Kilbirnie Lade 2
Clydebank 2
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Match Report

A bit of a mixed bag for the Bankies down at Valefield Park where they drew two each with Kilbirnie Ladeside in this pre-season challenge match. It wasn’t a great day for Nicky Little who missed a penalty and was sent off for retaliation early in the second half. The red card changed the dynamic of the game and the Bankies could easily have lost, when they probably should have been out of sight by the interval.

The Bankies began as they ended the Renfrew match during the week – in top gear. The fast start saw them take the lead after just five minutes, prior to which Matt Niven missed an absolute sitter with a free header from just eight yards out. The goal was scored by trialistAK who received the ball from a Hodge cross. With acres of time and space he was able to pick his spot for the opener.

Kilbirnie equalised with their first real attack after 21 minutes. It was a fairly simple goal, but the pace down the left wing was what made the difference. The ball was fired low to the near post and Chris Dallas was there to side foot home from close range.

The Bankies responded quickly and were awarded a penalty kick five minutes later. It was a soft decision as McGonigle had a poor touch as he ran in on goalkeeper Wilton. It looked to me like the keeper got a touch on the ball first before McGonigle crashed into him, but the ref pointed to the spot. Nicky Little tried to be cute by sending the ball down the middle but Wilton stopped the ball with his feet. The Bankies record of zero goals from three penalties in the pre-season will need to be addressed.

It took only another minute for the Bankies to regain the lead. Josh Weir showed the attributes for which he was signed, however he will need to be less profligate in front of goal. His work outside box is exemplary as his strength and pace caused Ladeside no end of problems. He could easily have bagged a hat trick in the first half, but had to settle for one as he powered his way goalward from a deep position. He drew the keeper and slotted the ball under his body to make it 2-1.

The Bankies did lose their way somewhat after this, and Ladeside scored ten minutes before the break. Ex-Bankie Evan Dunne started the move when he dispossessed Lee Gallacher, and he sent the right winger away down the flank. He crossed to the back post and Donnelly was all at sea as the ball was knocked back across the goal for McKenzie to shoot home. Donnelly was adamant that the cross had gone out of play, but with no linesmen it was a difficult call for the ref.

Nicky Little’s red card incident occurred just five minutes into the second half. As he attacked the Kilbirnie goal, Ross McKenzie, raked his boot down the Bankies’ skipper’s calf from behind. It was a poor tackle which Little uncharacteristically reacted to grabbing McKenzie by the throat. The ref could have shown some leniency in this situation, but decided to send Little off which probably means he will miss the start of the season through suspension.

The Bankies and Kilbirnie made a number of substitutions after this and as what normally happens in this situation is that things become rather disjointed. With ten men the Bankies played a more contained game, and only really came close one more time when a Mulcahy header from a long, deep free-kick just slipped past the wrong side of the post.

The home side controlled the game for the most part, but never really threatened too much, however could have nicked it in the last minute when Adam smith was woefully short with a cross-field ball that was intercepted by McKenzie. The midfielder played in veteran James Marks but he contrived to miss the target when he should really have scored.

So after four games, most of the players have had some game time now. There have been periods of strong, dominant play, but this has been tempered by some serious slackness mainly in defence. With just a few more pre-season fixtures left, the kinks will hopefully be ironed out and the players are good to go for the first league match at Arthurlie at the end of the month.

Match report written by Stuart McBay