Clydebank 1
Yoker Athletic 1 (4-1 on pens)
Central League Cup (2nd Round)

Match Report

It could be argued that Clydebank finally laid to rest their Holm Park bogey against Yoker Athletic as they knocked the Whe-ho out of the D&D Programmes Central League Cup. This was the ninth attempt the Bankies have had to try and get one over on their landlords. However, they still couldn’t do over ninety minutes and had to rely on the lottery of penalty kicks to earn their passage to the next round.

The Bankies are the current holders of the Central League Cup and with the club out of all other cup competitions, Budgie McGhie put out a strong team in defence of the trophy. The only change being Scott Highlands coming in for Paul Allum on the right hand side.

For a derby match, the opening ten minutes hardly began at breakneck speed. However, the Bankies were playing the ball around crisply and looked to have a bit more quality about them than their opponents. The Bankies were to suffer a blow after eight minutes though, when the impressive Kevin Murray obviously carrying an injury prior to the match had to be replaced by Tommy Martin.

Yoker were doing their best to break up play, and gave away a series of free kicks in the process. These produced the opportunity for the Bankies to get the ball into the box, and couple of half-chances were borne from these, with Hailstones and Campbell having shots blocked. Darian MacKinnon who was having an uncharacteristically quiet match finally burst into life with a penetrating run into the box. Just as it looked like he was about to pull the trigger, he tried to lay the ball off, but he made a mess of it. Judging by his reaction, he did not need to be told that he had made a mistake.

As the match passed the half hour mark, Yoker’s spoiling tactics were starting to work nicely with Clydebank struggling to make any headway. Only Paul McMenamin’s probing runs and crosses down the left wing were giving the We-ho any concern. It was from one of Macca’s crosses that the Bankies had their best chance. The ball was delivered superbly into the box and Ross Campbell rose magnificently only to see the ball crash off the cross bar. Mark Hailstones followed up, but he was only able to divert the ball over the bar from close range.

With the half coming to a close the Bankies needed to go into the break by turning their dominance into a goal. Neat interplay saw Dymock chest the ball down to MacKinnon on the edge of the box, but he couldn’t find the target as his dipping shot went wide of the goal.

Some of Yoker’s more robust challenges in the first period had gone unchecked by the referee, and when the teams resurfaced for the second half, substitute Tommy Martin did not take to the field. A nice egg shaped bump on his head due to a flying elbow meant he had to be replaced by Davie Green.
Despite being two divisions below the Bankies, the Whe-ho kicked off in a more positive fashion putting the Bankies under pressure for the first time, and were creating a bit of panic in the home defence with long throws into the box.

It was against the run of play that opening goal arrived for Clydebank on 52 minutes. Darian MacKinnon did exceptionally well on the left wing, hitting the bye-line and cutting the ball back to Stevie Dymock on the edge of box. Dymock making his 50th appearance for the Bankies wasted no time in moving the ball onto his right foot and drilling it hard and low into the corner of the net.

The goal had certainly turned the game into more of a cup-tie with chances being created at both ends. McManus should have done better when he worked a fine one-two, but blasted the ball over the bar from a decent position. Ditto Highlands for the Bankies when he ran onto the ball at the edge of the box, but he hit the ball off of a defender’s face and it bounced away for a corner.

Midway through the half Yoker boss John Brogan had one of those moments that makes you look like Sir Alex Ferguson. He introduced Winslow from the bench and within a minute he drew the side level. It was a fine effort too as he was fed the ball by Smith, and he cracked the ball high into the net beyond Campbell.

Clydebank, belatedly realising they were in a game, began to exert some pressure on the Yoker goal. Hailstones blasted the ball over the bar after 70 minutes after being supplied by MacKinnon. MacKinnon himself missed a great opportunity a minute later. McMenamin played the ball from the left, and MacKinnon took his time on the edge of the box, but his carefully placed shot was just too careful and the ball slipped wide of the post. Ross Campbell then missed with a header for the third time in the match.

It was Yoker, however, that created an even better opening. Winslow found himself in a similar position to the one he was in when he equalised albeit on the other side of the goal, but this time he was unable to beat Campbell who saved superbly. Bankies substitute Stevie Dallas had a glimmer of a chance in the last minute but he could only steer his volley wide of the post.

And so penalty kicks it was. It seemed to take an eternity to sort out who was doing what, but when it finally got under way Gordon Moffat calmly stroked the opening kick into the back of the net. Ex-Bankie John Harvey, confidently made it all square. Dymock was next up for the Bankies and he found the net no problem, then Vickers who seemed to have a problem with a divot on the penalty spot was next. The Yoker man already under pressure to get the ball on the spot then found Liam Campbell impossible to beat as the young stopper beat out his kick. Paul McMenamin was third on the Bankies list, and he rolled the ball into the corner of the net to open up a two goal lead. Ross Mathews suffered a similar fate to Vickers, as Liam Campbell saved superbly to leave Barry Crawford the chance to score the decisive goal. He did so with aplomb, and the Bankies progressed to the next round winning 4-1 on penalties.

The desire for the Clydebank support to put one over on their rivals never materialised, and never really looked like it was going to either. Yoker will take heart that they remain unbeaten at Holm Park against the Bankies over 90 minutes. Clydebank are in the draw for the next round and that is what matters in the end. It wasn’t the greatest performance from the Bankies, and losing two players from the midfield certainly never helped. Martin and Murray have been significant performers in the Bankies recent good form and it has to be hoped that they return quickly.

Match report written by Stuart McBay