Clydebank 2
Petershill 1
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

The scoreline might have been close but the Bankies won this league match against Petershill by some distance in an entertaining match. The Bankies pretty much dominated proceedings from start to finish and on another day would have won by a larger margin.

The Bankies still have a number of players missing, though they were still able to put out a strong starting eleven. The bench however was almost exclusively made up of youngsters. The one surprise in the line-up was the inclusion of left-sided Oisin McHugh at right back. It turned out to be a great decision as McHugh had possibly his best display in a Clydebank shirt.

Within the first five minutes the Bankies forced a number of corners. This was to be a feature of the match as over 20 were racked up during the course of the game. None of these produced a goal, but ironically from one of their few, Petershill took the lead after 16 minutes.

The ball was driven in low and hard to the near post and as several bodies tried to reach it first, the ball spilled to the edge of the six yard box. Del Hepburn was the fortunate recipient, and the ex-Bankies thumped the ball high into the net to give the visitors the lead.

Before the goal was scored the Bankies twice could have opened the scoring themselves from corner kicks. Headers from Darroch and Creag Little came close. The effort from Darroch in particular brought out a fine save from McNeil.

Darroch soon had to leave the field with what looked like a calf injury, and Matt Niven replaced him.

The equalising goal would evade the Bankies in the first half. A couple of free kicks came and went from Gallacher and Little. Then Creag Little saw a header cleared from the line in an almighty stramash. The other Little, Nicky, then had an attempt from an acute angle that he drove over the bar.

The best moment for the Bankies came from Lee Gallacher who waltzed through the Petershill defence and sent in a beautiful curling shot that beat McNeil all ends up. Unfortunately, for Gallacher the ball came off the junction of bar and post.

The second half opened in dramatic fashion with the Bankies turning the screw in search of an equaliser. It took just three minutes into the second half for the goal to come and it came from an unexpected source.

Alan Kelly was the provider as he pushed the ball inside to Oisin McHugh. With space in front of him and from of a range of some 25 yards plus, he drove the ball low and hard into the goalkeeper’s bottom left corner. Not a bad way to score your first goal for the club!

In a blistering spell the Bankies should have gone ahead. Lee Gallacher hit the byeline, and crossed for Little who saw his shot blocked by McNeil, then Johnstone blazed the rebound over the bar.

From the opposite wing it was Gallacher, who was causing no end of bother, that crossed again only to see the ball take several ricochets before flying past the far post.

For a while after this Petershill had their best spell. Hepburn and Beith Loanee Jay McKay were the best of the Petershill attack. This combination almost caught the Bankies out as the former found the latter with a deep cross, but the shot was deflected away for a corner.

The Bankies resumed control and Gallacher was denied by McNeil after being put through on goal from a cute pass by McHugh. His curling shot was palmed away superbly by the keeper.

The winning goal came with just ten minutes remaining from the penalty spot and the moment was not without controversy. The sport kick itself came after Josh Weir was brought down by Craig McGregor. It looked a very soft decision indeed. There is no doubt Weir got to the ball first, but the contact looked minimal. I don’t think I would have been happy if it was given against my team.

Nicky Little sent his kick to the goalkeeper’s left, but the ball squirmed to his right and appeared come back out of the goal. The linesman, however, signalled that the ball had crossed the line and a goal was awarded.

Having now seen the penalty from a number of angles, it is clear the ball did cross the line but bounced out after striking the keeper’s water bottle or bag that was tucked in just behind the post.

The game could have been tied up in the closing stages as man of the match Lee Gallacher played a sneaky free kick behind the Petershill defence for Nicky Little, but his shot went just wide of the post.

So, the Bankies recent home form has been much improved winning five in a row and are now ensconced in a top five position. This group are showing signs of breaking away from the rest of the table.

As well as top performances from Gallacher and McHugh, I think Danny MacKenzie deserves special praise. His performances have simply got better and better with each passing game. What were Pollok thinking about when they let him leave. I doubt there is a better left back in the league.

Next week the Bankies travel down to Largs in the league. We have a decent record against the Ayrshire side in recent history. A win keeps the pressure on those above to do likewise, so we can’t afford to let up.

Match report written by Stuart McBay