Gartcairn 1
Clydebank 3
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

The Bankies couldn’t have got the season off to a better start after they beat a much fancied Gartcairn side by three goals to one at the MTC Park. It wasn’t only the result that impressed but the overall performance from the whole team with new signings Dean Cairns and David Syme both outstanding.

You would think the squad would be ready to fire on all cylinders going into the season opener, but Gordon Moffat did not have his troubles to seek with a number of faces missing through a combination of injury and holidays. It meant the bench consisted of players not fit enough to start, Nicky Low who hasn’t kicked a ball at all this season, a kid from the U-20s, and Phil Bannister the goalkeeping coach.

This was compounded by the injury to Jamie Darroch who had to leave the field after he gave away a penalty for the opening goal just before the quarter hour. Up until that point the game had set off at a frantic pace with Gartcairn showing why they have been tipped to do well this season.

They have enticed Kyle Hutton & Kenny Barr to move from Pollok, Ross Caldwell jumped from the sinking ship at Darvel, and Kieran Hughes and Creag Little joined from the Bankies. This is on top of the expensive personnel already at the club such as Ian McShane and Scott Ferguson.

The home side moved the ball about with great confidence creating no small measure of panic in the Bankies rearguard, but it was Clydebank who had a couple of half chances when Mulcahy almost steered the ball home at the near post and a speculative Nicky Little effort that soared over the bar.

The penalty incident was probably the turning point in the game for more than one reason. The ball was fired down the inside right channel, and it was a race between Jamie Darroch and Scott Ferguson to reach the ball. Darroch was beaten in the chase but he unfortunately took out the winger with a desperate lunge that many claimed was outside the box.

Between them the ref and linesman awarded a penalty kick despite the protests. Top scorer Mark McGuigan sent the ball to Leishman’s right hand side and the big keeper guessed the right way but was just beaten by the power of the shot.

Darroch was unable to continue and Thomas Collins substituted. This meant the three at the back system had to revert to the usual back four and this really seemed to suit the pattern of the game. Collins would go on to have a fine game as did Lee Gallacher who patrolled the other wing.

Scott Ferguson was easily the stand out player for Gartcairn with captain Ian McShane only showing his talents in fleeting moments, and despite finding themselves in some dangerous positions the Bankies defence were impeccable. Syme and McHugh gave the powerhouse McGuigan nothing, and it was from this base that Clydebank turned the game around.

It was the equaliser after 31 minutes that flipped the game in Clydebank’s favour. A long ball into the box found its way out to the right wing. Thomas Collins gathered the ball and intelligently rifled it at pace low across the six yard box. Under pressure, ex-Bankie Creag Little deflected the ball into his own net.

Creag Little scored on his debut for Clydebank down at Troon two years ago and he made it double scoring again for the Bankies on his Gartcairn debut.

This gave the visitors a huge shot in the arm and they should really have gone into the interval ahead. Collins was about a foot over the bar from a curling free kick, then Mulcahy spurned a double chance when his far post header was blocked and he hit the rebound straight at the keeper.

Nicky Little missed the clearest opportunity of them all after Lee Gallacher superbly read the dangerous passing game the Gartcairn defence were playing. He nipped into steal the ball and centred for Little to score with an easy chance, but his low effort was saved by Hughes on his right hand side for a disappointing miss.

Clydebank continued to get stronger in the second half, and the ball players in the Gartcairn side were not given a minutes peace by the Bankies constant closing down.

The chances kept coming as Syme saw a header come off the top of the bar, then a Collins cross flashed across the goal and was diverted away at the last possible second with Mulcahy waiting for a tap in.

It was Nicky Little again who passed up a great opening after 59 minutes when a cross ball was cleared, and Jimmy Grant shot from all of 35 yards. It wasn’t a great effort to be honest, but the ball found its way to Little clear on goal with only the keeper to beat, but Hughes once again was to deny him with a save low on his left hand side.

But the misses didn’t deter Little and he went onto score an absolute belter with twenty minutes remaining. Latching onto a Cairns knock on, he was at his instinctive best when he rattled the ball with tremendous ferocity in to Hughes’ bottom right hand corner.

In fairness, Gartcairn could have got themselves level as they upped the ante in attempt to get back in the game. A fine sequence of passing saw Ferguson rattle the inside of the post and that is the breaks sometimes as the Bankies raced up the pitch to increase their lead.

Lee Gallacher was the creator as he found the pass to match Dean Cairns Lung busting run into the box. It was not an easy finish from an angle but he thumped the ball into the far corner giving Hughes no chance.

The game was well managed thereafter and the healthy Bankies crowd were buzzing at the final whistle after they had witnessed a great display from their team. The players and fans looked to be feeding off each other’s energy and hopefully this is the kind of thing we are going to see more of.

Now the important bit is to not get too excited. It was one game, in a league with a lot of very good teams. I think most thought a point here wouldn’t have been the worst result in the world, but this outdone everyone’s expectations.

We travel to Shotts in midweek which is sure to be a tough test at a ground where we have often come unstuck in the past. A good result has to be followed up. If we can do so then we can look forward to our first home game at Holm Park against Pollok which is always a bit tasty.

Match report written by Stuart McBay