Clydebank 3
Girvan 1
Scottish Cup (1st Round)

Match Report

As expected, the Bankies progressed to the next round of the Scottish Cup by defeating Third Division Girvan by three goals to one, but we didn’t half make it hard for ourselves. Having been a goal down to a penalty after half an hour, we fortunately recovered the deficit sixty seconds later.

Once we got our noses in front early in the second half, the result was never in any doubt, but the Bankies still found it difficult to put the game to bed. Girvan, whilst full of energy and running, didn’t have the wherewithal to get past the Clydebank defence and this was just as well as this was by far the Bankies poorest showing this season.

You could point to the number of absentees from the squad today. Leishman, Collins, Niven, MacKenzie, and Darroch were all ruled out through injury and Mulcahy and Little were both also missing. Hodge and Johnstone were doubts prior to the game and the fact that both had to come off speaks to how precarious their fitness situation must have been.

In saying all that, Gordon Moffat was still able to field a strong starting eleven, and it is doubtful that he will have too much to say about today in a positive light, other than the fact that we managed to get the result over the line. The first half hour in particular was as poor as we’ve seen from the Bankies this season and you could hardly grudge Girvan their lead after 32 minutes from the penalty spot. Frazer Johnstone was reckless with his challenge in the box, and Antonio Sisi confidently stroked the ball past Keaney.

It's not the first time this season we have been passive in possession, but we struggled against an eager Girvan side. Prompted from the sidelines by manager Dean Keenan, Girvan came with the same up and at them attitude as his previous side Troon did. The only shot we had in the opening half hour was a wayward twenty five yarder from Lee Gallacher which was miles off target.

Girvan, on the other hand, could have scored twice. Kieran Balfour had a shot just screw wide of the post with Keaney beaten, and in a crazy moment the Bankies keeper had to race back to clear from his goal line after David Syme had accidentally knocked the ball past him.

Fortunately, the Bankies didn’t have to fret too long at being behind as we equalised barely 60 seconds later. It was a horrible error by keeper Mark Thomson who dropped a fairly straight-forward cross ball from Adam Hodge. The ball fell kindly for James Grant who chested it down and scored his first goal of the season.

The goal energised the Bankies and they finished the half much more strongly and for the first time the Girvan defence looked fragile. However, the Seasiders managed to reach the break on level terms with only a James Grant shot from the edge of the box causing any concern.

Clydebank carried this better form into the second half and within six minutes of the restart the game was turned on it’s head. Dean Cairns dispossessed Balfour in the middle of the pitch and immediately played the ball out the right wing where Samson had made himself available. He delivered an inch perfect cross into the box where Lee Gallacher was able to hit the ball first time in his stride leaving Thomson with no chance.

You couldn’t see a shock from this point, but Clydebank didn’t create all that many chances to extend the lead. Girvan didn’t pose much of a threat themselves but a one goal lead is always a perilous situation to be in.

The best the Bankies could manage was a near post header from Keir Samson which went off target, and a poor effort by Lee Gallacher that he hit over the bar on the turn after young Jay Gibb had found him with a low cross into the box.

A third and killer goal did finally arrive with ten minutes left when Keir Samson kept up his great scoring form in cup competitions when he glanced home his fifth goal of the season when he glanced in a James Grant cross.

In fairness to Girvan, they really didn’t give in and they almost pulled themselves back into it in the dying moments when indecision in the home defence allowed a shot at goal, but somehow the Bankies managed to redeem themselves and clear the ball from the danger zone.

As we always say, getting through to the next round of the cup is paramount, but you can’t help but think that having a blank weekend last week has been detrimental to the momentum we had been building. That is also to say, that we somehow ended up with even more injuries despite not playing.

Not too many players can be happy with their contribution, but James Grant and Keir Samson earned pass marks whilst young Jay Gibb who made his debut at right back showed a lot of promise.

We all wait with bated breath for the draw for the next round of the Scottish Cup as it is the most important competition outside of the league. The next two weeks see us play more cup games against Ardrossan Winton Rovers and Dalkeith Thistle. Hopefully, we can use these games to rest up the injured squad members as much as we can, as the South Challenge and West of Scotland Cups should be way down in the list of priorities.

Match report written by Stuart McBay