Alloa Athletic 2
Clydebank 0
League (Division 1)

Match Report

The air of disbelief and humiliation on the returning Bankies supporters' bus told the whole story. Clydebank had just gone down tamely to newly promoted Alloa, and like an old record the excuses came rolling out. Only this time none of them applied!

For this was, without doubt, the poorest Bankies performance I have ever seen. They never competed in a match which saw Alloa pick up their first win of the season.

Two second-half goals, a marvellous 25-yarder and a scrambled effort gave the Clackmannan side two of the easiest points they will ever be handed.

For a team with the talent of Clydebank, the game was nothing short of a disgrace. Certainly they couldn't have picked a worse day to turn in such a dismal performance.

With an appeal for support from the club's directors circulating in the town, here was the best possible chance for the side to promote itself in the eyes of the public.

A good win at run-down Recreation Park would have been an ideal boost for everyone at the club, but instead the demoralising defeat left the usually buoyant fans at their lowest ebb for some time.

At half time, having witnessed a depressingly poor first 45 minutes, many still saw hope for a good result. By the final whistle most expressed the feeling that they had been let down by the team.

The only time Bankies looked a threat was after Eddie Sinclair replaced Jim Given in the second half. The young winger teased and tormented the right-hand side of the home defence, but his crosses came to nothing. And, anyway, by the time he did get his chance, it was too late.

As soon as Alloa went ahead there was no way they were going to give anything away.

They took the lead with a superb goal. Treanor ended a long run by defender Thomson with a crunching tackle which earned him a booking. Stuart Munro tapped the ball to sweeper Brian Purdie, and his raging drive beat Gallacher in the top corner.

On The second goal wasn't quite as good. Bankies were caught playing statues in defence and Grant's cross was kneed past Gallacher by substitute Wilson.

And that was that. A bad performance, a defeat and a clutch of memories which u fortunately will linger for quite some time.

The only Bankies who absolved themselves somewhat from criticism were Jim Gallacher, Jim Fallon and Budgie McGhie.