Caley Braves 4
Clydebank 1
League (Lowland League)

Match Report

The Bankies slumped to their fourth consecutive away defeat as the season threatens to unravel after a 4-1 hammering at Caledonian Braves Alliance Park this afternoon. Put simply, it was the worst performance under Gordon Moffat in the last two years.

You have to caveat that by saying that the Braves were excellent throughout. They started with an intensive press which the Bankies found difficult to deal with. Previously, we could withstand these tactics until the opposition tired, but after conceding the first goal, we lacked the energy to respond.

A second goal a minute after the break seemed to have put paid to our chances, but we did briefly rouse ourselves and for a spell we threatened to find a way back into the match, especially after it culminated in Lee Gallacher pulling one back from the penalty spot after fifty two minutes.

However, we were incredibly susceptible to the breakaway in this match and when the Braves netted a third just three minutes later, we had no more puff left in our sails. It was an incredibly unlucky break for the Bankies after losing to two deflected goals at Stranraer last week, this was the cruellest of deflections as the ball flew into the top corner sending Owen Stott the wrong way.

In the end up we could have lost five or six as an open goal was missed, and Owen Stott made a tremendous save from a shot heading into the top corner. There was to be just one more goal and it came from Lennon Walker whose thunderous shot beat Stott from a tight angle.

The Braves did the one thing that we failed to do in the game and that was use the width of the pitch. Almost all of their goals came from wide positions with a square ball or cut back for an incoming forward to net. So, where has this downturn in fortunes come from?

The obvious and cliched thing to say that this was a hangover from last week’s Scottish Cup defeat at Stranraer, and no doubt it is in the mix. However, there seems to be a lot of threads to untangle here.

The squad has been creaking at the seams in recent weeks, and it has felt like a result like this has been coming down the track for a while. At the start of the season, it felt like we had an embarrassment of riches on both the field and bench. Now, it almost seems like a struggle to even get a strong starting eleven on the field.

We have had to lean on the same core of players time and time again, and it is simply taking a toll and it appears to be affecting the form of some individuals.

Then, there is the loss of Kier Samson which has been devastating to the side, as just one win – and a narrow one at that – in our last five games since his absence began will testify.

With no ready-made replacement to take his place, we have struggled to find our way to goal and with Ciaran Mulcahy seemingly still a while off returning our short-term prospects from an attacking point of view look quite depressing.

Look at today’s match as a case in point. With Thomas Collins up front and Lee Gallacher in the number ten position with support from Aaron Black and Neil McLaughlin in the wide positions, we were at a hopeless disadvantage in terms of physicality against their strong, muscular back-line. The ball was like a magnet to Daniel Martins to the point I was starting to think we were deliberately aiming for him.

Despite these problems, it is more likely that we simply have several players off-form all at the same time and it is impacting our confidence. I will refrain from naming names as it is becoming quite obvious who is a net contributor to the side and who isn’t. We were also able to have a first look at Lancelot Pollard today, and he looks like a good ‘football’ player, but that is part of my concern that we have too many footballers and not enough competitors.

It has been an age old problem for Clydebank sides of the past that when it came to brass tacks, we didn’t have enough characters to carry us through. For the first time it felt like Gordon Moffat had cracked that particular nut, but we are in danger of slipping back into that familiar old pattern.

The last thing to mention is the pressure now being exerted from behind in the table. Bonnyrigg can now assume top spot in the table if they win at Cumbernauld on Tuesday. With eight wins on the trot there is no reason to believe that they won’t.

This could leave us in a catch-up position as we travel to Stirling University on Wednesday, and from a supporters point of view, I don’t feel particularly confident of success at the moment. This is the first ‘negative’ match report I have written in a considerable amount of time, but it feels we are at or approaching a critical crossroads. There is plenty of football still to be played and we can fight our way out of this situation and maintain a challenge for the title in the second half of the season, or we can slowly fade from the conversation. What road will we take?

Match report written by Stuart McBay