Clydebank 1
Cumnock 0
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

Clydebank won their eighth league game in a row to narrowly defeat Cumnock by a goal to nil at Holm Park this afternoon. This success saw the club surpass the best ever start to a season, which was last set in 1993. Nicky Low’s wonder strike after just seven minutes was the difference between the sides in a match of few chances. Nicky Little later missed a penalty which would have given the Bankies a bit of insurance, and a nervy end ensued as they looked to protect the slim lead.

In an eerie similarity to the 1993 side, the current Bankies have been totally beset with injuries. Back then, the loss of Eadie and Flannigan were catastrophic, and today we have an injury list that does not seem to improve. We had Hodge return to the bench, but Samson was the latest to miss out through injury.

Ciaran Mulcahy was however able to come back into the starting line-up, and the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the striker has re-claimed the number 9 shirt, which he had lost to the now departed Callum Graham.

The Bankies were solid if a little uninspiring today, as Cumnock executed their gameplan as well as they could have expected. Gallacher and Truesdale were kept very quiet, as the Ayrshire side competed strongly in the midfield. The only thing missing from their game was any kind of attacking threat. The Clydebank defence were stoic throughout and it is hard to recall Cumnock having any kind of shot that came anywhere close to causing Keaney any problems

The Bankies had plenty of possession, but struggled to do anything with it in the main, however the handful of goalscoring opportunities that did come along were in front of the Cumnock goal.

The winning goal after just seven minutes was the first real shot at goal in the game. A poorly executed clearance upfield by Craig was intercept by Nicky Low in the middle of the pitch. As the ball broke forward, he hit his shot as sweet as you like from over 25 yards out and it flew into the top corner beyond Currie.

Low almost repeated the trick after 23 minutes, when he latched onto a headed clearance from a corner, however this time he was around a foot over the top with his shot.

Cumnock did manage to work their way into the game, and their best effort came with 35 minutes on the clock. It all stemmed from a terrible attempt at a clearing header by Lee Gallacher. The ball dropped perfectly for McCluskey who sent a dipping volley just wide of the post.

It was against the run of the play, that the Bankies had a chance to increase the lead from the penalty spot just a couple of minutes prior to the interval. Ciaran Mulcahy who led the line superbly today showed tremendous upper body strength to first hold off Watt to win the ball in the penalty area, and then force himself in front of Wilson who ended up barging into the striker from behind.

The insurance of a second goal would have sent the Bankies into the break on a high with a probable unassailable lead, however Nicky Little didn’t strike his spot kick with enough conviction and Currie saved well on his right hand side.

The second half was to be just as difficult for the Bankies with very little in the way of goalscoring chances being created. Cumnock became a lot more robust in the tackle as they tried to get in the face of the Bankies players. This led to a total of five yellow cards being shown for the visitors.

Cumnock were much more on the front foot in the second half, but it looked like a set piece would be their only real avenue to scoring a goal. However, even with the few corners they did have, a goal did not look likely for them.

The Bankies, on the other hand, could have grabbed a goal. Lee Gallacher forced a good save out of Currie with a free kick that bounced right in front of him, and a piledriver by Jimmy Grant was parried by the keeper. The ball rebounded out to Ciaran Mulcahy, but as it looped in front of him he had to try and generate all the pace with his header, but this meant he couldn’t control the ball and it floated over the bar.

As this kind of situation dictates, the Bankies became quite defensive in the closing stages, and it was all a bit nail biting. We have seen way too many games be drawn or lost in the final minutes of games and being a Clydebank supporter has ingrained a none too healthy pessimism into our psyche.

However, the rearguard were excellent, and the introduction of Hodge really shored up the right hand side of the defence and a couple of crunching tackles made a world of difference. In the end up, the Bankies held on fairly comfortably and it was another massive three points in a season where every game seems massive.

It would be easy to give Nicky Low man of the match for his goal. You couldn’t blame anyone for reasoning that, and the defence to a man were well worth their clean sheet, however, I think Ciaran Mulcahy shaded it. His overall performance was strong, and once again his prowess in the air was outstanding. He is no slouch on the deck either and his play leading up to the penalty was top notch. It would be good to go back to 1993 when striking partnerships were a thing because Mulcahy and Samson would cause all sorts of bother.

Next week it is Scottish Cup time again. The supporters are looking forward to this massively, as hopefully the players are too. The personal recognition for them if we can beat Keith will be huge with the prospect of possibly drawing a Championship club in the next round. The away trip to Elgin a few years ago was a real highlight under Gordon Moffat and with any luck we will be able to recreate that feeling.

Match report written by Stuart McBay