Clydebank 2
Darvel 1
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank didn’t play very well tonight, and you have got to say most of that was due to the spirited performance of bottom of the table Darvel. But you know what, we won the game. No doubt Darvel boss Michael Oliver will be heading back down to Ayrshire on the team bus wondering how his side didn’t claim a point from this match, but as I said in the St Cadocs report it is as much about being hard to beat as it is scoring goals at the other end.

I don’t think anyone believed Darvel are as bad a side as their opening four league defeats would suggest. Michael Oliver has basically had to build a new team from scratch after losing virtually the whole of last season’s cup double winning side. This game may argue that he is starting to work it out, and Darvel will surely start picking up points if they can replicate this display.

The main decision for Gordon Moffat coming into the game was to decide who would fill the suspended Frazer Johnstone’s boots in the midfield. Without a ready made replacement, he chose to give new signing Keir Samson his full debut in a very attacking looking formation.

Looking at the game as a whole, Johnstone was definitely missed as our defence was quite often exposed from the fast breaks of Darvel. We don’t have another player who quite fills the holes the way Johnstone does. A lot of this work goes un-noticed and it’s only when he is not in the team you see it. Dean Cairns was mainly in that role, but this was probably his most subdued showing for the Bankies yet, and he definitely benefits from having another body in there beside him.

Right from the beginning it looked like it was going to be a troublesome evening for the Bankies as Darvel moved the ball quickly and decisively. We were especially vulnerable down their left wing in the first half as Hodge was often left alone with Gallacher not tracking back enough.

Aaron Black smashed an angled shot over the bar after he burst through the defence, and new signing Aiden Gilmartin had a brace of chances, shooting wide from the left hand side and a crazy moment where the Bankies must have attempted at least half a dozen tackles and couldn’t win the ball from him. His parting shot went over the bar.

The positives in the first half all came from Craig Truesdale, and some of the skill he displayed was mesmerising. His ability to ghost by an opposition player or just turn in an unexpected direction was quite something. An example of this was how he took Leon Murphy out of the game, and he was unfortunate when his left footed shot was deflected for a corner.

Truesdale was at the heart of the action again after 33 minutes when a smart reverse pass into the box was dummied by Samson. The ball found its way to Mulcahy and he laid it off back to Samson who could only scoop his hurried shot over the bar.

With the game appearing to be heading into the break goalless the Bankies took a fortunate lead. A free kick was awarded after Mulcahy was held at the edge of the box. Following his free kick goal at St Cadocs at the weekend, Lee Gallacher has certainly got his eye in at the moment. Though, on this occasion Lady Luck smiled on him as his shot hit the outside of the wall and wrong footed Wilson in the Darvel goal.

Darvel were in control of the ball for much of the second half, and they always looked dangerous but when I look back on my notes it was actually the Bankies who had the best goalscoring chances. Craig Truesdale flashed a shot wide of the post after 53 minutes, as he became less effective in the second half.

The visitors were pushing and prodding with plenty of possession but for all that a wild shot by Barbour was as close as they come at that point. It was, however, somewhat against the run of play when the Bankies doubled their lead just after the hour. A Gallacher corner was met by Ciaran Mulcahy at the back post and his leap to direct the ball back to the far corner with such accuracy was top drawer stuff.

This should have settled the Bankies down, but within a minute Darvel were back in the game as sloppy play in our own half, saw the visitors take possession of the ball. It was threaded down the left wing for Murphy who played it across the goal for Aaron Black to tap in with the Bankies defence completely caught out.

Substitutions and a change to three at the back unquestionably made us look more stable defensively, and despite a number of corners and certainly looking like they might get something Darvel never really came close to scoring barring a header from Preston which sailed over the bar.

On the other hand, Lee Gallacher hit the crossbar with another free kick, Samson was inches away with an overhead kick and Callum Graham had a superb turn and shot that Wilson only managed to beat away with his feet.

The night ended with Jordan Allan being sent off for Darvel for pulling down Callum Graham as he bore down on goal. From my position it wasn’t 100% clear that he actually fouled Graham, but once the ref blew for a free kick the red card was inevitable.

So, not the greatest performance we are ever going to see from the Bankies. I think we went back to front bypassing the midfield a little too much for my liking, but you have to display other aspects of your play when games go like this. We had to be dogged to counteract a motivated Darvel side who were extremely lively in attack. It is always about getting the win and it doesn’t really matter how you achieve it as long as you get there. Five wins out of five – you can’t really ask for more.

A welcome break from a taxing start to the league campaign as we travel to Ardeer Thistle for the first time ever in the South Challenge cup on Saturday before we go to Johnstone Burgh the following weekend for another massive league fixture.

Match report written by Stuart McBay