Beith Juniors 0
Clydebank 0
League (West Region Premiership)

Match Report

A vastly improved performance from the players earned the Bankies a point in an entertaining goalless draw against Beith at Bellsdale Park. The attitude of the players was spot on for the majority of the match with the returning Jamie Darroch outstanding at the heart of the Clydebank defence. In truth, the Bankies were hanging on a bit in the last ten minutes but were worth the draw overall.

McAnespie decided not to wield the axe too significantly after the poor result against Kilwinning with the only changes being the return of Jamie Darroch into the defence and Cammy McClair replacing Conor Lynass who didn’t even make the bench.

Despite kicking up the slope it was Beith who showed best in the early stages, but lacked the cutting edge against a much improved Bankies defence. In fact, the Bankies were looking dangerous on the break and should have scored at least once in the first 15 minutes,

The best chance was a superb break when Munro hit a fantastic cross field pass to Millar, who in turn released Nicky Little down the Wing. Little then played the ball across the box which was cleverly dummied by Black for Munro to take in his stride but the striker couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet and his shot was charged down.

Other chances in this spell came from Munro who cut in from the right only to see his left footed shot palmed away by Grindlay on his right hand side. Then, McClair jinked past Sheridan before threading the ball across the six yard box, but Nicky Little could only reach the ball at a stretch and diverted it straight at Grindlay.

Beith then had their best chance after 14 minutes when a diagonal ball found Christie in the right channel. The winger turned Byrne inside out and unleashed a shot that Waters was able to push away for a corner.

The intensity in the middle of the park was much better and Alexander in particular was having a much improved game, and it was the midfielder who was next to have a pop at goal but his 25 yard drive sailed over the bar.

There were half chances for both sides before the break but neither side were able to break the deadlock. Beith would have fancied their chances in the second knowing they had the slope to kick down and the Bankies would have been buoyed with a much more competitive performance.

As expected, Beith dominated the bulk of the second period. Goal scoring opportunities were at a premium as Clydebank’s defence stood firm. However, Beith’s best chances were being set up by Bankies players. Bailey was way short with a pass back after 56 minutes which Haggarty latched onto. The forward rounded Waters but found the angle too tight and could only hit the outside of the post. Then Byrne had a wayward header that looped over his defence. Milliken pounced on the error but luckily volleyed over the bar.

The Bankies were to have one more lucky escape after 74 minutes when a cute inside pass by McKenzie found Docherty racing into the box. He took the ball in his stride and smashed it off the face of the bar with Waters beaten.

In the meantime the introduction of Shelvey for Millar finally opened up some possibilities for the Bankies, and they could have stolen the three points with ten minutes remaining. Kyle Munro fooled the Beith defence with a reverse pass that found Black just right of the goal around eight yards out. Black played a careful shot that Grindlay managed to get a toe on. It was enough to divert the ball onto the inside of the post and fell nicely for Sheridan to boot into row Z.

The final stages were backs to the walls for the Bankies as Beith pushed hard for a winner. They probably thought they had got it in injury time when a Beith forward managed to hold off three strong challenges before clipping the ball inside for McKenzie who diverted the ball past Waters. Luckily, Jamie Darroch was on the line and headed the ball away from danger.

The Bankies put a lot into the match were well worth their point in the end. McAnespie will be much happier with the performance, particularly with the application from his players. Jamie Darroch was the Bankies stand out player, but Matt McLean was a lot better as was Ross Alexander. Jordan Shelvey improved the attack no ends and hopefully he will get a start against Rossvale on Saturday.

Match report written by Stuart McBay