Match Report
Clydebank made an impressive start to 1966 with a convincing 3-0 victory over Albion Rovers at Kilbowie, thanks to a hat-trick from inside-left Tony Moy.
The Bankies, fresh from their success in the Autumn Series of the Combined Reserve League, turned in another accomplished display against a Rovers side challenging near the top of the Second Division.
Although Clydebank eventually won comfortably, the first half was closely contested. Albion created a number of dangerous openings and it was largely due to the form of goalkeeper Ronnie Wilson that the scores remained level for so long. Green and Dillon were particularly troublesome for the visitors and repeatedly tested the Clydebank defence, but Wilson produced a series of excellent saves that drew warm applause from the crowd.
Clydebank's own attacking play was more measured, and their breakthrough arrived five minutes before the interval when Tony Moy was brought down inside the penalty area. Moy took the spot-kick himself and confidently converted to give the home side a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Albion made two changes during the interval, introducing Junior in goal and moving Joe Reilly into the right-half position. Any hopes of a recovery were quickly extinguished by a devastating spell from Clydebank immediately after the restart.
Five minutes into the second half, Alan McLeish delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area. The Albion defence failed to deal with it and, after a fumble while attempting a clearance, Moy reacted quickest to tap the ball home for his second goal of the afternoon.
Two minutes later Moy completed his hat-trick. Tommy McGhee sent a long pass forward and the inside-left collected the ball before calmly beating Junior and guiding his finish into the net.
The quickfire double effectively settled the contest. Albion's challenge faded thereafter and, despite continuing to press forward, their finishing deserted them. Time and again their attacks ended with efforts drifting wide of the target or over the crossbar.
Clydebank, meanwhile, remained in control and comfortably saw out the remainder of the match to record an encouraging victory over higher-league opposition.
Moy's three goals naturally took the headlines, but Wilson's first-half performance had been equally important in laying the foundations for another notable Clydebank success.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
