Match Report
In most other countries, the start of the football season is met with fans in club shirts and long, warm summer days. But this is Scotland we are talking about, so waterproofs were the required uniform today, as the journey through to Blackburn was accompanied by grey skies and lashing rain.
Thankfully, the rain stayed away during the game as the Bankies took on Musselburgh Athletic in the Legacy Shield - a four-team tournament also contested by hosts Blackburn United and Cumbernauld Colts.
It was little over a year since Clydebank and Musselburgh met in the Lowland League play-off, which the Bankies won over two legs, and there now appears to be a much larger gap between the sides than there was then.
The four-nil thumping was as emphatic as it sounds and could easily have been more in the second half had the Bankies not taken their foot off the pedal. To try to be kind to Musselburgh, they may have been missing several players, but the Bankies were also without top-scorer Neil McLaughlin, Jimmy Grant, Owen Stott and Chris McGowan.
The most evident problem for Gordon Moffat - who was also absent - is how he is going to keep all these players happy, especially in the forward department.
Two of the new signings, Blair Rossiter and Aidan Callaghan, were handed starting berths, and both impressed. Rossiter, son of former Bankie Barry, was a stick-out and scored the first after being set up by his fellow debutant Callaghan after eight minutes.
Despite this being Bankies’ first proper pre-season match, there was already a fluent look about the passing and movement. As well as the new signings, this was also a real chance to have a look at Lancelot Pollard, who spent most of last season on the sidelines. It is easy to see why he was regarded as an elite prospect at Aberdeen and Rangers, as his touch and skill are off the scale.
The second goal came just before the interval after several missed opportunities to extend the lead, as Keir Samson pounced on a defensive error to run clear on goal before side-footing past Laing.
Musselburgh gave no indication that they could handle Clydebank’s movement, and within three minutes of the restart they were three down. Rossiter was at the heart of the action again as he picked out Oisin McHugh’s forward run perfectly. The defender’s touch took him beyond the keeper, allowing a simple tap-in to the net.
Just after the hour, the Bankies introduced another new signing, Josh Jack, alongside Nicky Little, Kieran Dolan, Matt Niven and Dean Cairns. The strength in depth on the bench is frightening when you take into account the players who weren’t there today.
Jack had a quiet debut, but his first real touch of the ball was a superb near-post corner for Matt Niven to bullet a header home via the post, which was also his first touch.
It is just one game, but as a supporter you look for promising signs for the season ahead, and there was plenty of evidence of that. Musselburgh fans, on the other hand, will know they have work to do.
Judgment, as ever, will be reserved for the competitive season, but I don’t think there were too many unhappy supporters leaving New Murrayfield Park today. The Bankies return to Blackburn tomorrow to take on fellow Lowland League side Cumbernauld Colts in the final of the Legacy Shield.
The Colts gave the Bankies two hard games in the league last season, including a real doing at Holm Park back in January. Although still a friendly, it will be a decent yardstick against a side who finished sixth in the Lowland League last term.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
