St Cadocs 2
Clydebank 2
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

When your team isn’t playing well there seems to be a lot more to talk about. The activity on the Bankies Banter messageboard would suggest that to be the case, and today’s performance against St Cadocs is just going to add fuel to that particular fire.

We all know we are up against some very good teams in this league and we’re not going to get it all our own way. However, the first 30 minutes of this game were absolutely atrocious. There is no getting away from it. The fact that we somehow managed to escape from New Tinto Park with a 2-2 draw should not disguise how poor we were at the start of the game. It would be churlish, however, not to acknowledge that the players deserve some credit for coming back from two goals down.

The question needs to be asked why we need some kind of trigger to get us playing. Why can’t we start a game on the front foot and with a sense of urgency? The good teams in any league will come out with intent to win a game of football. I make that the 13th league game this season we have lost the opening goal. You do not win leagues by constantly having to come back from behind.

It took us 34 minutes to have a shot on goal today, a kind of mis-hit half volley from Liam McGonigle that would have cleared the height of two goals. By then we were already behind to a long overdue goal.

St Cadocs had already created many decent chances prior to opening the scoring after 30 minutes. McTaggart and Breen came close with shots, and Oisin McHugh saved a goal deflecting a McManus effort for a corner.

From this corner kick, the Bankies had an unbelievable let off when a poor clearance fell to Mclaughlin whose shot rattled off the inside of both posts. From another corner in the same phase, McKillen snuck in at the near post and his low shot hit the side netting.

It was only a matter of time before the goal came and the home side finally took the lead on the half hour when nice interplay on the edge of the box found Ronan Hughes. The forward hit a strong shot, and being kind to Bankies keeper Kieran Hughes we’ll say it was the power that made him parry the ball over his head and drop behind him into the goal.

The Bankies finished the half the stronger of the two sides finally getting into the game, but how much that was due to St Cadocs’ levels dropping off after taking the lead it is impossible to tell. From that spell the Bankies fashioned one good goalscoring opportunity when a deft chip from the right found the inrushing Callum Graham, but his header was well blocked by keeper Max Currie.

Clydebank looked to continue where they left off at the restart, and almost immediately Callum Graham was sent through on goal. Currie was quick off his line to block, when probably a square pass to Thomas Collins would have been a better option. Collins then had a free kick deflected for a corner before the well intentioned start was left in ruins.

St Cadocs earned a corner on the left hand side, and well, we’ve been here before. It’s hard not to be brutally honest, but Kieran Hughes cannot deal with a cross ball. He is unwilling to leave his line and when he does, it is so half hearted that all sorts of chaos ensues. This effort at getting to the ball saw it fall to Richie McKillen on the penalty spot and he easily volleyed into the net.

St Cadocs manager Martin Fellowes said after the game that he felt his side were a constant danger from set pieces. There was a reason for that. Being brave and strong at cross balls is one of the fundamental elements of being a goalkeeper, and its particularly frustrating as we had this exact same issue last season with Kyle King. It’s a tough life being a goalkeeper, as your mistakes invariably cost goals, and goals cost games.

The game meandered for a while until the Bankies got a goal back after 61 minutes in fortunate circumstances. This game was really a tale of two goalkeepers and their errors. The flaw that St Cadocs keeper Max Currie has is one of genetics. He is probably too short to keep goal, and he would be found out twice because of this.

Liam McGonigle delivered a free kick in from the right, and the keeper chose to stay on his line. As the ball swung in everybody missed it and it bounced high inside the far post to give the Bankies a lifeline.

However, rather than giving the Bankies the shot in the arm they needed, it was St Cadocs who went on to create a number of very scoreable chances, but Hughes’ goal lead a charmed life with some desperate defending preventing the margin being restored to two.

The Bankies four subs of Little, Gallacher, Mulcahy, and Truesdale began to show the quality that this quartet possess and an unlikely draw looked to be on the cards. A number of decent positions were squandered with the final pass not completed or wasted.

However, this pressure paid off with five minutes remaining via another goalkeeping error. From a Lee Gallacher corner, keeper Currie decided to come for the ball this time, but he made a complete mess of trying to tip it away. He ended up sending it to the back post where Nicky Little was lurking to bundle the ball into the net.

From here, the Bankies almost stole it when a mazy run from Craig Truesdale saw the ball being deflected narrowly past the post for a corner kick. The game ended all-square and St Cadocs will no doubt feel that they threw this away from a strong position.

When we look back on this season it will be stamped “missed opportunity” all over the place. This run of one win in six has been so damaging particularly as our rivals continue to drop points as well. Darvel lost in midweek and Beith failed to close the gap as they also drew this afternoon. Even four more points could have been significant The losses against Largs and Gartcairn were the real sickeners. Gartcairn haven’t won any of their last five games since they came to Holm Park and took all three points.

All this has done is open the door for Auchinleck Talbot to come through to win the league. This might actually be the best thing for everybody, as the last thing advocates of the pyramid need is another unlicenced club winning the league meaning the West does not put forward a club for the Lowland League play-off again.

As far as the Bankies are concerned we may find that even after our next three games have been played – starting with Arthurlie at home next week - we may well still be top of the table with two to play. We are then idle for three consecutive weeks after the 5th of April and this is where our rivals are likely to overtake us. We will then wrap up the league campaign with two games at the start of May.

Match report written by Stuart McBay