Match Report
A crowd of around 5,000 turned out at Kilbowie Park to watch Clydebank take on Celtic Reserves in a friendly which proved both entertaining and highly profitable for the fledgling club.
The final score of 7-1 in Celtic's favour only told part of the story. Although the visitors possessed far greater class and eventually ran out comfortable winners, Clydebank contributed fully to an open and attractive match and created enough chances to suggest the margin of defeat was somewhat harsh.
Encouraged by a large home support, Clydebank began brightly and enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges. Their best chance arrived in the 12th minute when O'Brien beat his man on the left and delivered a cross that deceived the Celtic defence. Connelly, positioned directly beneath the crossbar, somehow headed over when a goal appeared certain.
The miss proved costly. Celtic gradually settled and after a spell of pressure opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Taylor worked an opening on the flank before finding Jimmy Johnstone, who gave Brown no chance with a well-placed finish.
A minute later Wark cleared a Di Sousa effort off the line as Celtic threatened to increase their lead. The visitors' Brazilian trialists, Inacio and Di Sousa, had initially found the conditions difficult but began to exert a growing influence as the half progressed.
Inacio scored Celtic's second goal after 30 minutes and, within a minute, Johnstone added a third from the penalty spot after being brought down in the area. The fourth arrived in the 33rd minute when Inacio followed up to score after Brown had blocked his initial effort.
Despite falling four goals behind, Clydebank continued to compete well. McLeish and Connelly linked effectively on several occasions, but Celtic's defence remained difficult to break down.
At half-time Celtic manager Jock Stein made three changes, later explaining that he wished to strengthen his side. Among those introduced was young centre-forward Jimmy Quinn.
The substitutions made little difference to Celtic's dominance. Just three minutes into the second half, Johnstone rounded Brown before setting up Quinn to score from close range.
Clydebank continued to look for a way back into the game and Horn came close when a powerful effort forced Kennedy to turn the ball round the post. Brown was also called into action at the other end, producing a good save to deny another fierce drive from Inacio.
The visitors added further goals in quick succession during the closing stages. Henry Quinn scored from a Taylor pass in the 70th minute before Inacio completed his hat-trick a minute later from a Taylor corner.
With the outcome beyond doubt, Celtic eased off and Clydebank enjoyed more of the play during the final ten minutes. Their persistence was rewarded in the 78th minute when Connelly's shot was turned into his own net by defender Halpin.
Although heavily beaten, Clydebank emerged with considerable credit from the contest. The Clydebank Press noted that the home side had "showed plenty of spirit and came near to scoring on several occasions", while the large crowd had certainly received value for money from an evening featuring eight goals and some outstanding attacking football.
Particular praise was reserved for Connelly, one of several recent additions to the Clydebank side. The young forward, recently signed from Maryhill Harp, had already made an impression in his early appearances and again showed glimpses of his promise despite the result.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
