Kilwinning Rgrs 0
Clydebank 7
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank don’t half like the Buffs Park. After recording a club record 14-0 scoreline against Eglinton in the West of Scotland cup earlier in the season at this venue, the Bankies rattled in another seven without reply against a hapless Kilwinning Rangers side tonight.

As poor as Kilwinning were, you can’t take anything away from the Bankies performance. The passing was top drawer at times, and the forward line cut through the home defence like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Barring the penalty kick, all of the other goals were scored from open play which was particularly pleasing.

It was also good to see the forwards getting amongst the goals with Connor Higgins bagging a hat-trick and my man of the match Alan Kelly notching a double. Both players could have had at least one more goal each as they were denied by the woodwork in the second half.

Some of the players more than stepped up to the plate tonight. You would almost think there was a cup final next week, and there might be a jersey or two up for grabs!!

There was no inkling of the impending hammering that was about to be handed out in the opening exchanges of the match. From a Bankies point of view it almost had an end of season almost feel about it.

In hindsight, I expected more from Kilwinning particularly at the start of the game. They are in deep trouble at the bottom of the table, and you would have thought they would have come out all guns blazing as they desperately need the points. However, they looked like a side bereft of confidence, and after the Bankies hit them with a quick one-two blow after twelve and fifteen minutes respectively the game was pretty much over. They just seemed to roll over and accept their fate.

The first goal was a tidy finish from Connor Higgins who side stepped the keeper and side footed home from a tight angle after being put clear by Kelly. The second just three minutes later was a beautiful team goal with any number of one touch passes before Ciaran Mulcahy spun a defender and fired low into the bottom corner.

It took until five minutes before the break for a third to be added. Alan Kelly burst through the Buffs rearguard with consummate ease and slid the ball past the exposed Henderson in the home goal.

Kilwinning had an effort at upping the tempo after the restart when the forced two corners, one which resulted in a bit of an old-fashioned stramash and the other ended with a header over the bar.

However, before they knew it they were four down with the Bankies first attack of the second half. That’s just the way it goes when you are struggling at the bottom of the table. The goal came from a diagonal ball played by Gallacher to Kelly. The winger was one on one with a defender, whom he promptly turned inside out before drilling the ball into the net. The keeper should have saved the shot, but again when you’re down, you’re down.

The fifth was a disaster for the home side. The keeper rolled the ball to a defender who shall remain nameless as you couldn’t read the crazy numbers on the back of their shirts. He mis-controlled the ball and was promptly dispossessed by Kelly.

Kelly rolled the ball across the 18 yard line and Higgins smashed the ball into the net for the most spectacular strike of the night.

Number six came from the penalty spot after 65 minutes when Larry McMahon was “brought down” for a softish spot kick. Connor Higgins put the kick away expertly into Henderson’s bottom right hand corner for his second hat-trick of the season or his third if you count the pre-season friendly against Nairn County.

It all became too much for Ally McColm who obviously wanted to leave the pitch. He decided the best way to do this would be by trying to half Danny MacKenzie in two with a kamikaze flying tackle from behind. He got his wish as the ref gave him a straight red card.

Higgins hit the bar with a header, and Kelly rattled the post with another piercing run before the scoring was completed by Hamish McKinlay who nodded the ball into the net from an unmarked position at the back post. The cross was, of course, supplied by Alan Kelly.

You can’t really ask for much more than that from your team. The were incisive in the build-up and ruthless in the finishing. The defence were largely untroubled, and Jamie Donnelly collected another clean sheet. That, incidentally, is his 24th blank in just 66 games for the club taking him up to joint 7th in the all-time list.

This was a great confidence builder for the players. You could see they were attempting a whole range of flicks and tricks. Ok, they didn’t all come off, but it is a good place to be in the run up to the cup final against Auchinleck Talbot next Friday.

There is one more obstacle to be overcome before then, when the Bankies travel to Rob Roy on Tuesday. Gordon Moffat will be desperate to avoid any injuries so maybe he and the backroom staff could dust off their boots for this one!

Match report written by Stuart McBay