Stirling Albion 2
Clydebank 0
League (Division 2)

Match Report

Any hopes the Bankies had of promotion at the end of this season must surely have been shattered with this defeat. And quite frankly they didn't look anything like promotion contenders on this showing.

The defence was its usual miserly self, and gave very little away but the forward line was having an off-day.

With Tommy McGhee and Bobby Love playing very deep, Alan Munro, Jimmy Caskie and Peter Kane were left to sort out the home defence but more often than not the Bankies would have been better beating their brains out on a wall as the Albion boys were letting nothing past.

Most teams these days put the emphasis on gaining control of the middle of the field as they quite rightly assume that superiority there means they are half-way to winning the game.

Right from the kick-off, Albion's middle three of Henderson, Duffin and Christie took control and no matter how hard their counterparts tried to take it from them, they held on to it.

To be fair to the Bankies however, Lady Luck seemed to be against them. Whenever Lady Luck had to decide which team should have possession, Albion invariably came out favourites.

Before the kick-off the middle of the park seemed to be lacking in grass and as soon as the game got under way, this part became very muddy indeed. And the heavy rain that was falling too did not help the conditions any.

Reserve goalie Alistair Brodie was drafted into the team at the last minute when Mike McDonald failed a fitness test. After a shaky start he came on to a very good game and brought off two saves in particular that stick out in the mind.

In the 52nd minute with Albion leading 1-0, right-half and captain Sammy Henderson latched on to a McMillan pass and blasted the ball first-time from 20 yards. It seemed inevitable it would go in when Brodie performed a cat-like dive to turn the ball round the post. Henderson couldn't believe it, so a few minutes later he tried again with another fine shot but the young 'keeper brought off another fine save.

Brodie had no chance in the eighth minute when Dennis Ruddy missed a cross from Armstrong and Duffin was on the spot to ram home.

Clydebank's first direct shot of the match came in the 28th minute. Bobby Love sent Jimmy Caskie away and the winger cut past ex-Dumbarton centre-half McGhee before shooting but the shot was deflected past for a corner.

Four minutes before half-time Bobby Love got the chance of a snap shot from the edge of the box but although he got plenty of power behind it, he didn't have enough time to steady up and the ball went over the bar.

Albion's second goal was a scrambled affair in the 62nd minute. Duffin and Dougie Hay went for the ball in the Clydebank box but the ball broke to ex-Ashfield favourite, Gus McMillan, and he wasted no time in netting.

Albion had a goal in the last minute disallowed for an infringement on Danny Gray but the score was beyond doubt anyway.

Sammy Henderson was a magnificent captain for Stirling while Jim Fallon and Dennis Ruddy took the honours for Clydebank.