Ashfield 1
Clydebank 1
League (Super Premier Division)

Match Report

Clydebank left Saracen Park feeling battered and bruised, both physically and emotionally after losing three players to injury and a fourth having to play on for almost the whole of the second half with all the substitutes already used. The Bankies had engineered a lead through a fine Tommy Martin strike, but then had to suffer the heartache of an injury time equaliser against ten man Ashfield. To emphasise this the statistics show that this was the home side’s only shot on target in the whole match.

Clydebank and Ashfield have met on so many occasions in the last few years that there is normally a bit of a spark about these fixtures, however it has to be said the first half hour of this match was dull, dull, dull. There was hardly a shot on goal for the fans to get excited about. Apart from a Burns effort that went wide, and a Campbell header that ended in the net but was chopped off for a foul that seemed innocuous at best there was not a lot of action. Probably most notable was that the Bankies suffered their first casualty of the day when Moffat had to go off to be replaced by Bell. Ashfield created very little and the closest they came was when Hall burst into the box, and his low cross had to be turned away for a corner by Hamilton at his near post.

Clydebank opened the scoring on 30 minutes with their first shot on target, and what a cracker it was. A free kick on the left was cleared to Tommy Martin who was 25 yards from goals. He composed himself before unleashing an unstoppable shot into Nugent’s top right hand corner. The Bankies went onto dominate the remainder of the half but found the Ashfield defence in fine form. Only a Burns’ drive from a difficult angle gave any cause for a concern. Paul Bell’s involvement in the game only lasted nine minutes, as he had to be replaced due to a nasty cut on the side of his head from a high boot.

Ashfield aren’t known for the physical side of their game but the Bankies were certainly seeing it in the first half. Already two men out of commission and a third in Smith struggling at the break it turned into near carnage in the second half. Smith only lasted two minutes before having to come off, and then Halliday viciously scythed MacKinnon down. The ref correctly flashed a straight red card in the Ashfield defender’s face. With no substitutes remaining MacKinnon bravely continued for the remainder of the match, although it took him a good ten minutes to run off the limp he had acquired.

Well, a goal to the good, and against a ten man Ashfield side who were not at their best. Surely, the Bankies would crack on and seal the win. The answer to that would unfortunately be no. The Bankies seemed to a adopt a more passive stance, and hoped to take advantage of Ashfield’s need to come forward. This looked like it might work at first as Burns was unlucky to see his volley at the back post save by Nugent, then MacKinnon was inches wide with an impressive first time shot from the edge of the box.

As time wore on it became obvious that the Bankies really needed to get the killer second goal. As the game became stretched, Ashfield’s pacy front line began to make headway against the Bankies rearguard. In fact, it took a brilliant block by Hamilton to prevent Maxwell latching onto a through ball. With five minutes to go Burns missed a great double chance when his initial shot was blocked by Nugent, all he needed was a little composure to finish on the second attempt, but he opted for power and blasted the ball over the bar.

When you only have a one goal lead and you have failed to capitalise on having an extra man for much of the match, there is always going to be a chance that you can be undone with one moment of slackness. When Ashfield earned a corner deep into injury time, the Bankies fans worst fears came true as Thomson was allowed to head the ball past Hamilton from close range with Ashfield’s first shot on target in the whole match.

With points at a premium in the Super League, this failure to take three points could have far reaching consequences for the Bankies survival at this level. Despite being hampered by a number of injuries, the win should have been obtained against an Ashfield side who have not been this poor against Clydebank in a long time. With only ten games remaining and a minimum target of 25 points likely to be required to have a chance of avoiding the drop, the importance of this match may not be realised until the season is over.

Match report written by Stuart McBay