Celtic 'B' 3
Clydebank 1
League (Lowland League)

Match Report

I thought I would give myself the overnight period to reflect on yesterday’s 3–1 defeat against the Celtic B team in the hope that I wouldn’t be overly dramatic in writing this match report. However, it does look likely that this third consecutive league defeat has put paid to our title and promotion hopes.

As expected, Gordon Moffat, in his post-match interview, stated that there are 27 points still to be played for and that we will fight for them, but as things stand it is difficult to see us resurrecting the form that saw us go unbeaten in the opening 13 matches of the season.

Since then, we have won five, drawn once and suffered six defeats in the league — hardly the form of title contenders. When we played and defeated Celtic at the start of November, we held a nine-point advantage over Bonnyrigg Rose and led Caley Braves by twelve. Both of those sides have now overtaken us to such an extent that the Rose are eight points ahead — a remarkable seventeen-point swing.

This does not feel like the February of two years ago, when we had a sudden collapse and just gave ourselves too much to do to catch eventual West of Scotland champions Beith Jrs. This has been more of an incremental decline that has been gnawing away over the past few months.

Sure, we can point to injuries, which have been on a monumental scale over the past two seasons, but it seems to me that this side that Gordon Moffat built reached a rapid peak in its abilities and is coming down the other side just as quickly.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that a major clear-out and rebuild are required, but several players self-evidently are coming to the end of their Clydebank careers, and others who really stood up to be counted last season have been found wanting in recent months. How Gordon Moffat and his management team handle this will be interesting. We have had to adjust and adapt to a different world of football in the Lowland League; however, with reconstruction coming next season, we may have to return to a West of Scotland League mentality.

As for yesterday’s game, we were completely outplayed from start to finish by a technically superior side who used the width and space on the pitch to great effect. Save for two short periods in the middle of either half, the Bankies were simply not at the races, and in the latter stages of the match Celtic had the opportunity to make the result more damaging as heads went down.

There were times when Celtic were camped around our penalty area, prompting, prodding, and finding their passes with ease. I’m not sure I’ve seen our defence have such a difficult time trying to retrieve the ball. After eight minutes a cross from the right flashed in front of goal with no takers, then Turley cut in from the left and his effort was held by Stott.

Having weathered that early storm, the Bankies did find a way into the match, and Cairns saw a shot from the edge of the box blocked. The recycled ball was returned into the penalty area, and Cairns again did well to head towards goal, but it was a straightforward save for Gill.

The best piece of quality from a Clydebank point of view came from a wonderful diagonal pass by Nicky Low. It was complemented by a fantastic first touch by Neil McLaughlin, and his subsequent early shot was well saved by Gill at his near post.

Celtic continued to be a threat at the other end and earned a number of corner kicks. From one in particular, Stott’s weakness from cross balls was exposed as he was nowhere, and luckily Borland’s glanced header sailed wide of the unguarded goal.

The Bankies did take the lead, surprisingly, after the half-hour. We seemed to use the long throw far too much on such a wide pitch, as the ball was nowhere near reaching the danger area on most occasions. However, it paid dividends this time when an attempted clearance looped into the sky. Neil McLaughlin took a superb touch to kill the ball, but as he did so a mistimed tackle brought him tumbling to the ground. He took the spot kick himself and netted his twentieth goal of the season.

The lead didn’t last more than a few minutes. Again, Celtic were able to ping the ball about in our penalty box, and Turley made space for himself to drill the ball low into the net. This familiar pattern was cutting holes in the Clydebank defence time and time again, and the upright saved us as another decisive move saw McArdle’s curled shot rebound off the inside of the post.

It wasn’t long into the second half before Celtic took the lead. Both McHugh and Preston were given a hard time in the full-back positions, as quite often the home side had their own full-backs high up the pitch supporting the attack, leading to overloads in the wide areas. The goal came directly from Hatton showing Preston a clean pair of heels before sliding the ball across the six-yard box for Pickford to tap home.

Despite there being a clear disparity between both sides in terms of their use of the ball, Clydebank were not without goalscoring opportunities, and at this stage there was a brief rally. McLaughlin sent a twenty-yard effort just wide of the post, David Syme had both a header and a volley scrambled away in the six-yard box, and Nicky Low brought out a great stop from Gill after one of our better counter-attacks.

Unfortunately, a goal at the other end seemed more likely. Stott had made a great one-handed stop from Isiguzo. Turley almost netted his second when the overworked Stott had to save with his legs when the forward was clean through, and he was further tested by a near-post McArdle effort.

The killer third goal finally came after 78 minutes. Again, in an all-too-familiar scenario, Celtic were passing the ball around the Clydebank area just waiting to identify the correct pass, and it came from Isiguzo, who played in McArdle on the right-hand side. His finish was top drawer as he dinked the ball past the advancing Stott.

The fight left the Clydebank players at this point, and Celtic could have added more. A fourth goal, very similar to the third, was ruled out for offside near the end. A disappointed Clydebank support trudged out of the stadium at the end of the match knowing their side had been well beaten.

So, where does this leave us? While it is still within touching distance, we have to find a way to reverse our fortunes. I’m finding it hard to see us putting together the run of form and results required to mount a genuine challenge for the title. We just seem to be stuck in a downward spiral at the moment, and all the exits are closed.

We have another difficult match in the Lowland League Cup quarter-final on Tuesday at Linlithgow Rose. It is always a hard ask for supporters to make the journey midweek across the country, but even more so given the recent form. The players probably need the backing more than ever at the moment and would no doubt appreciate it if we could continue the great support we have given this season.

Match report written by Stuart McBay