Raith Rovers 3
Clydebank 0
League (Division 2)


Raith Rovers 

3 - 0

Clydebank

League (Division 2)
Saturday, September 17th, 1966
Starks Park. Att. 1,486
3:00 PM Kick-off


Goalscorers
Pat Gardner (49)
Pat Gardner (65)
Pat Gardner (88)
None.

Team Managers
George Farm Jack Steedman

Starting Eleven
1 Bobby Reid
2 Bobby Stein
3 Alex Gray
4 Tom Davidson
5 Bobby Evans
6 Ian Porterfield
7 Ian Lister
8 Pat Gardner
9 Jock Richardson
10 Willie McLean
11 John McDonald
Ronnie Wilson 1
Graham Small 2
Donald McDonald 3
Ernie Collumbine 4
Archie Rankin 5
Eddie Jenkins 6
Tommy McGhee 7
Ian Russell 8
John Cummings 9
Willie McCallum 10
John Wark 11

Bench
12 Henry Selfridge Alex Stewart 12

Substitutions
None. None.

Cautions
None. None.

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

W Elliott (Referee)



Match Report


Clydebank's wait for a first league win continued on Saturday as they were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by a strong Raith Rovers side at Stark’s Park, with inside-right Pat Gardner netting a hat-trick to seal the points for the home side.

The scoreline, while fair based on the second-half showing, masked a more evenly contested first period in which Clydebank defended stoutly and restricted Raith to few clear chances. Goalkeeper Ronnie Wilson had little to do before the interval, making just two notable saves as most of the home side’s attacking moves faltered around the edge of the penalty area.

However, once the second half got underway, Raith’s superiority began to tell. Gardner broke the deadlock with a spectacular strike from 25 yards, a powerful rising effort that left Wilson with no chance. From that moment, the Fife side took full control of the match.

Clydebank, who had experimented with an unorthodox forward set-up—with winger John Wark drifting across to the right side—rarely threatened the Raith goal. Their makeshift approach up front caused some confusion, and while it occasionally drew defenders out of position, it ultimately lacked cohesion and bite.

Gardner doubled Raith’s lead just after the hour mark, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and stabbing it home with a scuffed effort that wrong-footed Wilson. The Bankies' backline, who had done well to contain Raith for long spells, began to tire and lose focus in the closing stages. With two minutes left, they stood off inexplicably as Gardner completed his hat-trick, nodding in a Davidson lob unchallenged.

Despite the defeat, Clydebank can take some credit for their first-half resistance and defensive organisation. But with just four goals league goals scored so far and zero points to show for their efforts, there are concerns about their cutting edge in front of goal.

Raith, on the other hand, look to be hitting their stride. This was their fourth straight league victory and their sixth consecutive win in all competitions, and on current form they appear well-placed to mount a serious promotion challenge.

For Clydebank, the challenge remains to turn promising passages of play into results—and soon.

Match report written by Stuart McBay



Squad Statistics (as at September 17th, 1966)


1966-67 All Time
League Cups All
Ronnie Wilson (GK) 5 - 5 - 23 -
Graham Small 5 - 5 - 202
John Wark 2 - 0 - 22 -
Ernie Collumbine 5 - 3 - 8 -
Donald McDonald 4 - 5 - 9 -
Archie Rankin 3 - 4 - 26 -
John Cummings 4 - 5393
Eddie Jenkins 5 - 3 - 181
Ian Russell 212 - 41
Willie McCallum 5 - 51101
Tommy McGhee 514 - 182







Recent Results


League results since Clydebank's last match
17th September 1966
Albion Rovers4-1Stenhousemuir
Alloa Athletic1-3Hamilton Accies
Berwick Rangers2-0Cowdenbeath
Dumbarton0-3East Fife
Forfar Ath0-2Brechin City
Montrose2-1Arbroath
Morton4-0East Stirlingshire
Queen of South3-2Third Lanark
Queen's Park4-0Stranraer
Raith Rovers3-0Clydebank

League Table (as at September 17th, 1966)


Pld W D L +/- Pts
1. Raith Rovers 5 4 1 0 +7 9
2. East Fife 5 4 0 1 +6 8
3. Arbroath 5 3 0 2 +8 6
4. Morton 3 3 0 0 +8 6
5. Hamilton Accies 5 3 0 2 +4 6
6. Albion Rovers 5 3 0 2 +2 6
7. Third Lanark 5 3 0 2 +2 6
8. Queen of South 5 2 2 1 +2 6
9. Berwick Rangers 5 2 2 1 +2 6
10. Alloa Athletic 5 3 0 2 0 6
11. Queen's Park 5 2 1 2 +7 5
12. Montrose 4 2 1 1 +3 5
13. Stranraer 5 2 1 2 -3 5
14. Brechin City 3 2 0 1 +3 4
15. Stenhousemuir 5 2 0 3 -2 4
16. Forfar Ath 5 1 1 3 -13 3
17. Dumbarton 5 1 0 4 -5 2
18. East Stirlingshire 5 0 1 4 -12 1
19. Cowdenbeath 4 0 0 4 -8 0
20. Clydebank 5 0 0 5 -11 0