Clydebank 2
Cumnock 0
League (Super Premier Division)

Match Report

The Bankies finally got their first win in the league thanks to a Jordan Shelvey second half double against a surprisingly poor Cumnock side. This was sorely needed as only picking up one point against Arthurlie and Kilbirnie in the last two weeks left the Bankies in real danger of being cut adrift even at this early stage.

We played quite well against Kilbirnie the previous week and worked really hard to get into the lead. We looked under no threat, and then two goals in a minute lost us the game. Not for the first time this season did we lose a goal out of the blue only to switch off and concede straight away. Had we even picked up four points in those two matches we could have faced Cumnock knowing a win would put us in a relatively comfortable mid table position.

The Cumnock match was actually quite reminiscent of the Arthurlie game from a couple of weeks back. A rather uninspiring match with the visitors there for the taking. It was just whether we had the wherewithal to unlock their defence. The answer against Arthurlie was no, sadly, but this time we found the way.

The first was from the spot when Shelvey was fouled in the box and tucked it away himself. The second was thanks to Phil Johnston who got past the keeper and his goalbound effort was made sure by Shelvey. Shelvey had two glorious chances for a hat trick but failed on both counts. Cumnock had two men sent off after the goals to make sure there was going to be no come back, both of which were well deserved.

We are now back in the mix at the bottom of the table, and things are looking slightly better. Chris Black did a lot better and maybe he would benefit from a run in the team. He certainly looks like he has something to offer with the ball at his feet. Possible man of the match was Reece Pearson who did surprisingly well in the holding midfield role. I don't think Pearson offers much in an attacking capacity (his actual position) but he has a lot of energy and his hassling and harrying was highly effective. Maybe if he sat in there with Johnny Allan he could be transformed. It was only one game and we'll see if that develops into something.

Big spending Pollok are next up, and they just haven't got it together so far this season. They signed several teams best players including ours during the close season. It hasn't gone to plan for them yet with several disappointing results and we can only hope it continues for another week

Match report written by Stuart McBay