Pollok 2
Clydebank 4 (AET)
South Challenge Cup (2nd Round)

Match Report

Resilient Bankies came back from the dead to stun Pollok with three goals in extra time to knock the Newlandsfield side out of the South Challenge Cup by four goals to two.

Leading by a goal to nil the Bankies were reduced to ten men after Liam McGonigle was given a dubious red card for a tackle from behind after 80 minutes. The Bankies went on to suffer a body blow when Lok equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time and then take the lead just 3 minutes into extra time.

The response from the ten men was outstanding as Joe Slattery scored a sublime equaliser, followed quickly by a Nicky Little penalty kick. Ciaran Mulcahy made sure with his second of the day, and Pollok’s misery was complete when Rumsby was red carded near the end.

Gordon Moffat’s team has had a better shape and look about it in recent weeks, and despite this being one of the toughest grounds to visit, he stuck with the same line up apart from Creag Little replacing the injured Kevin Green.

The Bankies looked good in the opening quarter of an hour and there was a sense that there was not going to be a repeat of the four one reversal suffered here just a few weeks ago.

Lee Gallacher was the first to test Josh Lumsden in the Pollok goal with a right footed shot from inside the box which the keeper dealt with comfortably.

Then, following a spell of corner kicks, Jamie Darroch retrieved an over hit one, and crossed into the box. Last week’s hat-trick hero Connor Higgins was unlucky as his near post header hit the outside of the frame of the goal.

After this initial burst the game settled down, and was actually fairly lifeless and scrappy for a match between these two. The Bankies were quite controlled as Pollok sought a way into the game.

It took until almost the half hour before the home side created a decent chance. Left winger Krol showed nice dribbling skills on the left wing, worked a one-two and found himself free just inside the penalty box. However, His attempt to side foot the ball into the net ended up several feet over the bar.

The Bankies were pressing the Pollok defence much higher up the pitch, and the extra forward is certainly making that a much more viable tactic, and it was paying dividends as Pollok were giving the ball away under pressure.

From one such turnaround after 34 minutes, Nicky Little played the ball to Lee Gallacher. The wide man came inside onto his left foot and unleashed a shot which took a deflection and skidded off the top of the crossbar.

The only worry for the Bankies in an otherwise excellent first half was three players being shown the yellow card.

Pollok made a change at the break, and looked a much improved outfit almost immediately. Fraser Mullen forced a great save from the Bankies young keeper Bradley-Hurst. Then, there followed a series of corners which the Bankies defence kept out.

The best chance in this early pressure fell to Krol who was played in - on the left hand side - by a slide rule pass from Christie. He didn’t count on the quick reactions from Bradley-Hurst who raced from his line to close down the winger’s shot then as Krol tried to head in the rebound the keeper was up quickly to hook the ball away for a corner.

Bankies boss Gordon Moffat, obviously seeing how the game was now evolving made two substitutions bring on Hodge then McGonigle to settle match down.

This seemed to work and Connor Higgins made the Bankies first real chance of the second half by himself. Showing neat footwork he made space for himself 25 yards out and powered in a shot that Lumsden held comfortably.

Just two minutes later, in the 66th minute, the Bankies took the lead. Probably against the run of play it was an absolute stunner. A cross into the box was not dealt with and the ball bounced high in the air. With his back to goal Ciaran Mulcahy launched an audacious over head kick that was hit with such power that Lumsden could only parry it into the roof of the net.

Clydebank continued to defend very well, and limit Pollok to few scoring opportunities. It was only from set pieces they posed a danger, mainly from second balls.

Christie tried one shot from a half cleared corner from the edge of the box. His volley was hit into the ground and skipped up only for Bradly-Hurst to touch over the bar.

With just ten minutes to go, the Bankies were really up against it, as Liam McGonigle was given a straight red card as he tackled a Pollok player from behind preventing a quick breakaway. This will be one for the highlights, as it looked no more than a yellow card from my vantage point.

The Bankies seemed to be galvanised by the adversity and Pollok could find no way through to the goal. There was a resilience in the Clydebank side that was not there in the early part of the season.

Just as it seemed the Bankies would hold on disaster struck in the fifth minute of stoppage time. A free kick was given away in a dangerous position around 25 yards from goal. Fraser Mullen made a mess of his effort crashing it into the wall, however the ball was quickly recycled to the right wing for Esplin who rifled it across the penalty area.

The ball was cut out but it landed kindly for Watters, and the substitute battered it low into the net from ten yards taking the game into extra time.

The entertainment levels were ramped up in the 30 additional minutes. Just three minutes in, and it looked like curtains for the Bankies. A break down the left saw the ball cut back for Forde and he smashed the ball past Bradley-Hurst giving the home side the lead.

However, the lead lasted just a couple of minutes when a headed challenge saw the ball bounce just in front of Joe Slattery 25 yards from goal. Without a second thought, He cracked the ball first time and it flew through the air about an inch off the ground like an arrow and found its target in the bottom corner of the net.

Incredibly, the Bankies went back into the lead just five minutes later. Creag Little and Scott Rumsby were indulging each other with a bit of shirt grabbing as the Bankies went to take a free kick. Pollok cleared the free kick from the danger zone, but Rumsby stupidly decided to throw Little to the ground after the fact. The referee quite rightly awarded a penalty kick. Creag’s namesake Nicky did his usual professional job despatching the spot kick into the net.

Pollok threw men forward in the second period of extra time and left themselves short at the back and were caught out with a huge punt up the park. Sideserf failed to deal with this under pressure from Alan Kelly. The ball broke inside to Ciaran Mulcahy who strode in the penalty area and rattled the ball home instigating huge celebrations on the pitch and terracing.

The drama wasn’t finished as Scott Rumsby completely lost the plot as he repeated his stupid act of throwing a Bankies player, this time Joe Slattery, to the ground earning himself a second yellow. Maybe he was a wrestler in another life!

So, a great victory against the odds. In last week’s report I said this could give everyone a huge lift if we could win today, and I don’t think anyone can deny that it has. Three wins in a row makes good reading, and the signing of left back Danny McKenzie from today’s opponents should bolster the side further. Young Aldan MacDonald has done a fine job at left back and can be proud of his efforts but he is likely to step aside for the new signing.

Elsewhere on the pitch, Ciaran Mulcahy had a great game up against two towering central defenders, goalkeeper Josh Bradley-Hurst was excellent and it was good to see Joe Slattery looking more like his usual self when he came off the bench.

Next week, it’s home to bogey team Hurlford United at Holm Park. The Ayrshire side seem to reserve their best performances for the Bankies, so hopefully we can carry this recent form into this game.

Match report written by Stuart McBay