Kilmarnock 0
Clydebank 0
League (Division 1)

Match Report

Clydebank proved once again on Saturday they are in no mood to hand out promotion favours. After beating Hearts the previous week, Bankies took a vital point off rivals Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, with a display which ranged erratically from sheer class to farce.

A draw seemed inevitable before the game, with Killie having drawn nine of their 15 home matches - a record which could cost them a Premier League place.

Despite their fighting qualities, Kilmarnock just did not have the same free-flowing style which could have won the game for Bankies.

And the tag of "stonewall defence" by some national newspapers was very unkind indeed to the Kilbowie men, who defended intelligently and attacked with dazzling style at times.

Their one big fault was trying to walk the ball into the net surprising after their two superb long range goals against Hearts.

Big Blair Millar - still short of his magic century of goals had the best chance of the match, when he turned the defence in the penalty area and shot to the corner.

But Killie keeper Alan McCulloch brought off the save of the match, turning the ball a couple of inches wide of the post.

Despite showing all the good touches in a rather hectic match, Bankies could easily have handed Kilmarnock the game with a farcical series of defensive blunders.

Jim Gallacher - man of the match - had already made one fine save from Jim Clark, when he brilliantly held a misdirected header from Clydebank's Jim Given.

Moments later Tony Gervaise almost scored an own goal. when he tried to head past for a corner. Gallacher, leaping across his line, saved to the visible relief of the tall defender.

Late in the game Gervaise was the culprit again when his short pass-back fell straight in the path of Gallagher, whose shot was blocked by the Bankies keeper.

Apart from these few anxious and self-inflicted moments, the Clydebank defence played solidly, with Jim Fallon reading the game well at sweeper. Bobby Williamson, playing at right back, was the man who created Bankies' best moves in the first half, combining well with Ronald and McCabe in some one-touch moves which brought appreciative approval from the 2,100 crowd.

Without offending Mark Treanor, an excellent young defender, Williamson has certainly made his mark since replacing the right back, out through suspension.

His telling runs often caused panic in the Killie defence and he was not scared to have a go from outside the penalty area, forcing Alan McCulloch into two good saves.

Jim Gallacher had a fine match, but his one mistake gave Kilmarnock the best chance of the afternoon. The keeper, jumping for a high cross with Sam McGivern, failed to clear the ball. McGivern was left with the ball at his feet in front of goal, but opted to take one touch too many before shooting feebly past the post.

Clydebank were determined not to lose this one and damage their promotion chances. So perhaps it was not surprising three of their players were booked for over - zealous tackling.

Jim Given had his name taken in the first half for pulling down MacLeod, joining Blair Millar, who had been booked for a late tackle on McLean. And Tony Gervaise was shown the yellow card in the second half for a series of fouls as he battled to lift Bankies to victory.

Kilmarnock were jeered off the pitch, with their fans desperately unhappy at losing yet another home point. As manager Jim Clunie pointed out after the game, five or six wins from those drawn games would have put them well out in second place ahead of the chasing pack.

It was a bad day over all for Ayrshire with Ayr United dropping a point in a 2-2 draw at Dunfermline. The Rugby Park draw moved Clydebank into fourth spot ahead of St. Johnstone, who crashed 3-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle.

Bankies will have to maintain this sort of form against their promotion rivals if they are to take the big step up to the Top Ten next season. With games against Hearts and Killie still to come, they will need to show the same determination not to lose.