank never really had enough about themselves to make you think a goal was going to come, and maybe it’s just a supporter’s worst fears coming true, but Gartcairn’s forwards just looked that bit more troublesome.

Unfortunately, just as it looked like we were heading for a goalless draw, Gartcairn took the points with four minutes remaining as a McGuigan shot from the left hit the face of the crossbar and fell to the feet of Krol who stepped inside MacKenzie and drilled the ball into the net.

Don’t get me wrong this was never going to be an easy game. Gartcairn are a very good side. They are spending money like it is going out of fashion in a typical unsustainable way. A club born out of an academy that was meant to give graduates a pathway into adult football, have totally abandoned that ethos at the first sniff of success. They are now outspending just about every other club in the league and opened the cheque book yet again just prior to this match signing ex-Darvel winger Scott Ferguson from East Kilbride.

The move from the Juniors to the Pyramid seems to have given encouragement to this kind of behaviour as a number of clubs are hellbent on going down this route of spending money like there is no tomorrow in the pursuit of advancement. It’s not like anyone is breaking any rules, but it means clubs with no benefactors like Clydebank who have to work hard for every penny through the gate and attracting local sponsors have an extra obstacle in their way.

Back to the game, It has to be said that the Bankies defence has been the cornerstone of our performances since the start of the year. As we have struggled to find the net at the other end, the back four have been outstanding. It is no surprise that the best performers on the day were at the back. Oisin McHugh had a hard shift against McGuigan, and Creag Little did well when he came on for Matt Niven. Danny MacKenzie is beyond reliable at left back, but for me Jimmy Grant and defensive midfielder Frazer Johnstone were our best players on the day.

With Beith also losing today, the gap at the top remained unchanged, but it draws more clubs into the title race. Without playing, Darvel and St Cadocs received a massive favour, and even Auchinleck Talbot can’t be ruled out after quietly working their way up the table following a poor start.

We have no game next week which won’t do any harm in the circumstances. We need to find our way back to form against Largs in a fortnight. To have any chance of winning the league we are going to have to put a strong run together or we can forget about it. All our rivals play next week, so the gap will be further reduced and the Largs match becomes another massive fixture. We simply can’t afford many more losses.

Match report written by Stuart McBay