Benburb 0
Clydebank 5
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank FC – West of Scotland Football League Champions 2024-25. How good does that sound? It has seemed inevitable over the past few weeks that the Bankies would clinch the league title sooner, rather than later. And today was that day as Benburb were comprehensively defeated by five goals to nil at New Tinto Park giving the Bankies an unassailable lead at the top of the table following Johnstone Burgh’s loss at Cumnock.

It has been a remarkable season not just for the fact that we have been unbeaten in all 25 matches we have played so far, but also for the lack of drama and setbacks. Every challenge has been risen to, every ‘i’ dotted, every ‘t’ crossed, and we have been relentless in pursuit of our goals. Having watched Clydebank for nearly every one of my 53 years, this is somewhat of a new experience for me, and it has been a total joy to watch.

This is just Clydebank’s third league title in our lifetimes, and Gordon Moffat joins Bill Munro and Budgie McGhie in the annals of the club’s history for completing such a feat. His place alongside such illustrious company is now secured, with the promise of more to come. I’m sure Moff would be the first to say that it is a team effort, and although it is his name on the door, none of this would be possible without his backroom team, and that should always be remembered. The club is in such a good position on and off the field that this feels like the first step on the journey to even greater success.

Today’s game was as one-sided an affair that we have witnessed all season. Benburb seem to be in a desperate state and are hurtling towards relegation at a fair rate of knots having failed to win any of their last ten games. They have also conceded 38 goals in that period and after they fell behind after just six minutes today there was only ever going to be one outcome.

The Bankies could have been two up before the opening goal was scored when Gallacher shot over from a good position, then Samson had a fresh air swipe at a cross ball from a Little cross. It was Samson who delivered the first blow when his direct running was found by a great through pass from Nicky Low. Samson has been on top form recently, and he expertly lifted the ball over Cameron’s head.

The only thing missing from Clydebank’s first half performance was the finishing touch as umpteen chances were created and missed. We were perhaps a little slow at pushing home our superiority and the Bens did have one or two spells that could have spawned a goal. Particularly, with the final kick of the ball of the first half when McWilliams worked a neat one-two in the box and his parting shot just slipped on the wrong side of the post.

This was all quickly put to bed at the start of the second half when the Bankies simply overwhelmed the home side. Two top quality strikes took the game away from the Bens in the opening eight minutes and the champions elect were on easy street.

The second goal of the game after 49 minutes was a typical Nicky Low strike, and by that, I mean a thunderbolt from outside the box. This was his tenth goal for the Bankies and almost all of them have been scorchers. This was no different as he picked up a pass from Craig Truesdale and drove an unstoppable 25 yard shot past Cameron.

Four minutes later, Nicky Little scored a typical Nicky Little goal, and by that, I mean an off the cuff strike that catches everyone unawares including the keeper and leaving him looking just a little bit silly. The ball dropped to Little via the back of Nicky Low’s head, and the skipper facing away from goal some 25 yards out swivelled and hit it first time on the up bounce. Cameron made a fruitless attempt to reach the ball, but he basically just waved at it as it flew past him into the net.

Goals four and five followed later in the game, as Samson latched on to a Cairns pass to slide the ball into the net via the post and Ciaran Mulcahy had a fairly simple finish to beat the keeper from close-in. It was Cairns again who provided the assist.

With the game well and truly sewn up, attention turned to events at Townhead Park where Cumnock had led second place Johnstone Burgh by a single goal for most of the game. Within twenty seconds of the game at New Tinto Park ending, news came through that Johnstone Burgh had indeed lost and Clydebank were the new league champions.

Am impromptu celebration on the field between the players, management and fans ensued for the next twenty minutes, and we can look forward to a real party atmosphere at Holm Park next week where hopefully Nicky Little will be presented with the League trophy after we play Largs Thistle.

I have to say that out of all the players I am most pleased for is Nicky Little. The career he has had at Clydebank has been deserving of some material reward. He has become the all-time top scorer for the club this season, equalled his all-time best tally of 28 for a season today, and scored for the first time against Benburb making it something like 59 different opponents he has found the net against for the Bankies. The only trophy Clydebank have won in recent years was during his hiatus season with Pollok when he was in the opposition ranks. It will be a great personal moment for Nicky and one the fans will happily share with him.

Man of the match on the pitch today, for me, was Keir Samson. He has been electric in recent weeks and defences have been unable to handle him. Running him close were Nicky Low and Dean Cairns who were always in complete control and almost made it look like the proverbial stroll in the park.

Under the current circumstances, we should be looking forward to a play-off against the East of Scotland champions for a place in the Lowland League. However, with league reconstruction seemingly more and more likely it may well be unnecessary. We will have to wait and see how that pans out in the coming weeks, but I’m sure the club will continue with the original goal in mind until we know differently.

So that’s it, we did it!

Match report written by Stuart McBay