Dumbarton 2
Clydebank 2
League (Division 2)

Match Report

Dumbarton's Scottish Cup rivals, Clydebank - tipped for defeat at Boghead on Monday - ended the New Year league programme with the last laugh on the Sons, who could only draw with them. At the end of the three holiday league games Clydebank had a better record, dropping only one point to Dumbarton's three, and their performance indicates that they will have to be treated with a lot more respect when they return to Dumbarton for tomorrow's Cup-tie.

The Sons started off well enough with a 1-0 win over Third Lanark on! Saturday, to become the first team this season to leave Cathkin with two league points. Then came a 2-2 draw against Clydebank, and on Tuesday the decline and fall was completed with a 2-1 defeat from East Fife. Clydebank, meanwhile, were registering wins over Queen's Park on Saturday and Raith Rovers on Tuesday.

The most encouraging aspect of Dumbarton's three games was the performance of trialist centre Roy McCormack of Junior club Yoker Athletic, who got one of the Sons' goals against Clydebank and displayed a pleasing ability at beating his man.

The largest crowd of the season at Boghead, with the possible exception of Morton's visit, turned out on Monday for the local derby against Clydebank. The Sons fans among them got a disappointment, Dumbarton's advantage of experience and fitness over their county rivals didn't take long to assert itself, but they reckoned without the fighting spirit of the young 'Bankies side.

Twice Dumbarton took the lead, twice they lost it and towards the end came close on a few occasions to going down. After a bright start it deteriorated into pretty drab, match. one of the bright spots for Dumbarton being the clever performance of trialist Roy McCormack.

The Sons, unchanged from Saturday, moved quickly into attack and were ahead within two minutes, with a goal set up by Rodger and executed by McCormack. The winger had the 'Bankies defence running the wrong way, leaving McCormack unmarked when he sent over a high cross for the centre-forward to head into an open goal.

Clydebank hit back quickly and Crawford saved from Rankine at point-blank range, and down at the other end a fierce shot from Young was on its way into the net when Rodger got in the way and deflected it, The young outside-right, playing his best game yet for the Sons, popped up again, this time on the edge of the box, from where he smacked the ball hard across the goalmouth and had big Sandy McLachlan at full stretch to save.

A corner for Dumbarton was taken by Kirk, and Harra raised a great cheer by heading narrowly over the bar from 25 yards with a force that would have done credit to many a player's foot. What a goal that would have been!

The 'Bankies, who had been struggling in vain to find a way through over or round the Sons defence, be came more aggressive. towards the interval and Crawford had to look sharp to punch a shot from, Russel narrowly over the bar. After the flag-kick which followed Jenkins shot narrowly over.

With six minutes left of the first-half. Clydebank drew level again. Russell again brought Crawford into, action with a shot from close in, but the *keeper could only punch it on to the bar and it came back down in front of the goal. Rankine beat Crawford to it and had an easy job to tape it over the line.

Kirk was hurt in the leg just before half-time and when Dumbarton came out in the second half McMahon was in his place. There was more action around McLachlan's goal before Lynas wasted a great cross from Rodger by shooting into the 'keeper's arms.

With the game an hour old McCormack blotted his copybook by heading over the bar when it would have been easier to nod the ball into the net, but in the sixty-second minute McMahon put Dumbarton ahead again, out-jumping the Clydebank defence to connect with a cross from Rodger. McLachlan a local man who played for Dumbarton against Clydebank in a close-season trial game jumped to grasp the ball, but McMahon's header wriggled through his hands and into the net.

Play kept going in McLachlan's direction and Rodger gave the Sons a chance to go further ahead. He went for the ball about twenty-five yards out and headed it right into the middle, but Young and McMahon both missed easy scoring opportunities.

Dumbarton became a bit casual in dealing with the 'Bankies attack, and fourteen minutes from time they paid for it. Rankine sent over a high cross, Dumbarton's offside trap backfired, and left-winger McCallum jumped up to head the ball into the net.

The jubilant 'Bankies kept up the pressure before McMahon beat two men and shot narrowly over the bar. Then Clydebank pulled out the stops in the last five minutes. An 18-yarder from Rankine scraped the bar, and Harra had to clear desperately from the goalmouth after Crawford had dropped a fierce shot, but Dumbarton held out until the finish.

This time, perhaps, Ronnie Curran might have made all the difference to Dumbarton, for the Sons needed their captain to tongue-lash them out of their slack moments, and, given this, their opponents were there to be beaten. McCormack and Rodger apart. the Boghead forward line had an off-day, and two goals is an above-average lapse for the defence. Star men for Clydebank were defence king-pin Collumbine and, up front, Rankine and Russell.

Match report written by unknown (Lennox Herald)