Glenafton Ath 3
Clydebank 2
League (WoSFL Premier)


Glenafton Ath 

3 - 2

Clydebank

League (WoSFL Premier)
Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
Loch Park
7:45 PM Kick-off


Goalscorers
Michael Moffat (4)
Ryan Nisbet (42)
Hugh Kerr (65)
Josh Weir (23)
Liam McGonigle (57)
(Assist Hamish McKinlay)

Team Managers
Ryan Stevenson Gordon Moffat

Starting Eleven
1 Aiden Glavin
2 Adam Caldwell
3 Scott McLean
6 Alex McWaters
9 Hugh Kerr
14 Ryan Nisbet
15 Michael Moffat
18 Dylan O'Kane
20 Dean Currie
22 Oliver Rowe
35 Mick McMullin
Jamie Donnelly 1
Calum McEwan 25
Danny MacKenzie 3
Jamie Darroch 5
Matt Niven 4
Frazer Johnstone 6
Liam McGonigle 11
Larry McMahon 17
Josh Weir 19
Connor Higgins 27
Hamish McKinlay 24

Bench
Callum McFadyen
Sean McKenzie
Cameron McKenzie
Sam McKee
Ikechi Eze 26
Alan Kelly 21
Oisin McHugh 15
Ben McLernan 18
Ciaran Mulcahy 9
Lucas Ross 20
Adam Smith 16

Substitutions
Sam McKee -> Hugh Kerr (88) Alan Kelly for Liam McGonigle (57)
Ciaran Mulcahy for Connor Higgins (71)
Ben McLernan for Hamish McKinlay (71)
Oisin McHugh for Danny MacKenzie (82)

Cautions
Mick McMullin (75) Liam McGonigle (33)
Larry McMahon (44)

Red Cards
Mick McMullin (87) None.

Match Officials

Steven Reid (Referee)
Josh Hay & Sean Welsh (Assistants)





Match Report


Glenafton is the furthest away trip for the Bankies in the league, so travelling down there on a Tuesday night with nothing to really play for, it was no real surprise that the Loch Park side won the game by three goals to two. They are not out of trouble and are chasing points hard to make sure they avoid relegation.

You also have to take account of the fact that there were eight changes to the side that beat Auchinleck on Saturday as Moffat tries to protect as many of his best players for the Cup final on a week on Friday.

Ok, so we all traipsed down there like we usually do hoping to win, and we were in control for large parts of the first half only to be undone by dreadful defending from set pieces. All three of Glenafton’s goals came from corner kicks and they also hit the post with a free kick in the first half. Gordon Moffat did not hide his displeasure at this in his post-match interview and it is unusual to see the Bankies defend so poorly in these situations

The Bankies fell behind on three separate occasions in the match. The players did well to come back from the first two, but after the Glens third goal, we never really looked like getting a third goal for ourselves.

It was quite galling to go in at the interval losing 2-1 as we had had most of the play. We opened the game brightly forcing a few corners and Jamie Darroch was unlucky to see an attempted volley cleared off the line.

Then, Glenafton, from their first corner of the match after four minutes opened the scoring. The cross from the right was headed towards goal unchallenged and Frazer Johnstone did well to head from the line, but Michael Moffat was on hand to rifle the loose ball into the net.

The Bankies were in trouble shortly afterwards when a free kick into the box was again headed with no challenge in sight, but this time the base of the post kept the deficit to one.

The response, on the whole, was good and Clydebank were doing most of the pressing on a poor playing surface. You do really notice the difference on our away trips now, and there was scant chance of playing much football on the deck.

Despite this, Clydebank deserved their equaliser after 21 minutes. The build-up saw Higgins and McGonigle run into each other, and as the ball ran back towards the goalkeeper, defender Oliver Rowe hesitated allowing Josh Weir to nip in and flick the ball over the now isolated Glavin in goal.

Clydebank were on top as we approached the break. Darroch was the most unlucky as he had two more chances from corners. The first he didn’t know a lot about as the goalkeeper deflected the ball off his shin. It could have gone anywhere, but unfortunately went on the wrong side of the post.

Then, the captain bulleted a header on target from another corner kick, but was again defied as the ball was headed off the line.

There were no breaks for the Bankies in front of goal from their own corners, but they were about to lose a second goal from one of the oppositions. Again the marking was non-existent, as Nisbet was able to connect with the flag kick in the middle of the six yard box unopposed for an easy side footed goal.

Clydebank had played reasonably well with their makeshift line-up in the first half, but had defended appallingly. Glenafton probably couldn’t believe their good fortune going into the break in the lead, and were quite fired up after the restart knowing a third goal would probably kill it.

However, just as the Glen’s second goal was against the run of play, so was the Bankies equaliser after 57 minutes. It came from a McKinlay cross on the right, and you wouldn’t expect Liam McGonigle to outjump two defenders. But this he did and the ball looped over the keeper and into the net.

Unfortunately, McGonigle seemed to hurt himself when he landed, and had to go off again as he struggles to recover from injury.

With the game now well poised, the Bankies contrived to go behind for a third time from yet another corner. The ease that these set pieces were converted is a little disconcerting to say the least. The marking again left a lot to be desired. This is basic stuff and yet again the players were found wanting as Kerr had all the time in the world to rattle the ball into the net from six yards.

After this, neither side created anything particularly worthwhile. The Glens were happy to hold on to their lead, and the Bankies never regained the dominance they had towards the end of the first half.

It all kind of limped to it’s inevitable conclusion, as the Bankies lost their 11th league game of the season.

It was hard to get particularly excited about this game. It wasn’t helped that it turned out to be freezing cold under a cloudless sky with an unpleasant stiff breeze. We do expect better than this from the Bankies, as the opposition weren’t anything to write home about, but I’m prepared to be philosophical about this defeat. There were a lot of changes to the side, and the league is long gone.

Some of the players will have to buck their ideas up though. Otherwise, they may well be playing their football elsewhere next season.

We continue the marathon of games at Kilwinning on Friday night. The Buffs are deep in relegation mire and will no doubt right at it, so this will be no end of season encounter.

Match report written by Stuart McBay



Squad Statistics (as at April 18th, 2023)


2022-23 All Time
League Cups All
Jamie Donnelly (GK) 18 - 7 - 65 -
Calum McEwan 2 - 0 - 3 -
Jamie Darroch 1626 - 18116
Danny MacKenzie 10 - 3 - 13 -
Matt Niven 151736711
Frazer Johnstone 2119 - 701
Larry McMahon 2317 - 301
Liam McGonigle 935 - 5813
Josh Weir 20594299
Hamish McKinlay 18 - 936612
Connor Higgins 22594319
Oisin McHugh (sub) 1417 - 541
Ciaran Mulcahy (sub) 162745415
Alan Kelly (sub) 23593328
Ben McLernan (sub) 3 - 1 - 4 -







Recent Results


League results since Clydebank's last match
17th April 2023
Auchinleck Talb4-0Cumnock
18th April 2023
Cambuslang R0-3Kilwinning Rgrs
Glenafton Ath3-2Clydebank

League Table (as at April 18th, 2023)


Pld W D L +/- Pts
1. Beith Juniors 25 19 3 3 +38 60
2. Darvel 26 17 3 6 +31 54
3. Pollok 28 13 6 9 +18 45
4. Auchinleck Talb 22 12 5 5 +21 41
5. Clydebank 24 13 0 11 +12 39
6. Irvine Meadow 26 12 3 11 -4 39
7. Hurlford United 24 10 5 9 +3 35
8. Largs Thistle 25 10 5 10 -2 35
9. Cumnock 26 9 6 11 -5 33
10. Troon 25 10 3 12 -6 33
11. Glenafton Ath 24 8 6 10 -3 30
12. Kirk Rob Roy 23 9 2 12 -3 29
13. Arthurlie 25 9 3 13 -12 27
14. Petershill 28 7 4 17 -41 25
15. Kilwinning Rgrs 24 6 4 14 -19 22
16. Cambuslang R 25 6 2 17 -28 17

Point deductions:
Arthurlie: -3
Cambuslang Rangers: -3