Match Report
Maybe revenge is not quite the word, but would it be fair to say that the Bankies gained a little of it over Linlithgow Rose by knocking them out of the Scottish Cup at Prestonfield this afternoon? It was a notable first-ever win for the Bankies over the West Lothian outfit.
The feeling amongst the Clydebank support was that we were due a result after failing to defeat the Rose in four attempts last season. Three red cards for the Bankies in three of those matches certainly distorted the outcomes, and the overall mood was that we would prevail if we could keep eleven men on the field.
The “title decider” on the penultimate weekend of last season also fed into the expectant atmosphere, especially as Linlithgow were subsequently refused a play-off spot after controversially failing to comply with SFA Bronze Licence requirements before the deadline.
In the end, we still didn’t manage to maintain a full complement of players on the pitch as Kian Leslie and Cammy Thomson were both dismissed following an off-the-ball incident. By that point, the Bankies were already a goal up, though we did have to endure an unsettling final ten minutes as Linlithgow pulled out all the stops to try and grab a late equaliser.
It would be an understatement to say there was a hellish feeling of déjà vu as the Rose had scored a leveller deep into stoppage time against us last season in the South Challenge Cup before going on to win the penalty shoot-out. This time, however, the Bankies kept their discipline and deservedly progressed to the next round.
Overall, it was a poor-quality game, with few goalscoring opportunities and two evenly matched sides cancelling each other out for long spells. The twin wing threat from the Rose was largely nullified, with Grant in particular doing an excellent job of keeping their chief playmaker Lucas Stenhouse quiet. Stenhouse was replaced at half-time by Blair Henderson as Linlithgow looked to take a more direct route to goal, but Matt Niven was outstanding again in the heart of the defence and the big forward was rarely seen.
From an attacking point of view, the in-form Neil McLaughlin had a hard shift as the lone striker, and the defensive pairing of Smith and Greene kept him fairly quiet. We were maybe a bit rushed at times on the ball, and the injured Nicky Low would probably have given us a little more control in those clutch moments.
The lack of excitement was not lost on the crowd, who were relatively quiet. It took an error from Andy Leishman after 16 minutes to raise some noise when his attempted clearance struck Tosh on the back, and the big keeper had to scramble towards his goal to recover the situation.
Clydebank created a couple of half-chances, mainly from set pieces. Matt Niven was the target for these, and a typical knock-down found Docherty on one occasion, but he rushed his shot and it spun away by some distance.
The closest the Bankies came in the first half was from a similar situation, but this time it was newly appointed club captain Oisin McHugh who benefited from Niven’s height. However, the skipper’s well-struck effort was pushed away by Binnie to his right.
The only other incident worth mentioning in the first period was a potential penalty claim for the hosts as Jimmy Grant appeared to barge Calum Rae to the ground as he raced towards the box. It has to be said that I have seen them given in the past. However, with the benefit of seeing the footage, it is clear that the “infringement” was outside the box anyway.
The second half brought an immediate spurt of chances for the Bankies. Binnie made a meal of a McGowan header from a Rossiter corner kick just two minutes after the restart. The keeper fumbled the ball onto the bar, and Lady Luck was on his side as it was hacked away in the ensuing scramble.
Quickly afterwards, a more purposeful Clydebank created a shooting opportunity for Dean Cairns, but he was off target with his effort. The game soon returned to the same plot as the first half, though the Bankies were most certainly the aggressors.
This period of stalemate ended in the 66th minute when Clydebank took the lead. Neil McLaughlin chipped the ball over and beyond the Linlithgow defence. Big, immobile defenders like Craig Smith are great when the game is in front of them, but as soon as they have to turn, they are in trouble.
As Smith struggled to reach the ball, the alert Aidan Callaghan nipped in ahead of him, sidestepped the keeper and rolled the ball into the empty net. The winger enjoyed the moment, racing into the heart of the large Bankies support in the enclosure.
The game took an unexpected turn just five minutes later as Thomson and Cairns became involved in an off-the-ball scuffle, with Leslie from the Bankies and Maguire from the home side also getting involved. The linesman had a perfect view and, at his direction, the referee dismissed Leslie and Thomson. On another day, with a less vociferous crowd, the referee may have let it go with yellow cards.
Linlithgow had to make a go of it, and the incident seemed to give them a little added impetus. Clydebank, with a lead to defend, were guilty of inviting Linlithgow onto them, and this is where the memories of last season started to kick in.
However, despite their best efforts, the Bankies goal was not to be breached. The ball struck the frame of the goal direct from a corner, and Andy Leishman produced two match-winning saves. The first came from a Paterson shot after a mazy run from the wing, while the second was top-drawer stuff as he dived acrobatically to his right to block a first-time effort from Henderson at close range.
It cannot be overstated what a wonderful run of results this has been for the Bankies since the calamitous defeat at Celtic B. Fifteen games unbeaten during a heavy schedule with barely a free midweek. Two wins and a draw against SPFL sides are included in that run, and it has to be mentioned again that we have now scored in 65 consecutive matches. By anyone’s standards, at any level, this is quite a phenomenal achievement.
Today’s win showed that we can win in different ways. We have been prone to losing silly goals this season, but that is now back-to-back clean sheets away from home against difficult opponents and is much more like the defensive unit we have been used to seeing over the last couple of years.
We can now look forward to the second-round draw on Sunday, but attention will quickly turn to Hawick Royal Albert in the South Challenge Cup, where there is likely to be some squad rotation as Gordon Moffat seeks to give some of the walking wounded a rest.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
