Clydebank 1
Brechin City 2
League (Division 2)

Match Report

A disastrous mistake by Danny Gray near the end of this dour struggle cost the Bankies dearly. His faulty pass-back was intercepted by a Brechin player who accepted his gift in fine spirit to knock the ball past McDonald for the winning goal.

This put the cap on what was altogether an unimpressive display ... one that the Clydebank players and officials will want to forget in a hurry

But there is no forgetting this corresponding game five years ago when Bankies won their first match in their first season in senior football. At the final whistle Brechin were on the wrong side of a 4-2 score and the points stayed at Kilbowie.

What made it more memorable for me was the reaction of the fervent Bankies' fans who had waited so long for a win. They went mad with delight and one was unashamedly crying his eyes out under the enclosure.

I wasn't under the enclosure on Saturday but I feel there could have been one or two more tears shed among the fans — although this time out of sheer frustration. They saw their team virtually throw away a game that should have been sewn up long before half-time.

Dougie Hay won the toss and booked the very strong wind for assistance in the first half. Immediately the game got under way it seemed as if we were in for a repeat performance of the Hamilton game as the orange-shirted Bankies swarmed around a far from confident McEwan in the Brechin goal.

But at half-time the Bankies led by a solitary Dougie Hay goal is a far from impressive tally considering the circumstances.

Certainly Bankies were without left-winger Jimmy Caskie but I doubt if this could be made an excuse for their poor finishing.

The game opened very brightly for the Bankies and in the very first minute a lovely overhead kick from Hay from a cute back-header from Alan Munro, scraped the post before going past.

As it was, the homesters had to wait until the 19th minute for their goal. A Graham McFarlane corner was headed first time into the net by Hay, giving McEwan no chance.

The Brechin goalkeeper was his side's saviour in the 41st minute when he smothered the ball almost on the line after Munro side-footed a cross from Bobby Love which McFarlane neatly dummied.

The second half was only six minutes old when Brechin equalised with a well-taken goal. A precision cross from the byeline by Adamson was headed past an astonished McDonald by centre-forward Reid.

After a couple of goalmouth scrambles at the Brechin end, it seemed like Gray would score when he broke clear of the visiting defence but the ball was a fraction too far in front of him and McEwan safely gathered the ball.

Brechin's coup de grace came in the 75th minute when Cooper intercepted a stupid Gray pass-back, sidestepped McDonald and placed the ball low into the net.

It was all over bar the shouting and there was plenty of that five minutes from the final whistle when Peter Kane found himself clear in front of goal but somehow or other managed to balloon the ball miles high of the target.