Stirling Uni 2
Clydebank 3
League (Lowland League)

Match Report

After a run of sticky results, Clydebank got back to winning ways against Stirling University, winning by the odd goal in five at Forthbank Stadium. It was a topsy-turvy match in which the Bankies took the lead and should have scored at least twice more before a slack moment let Stirling equalise before the break.

We then contrived to give away a crazy goal from our own corner, and for a spell the game looked like it might get away from us in the same manner as the Caley Braves defeat on Saturday. That 4–1 loss at Alliance Park was only the seventh time Clydebank have shipped four goals in Gordon Moffat’s 232 games in charge, and he admitted the performance had fallen well short.

Perhaps we’ve just become so used to winning over the last couple of seasons that any dip sends the support into crisis mode. There has always been a healthy level of expectation at Clydebank, and growing standards, crowds and ambition have only heightened the desire to push the club to the next level.

Unlike in the Braves match, the players showed more of the character we’re used to, and two quick-fire goals flipped the game again. Stirling fought valiantly, but a Bankies defence that has looked ropey in recent weeks held up well under pressure.

One major improvement was how we used the width of the pitch. I moaned after the Braves game that we didn’t stretch the play, and Forthbank must be one of the widest parks in Scottish football. Moffat switched to a 3-4-3 with Jimmy Grant and Oisin McHugh as the wide men, and with Grant scoring and both providing assists, it proved astute. Bringing on the pace of Aaron Black and Hickey-Fugaccia as we moved to a back four later on also looked pre-planned.

Grant and McHugh were among the best players on the park, but man of the match must once again be Neil McLaughlin. His link-up play is terrific and he might be the best finisher we’ve had in years. When Samson and Mulcahy return, McLaughlin looks the natural successor to Nicky Little in the number ten role.

Earlier in the season at Holm Park, Stirling caused us plenty of problems, but they posed less threat in the first half here. The opening forty-five were really about the Bankies missing chances.

In the fourth minute Nicky Low clipped a tidy cross to the back post. McLaughlin looked wary of colliding with the upright, or he’d surely have bulleted it in. After a quiet spell, Clydebank began to take control. Gallacher’s diagonal drive slipped wide, then McLaughlin opened the scoring.

A lovely move down the right saw Grant fizz the ball across the six-yard box. Gallacher dummied cleverly, leaving McLaughlin to take a touch inside, sit two defenders down, and drill home.

We should have kicked on. David Syme surged out from deep and picked out Grant with an inch-perfect pass. Grant’s first touch took him past the defender, but with just the keeper to beat he stroked the ball the wrong side of the post.

Low then played a neat one-two with McLaughlin, but his placed shot lacked the power to trouble Sutherland.

The misses came back to bite us on 39 minutes. Stirling had edged into the game and punished us from a corner. Owen Stott, who lacks height and needs protection at set pieces, found himself poorly positioned as the half-cleared ball dropped to Laird, who lofted it over him and in via the underside of the bar.

Despite that, we still should have gone in ahead. McLaughlin twisted the defence inside out and slipped in Nicky Little, but his recent lack of sharpness showed and his side-footer was saved comfortably.

We actually started the second half reasonably well, but conceded a calamitous goal on 52 minutes. From our own corner the ball was cleared to 25 yards, Cairns and Low got in each other’s way — very 1982 Scotland — and Stirling broke forward in numbers. They worked it well and Heal slotted past the exposed Stott.

Our response to conceding hasn’t been good recently, and again we wobbled. We suddenly looked nervous and Stirling almost made it three. Finlay “Moses” Moffett was allowed to run forty yards unchallenged, parting the Red Sea before rattling the bar.

Had that gone in, I’m not sure we’d have recovered, but unbelievably we ran straight up the park and equalised. Grant’s through ball split the defence and McLaughlin, lethal in these situations, took a touch and rammed it beyond Sutherland.

Four minutes later the comeback was complete. McHugh’s running power can be erratic, but when he gets it right he’s unstoppable. This time he burned past the defence and squared for Grant, who finished first time.

Stirling made a proper game of it. The wide-open pitch encouraged end-to-end play, but their final ball repeatedly let them down. Once we regained the lead we tightened up and looked more composed at the back than we have for a while.

Moffat switched to a back four and brought on Frazer Johnstone to steady things, allowing him to add pace from the bench in Black and Hickey-Fugaccia. Thomas Collins also battled well in the closing stages, and we even looked like nicking another on the break as Stirling pushed for an equaliser.

Over the piece, we probably deserved the points, though Stirling will be gutted to take nothing from their two matches against us. After a few confidence-sapping results, this was a badly-needed boost.

We’re now four points clear at the top, though the chasing pack all have games in hand. Two home fixtures against Civil Service Strollers and Gretna 2008 round out the year, and it’s vital we take full points to keep those behind us exactly where they are.

Match report written by Stuart McBay