Clydebank 1
Brechin City 1
League (Division 2)

Match Report

Oh, how the Bankies must be kicking themselves for letting this precious point slip from their grasp. They had 90 per cent of the play, and if it had not been for some inspired goalkeeping from Ritchie, and some poor finishing by their own forwards, the Bankies would surely have had a field day.

The Brechin goalkeeper was in terrific form with two saves, one in particular that can only be described as miraculous.

His miraculous save came in the second half, when the 'keeper leapt upwards and to his right, to pluck an Alan Munro header out of the air, when it seemed destined to go into the net.

Right from the kick off, the Bankies took the initiative. With the wind and rain behind them, they forced the Brechin defence right back.

In the tenth minute, Jimmy Caskie, taking a neat pass from Donnie Wilson, shot the ball just over the bar.

A few minutes later, the Bankies nearly scored, with a move that deserved a better fate. Left-back Dave Mitchell started the ball rolling when he dispossessed right winger Binnie midway inside the Clydebank half.

He took the ball down the left wing and, after beating Dougie Hay who unfortunately got into the act, sent a beautiful pass down the wing to Bobby Doyle.

The winger beat two Brechin defenders sent the ball inside to Alan Munro who, standing with his back to goal, tried to flick the ball into the net past the keeper, but he missed the ball.

Donnie Wilson was next to test the 'keeper with a shot that he just managed to save at the post.

In the 20th minute, outside-right Bobby Doyle, who was in tremendous form, was unlucky to see a cannonball mid-air shot brilliantly finger-tipped over the bar by the 'keeper.

The blond winger took an overhead pass from Alan Munro, chested the ball forward, and before the ball touched the ground, he hammered it with his left foot.

The same man returned the compliment in the next minute, when he nearly set up a goal for Alan Munro, but the centre forward headed the ball over the bar.

Clydebank's build-up moves were very dangerous, and it was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into them.

Whenever they did break away, Brechin proved to be very dangerous, with outside left Newman proving a hot handful for Paul McMillan.

The next Clydebank forward to have a go was Bobby Love. The inside-forward latched on to a loose ball on the edge of the Brechin penalty box but blasted the ball wildly past the post.

In the 39th minute, Clydebank got the goal they so badly needed and deserved. Centre-half Jim Fallon started the move, with a quick break from the middle of the park. He sent a beautiful pass ahead of Alan Munro, who waltzed past the 'keeper and sent the ball towards the goal. It was only half-cleared, and fell at the feet of Bobby Doyle, who hit a well-placed shot low into the net. His first goal for his new team, and not the last we hope.

Four minutes later, Brechin inside-right Reid nearly equalised after slackness in the 'Bankies' defence let him through, but he pulled his shot just wide of the post, with Mike McDonald trying desperately to narrow the angle.

Not only did the two teams change ends at half-time, but the wind also decided that it would like a change and stayed firmly behind the 'Bankies.

Bobby Doyle nearly increased Clydebank's lead, when he tried a shot through a ruck of players, but Ritchie was on the spot to save.

Alan Munro was lucky not to be booked by the referee, when he followed through on Ritchie, and caught the 'keeper on the shin with his boot.

After this came what must rate as the tactical substitution of the season. Brechin took off right-winger Binnie, and player-manager Frank Sandeman took his place.

He had only been on the field for a few minutes when his team was awarded a corner. He elected to take the kick, and no sooner had it left his boot than it was nestling in the back of the net, via the head of Reid.

Eight minutes later, Brechin nearly got another goal, again from a Sandeman corner kick, but this time the Clydebank defence was prepared, and the ball was cleared.

Clydebank brought on Tommy McGhee in place of Paul McMillan.

The Clydebank forwards tried hard to get another goal, with none trying harder than Jimmy Caskie. In his eagerness, if the winger was caught offside once, he must have been caught offside a hundred times.

I made it a minute overtime on my watch, when centre-forward Littlejohn broke away through the middle of the 'Bankies defence, only to be hacked down by Dennis Ruddy. Nothing came of the free-kick.

The Bankies have played a lot worse this season and won. Maybe after Saturday they've learned their lesson.

Match report written by Tom Malcolm (Clydebank Press)