Clydebank 1
The Spartans 3
Scottish Cup (1st Round)

Match Report

Clydebank crashed out of the Scottish Cup after a catastrophic goalkeeping error opened the door for Spartans to make a comeback and eventually win the match by three goals to one.

The Edinburgh side had been pushing the Bankies further into retreat as the second half wore on, but hadn’t been able to trouble the goal too much until King unadvisedly ran twelve yards from his goal line to try and cut out a free kick from the halfway line. He was caught in no mans land as Allan got in front of the young keeper and headed into the empty net.

It was an incident that the Bankies didn’t recover from, as the die was cast at that point with Spartans well on top and they went on to score twice more from Jones and the outstanding player on the pitch, Dishington, who finished off a superb passing move to seal the deal in stoppage time.

The Bankies were left to rue earlier missed chances, particularly two outstanding saves from Carswell, who made a stunning one handed stop from Nicky Little early in the match, and more crucially a brilliant reflex save from a point blank Liam McGonigle header when Clydebank led by a goal to nil. Had that gone in then we would most likely have seen the Bankies progress to the second round.

At the other end, the goalkeeping mistake was the pivotal moment in the match. King had flapped at three other cross balls during the course of the match, and had been suspect in these situations in earlier matches. It was just unfortunate this was the day that the chickens had come home to roost.

Last season, we had a deputy goalkeeper who was pretty decent in every respect, except he was just too small in stature. He made some fine saves, but his lack of height started costing goals, and here we find ourselves in the same situation with a goalkeeper who doesn’t have the presence or confidence to deal with set pieces.

I don’t wasn’t to be too harsh on the keeper as he made one fantastic save from Russell after he had waltzed past Niven and Little and he blocked the effort by spreading his body in a way that would have made Jim Gallacher proud.

The level that Clydebank are trying to operate in, and with what is at stake in the Scottish Cup means that we can’t afford to have these kinds of mistakes, and with young inexperienced goalkeepers there is a certain inevitability about it. A club like Clydebank should be able to call on an experienced goalkeeper as back up and not be relying on kids

The thing is the Bankies played quite well for sixty minutes. Spartans were exactly what we expected. A good, experienced all round team, who were strong in the tackle, could move the ball quickly, and had some decent football players. The main difference for me – particularly in the second half – was how good they were at retaining possession in our half of the pitch. This is what was starting to wear the Bankies down eventually.

We, on the other hand, all too often relied on a long ball for Josh Weir to chase, who incidentally played very well until he started to noticeably tire. The link up between the midfield and forward line is really where Spartans excelled and where Clydebank were less effective.

In the first half, as well as the miss that Nicky Little had early in the game, he also was presented with another great opportunity when Weir slid the ball across the box for him, but he missed it completely with the goal at his mercy.

The goal for the Bankies came after 32 minutes and it was Weir who the was the provider again. This time it was Joe Slattery who met the ball first time and with the aid of a deflection it soared into the roof of the net.

The goal had come against the run of play at that point with Spartans forcing several corners, but any shots they had were generally outside the box and well off target.

Even at the start of the second half, the Bankies looked the more likely with McGonigle having a decent effort on goal.

However, Weir was not able to keep up the level of running he had shown in the first period, and Clydebank were finding it more difficult to gain possession upfield, and as such Spartans began to take control of the game.

Mulcahy replaced Weir, but before he had settled into the game the equaliser came, and just five minutes later the game was turned on its head. The Bankies had a good claim for a handball in the build up, but the ref never even gave it a second look. The ball was played down the right wing and was delivered to the back post where the unmarked Jones smashed it into the net.

In fairness, the Bankies threw everything at Spartans to get an equaliser and were desperately unlucky when substitute Connor Higgins crashed a shot off the inside of the post from a really acute angle. Though, this chasing games from behind at Holm Park in the last ten minutes is an eerily familiar theme in the last year or so.

If you are a Spartans fan the third and killer goal was a thing of beauty. I don’t know how many passes there were, and how many touches Dishington had in the build up, but he certainly finished it off superbly. The disgust on Gordon Moffat’s face as the ball hit the net told its own story. And with that everyone headed to the exit.

A Scottish Cup run brings prestige, interest from latent support in the town and most importantly money, so this defeat is hugely disappointing. Just about all the other teams in the West Premier league progressed, so it is doubly dispiriting. Undoubtedly, this was a tough draw for the Bankies, and Spartans are a good team, but it was a game that could have been won.

Already, at this early point in the season, I feel we may be heading towards a transitional period. We haven’t been able to bring sufficient quality into the squad, and the existing players don’t look to be on the same level as in previous years. We are not a bad team by any manner of means, but it just feels like the spark has gone out a bit.

Next week, we travel to old foes Pollok, and we know what these kind of games can be like. We better be up for it.

Match report written by Stuart McBay