Keith 0
Clydebank 3
Scottish Cup (2nd Round)

Match Report

A raucous crowd of two hundred plus Bankies descended upon the small town of Keith to watch their favourites defeat the home side by three goals to nil in the Second Round of the Scottish Cup at Kynoch Park. The hosts even brought out the Strathisla Pipe Band for pre-match and half-time entertainment which was a nice touch.

The game was a drab affair in the first half with Clydebank struggling to get their game going in the swirling windy conditions. However, once Oisin McHugh headed the first goal from close range after 52 minutes there was only going to be one winner, and it was all quite straight-forward in the end.

Keith were full of the running but they never really offered very much from an attacking point of view especially in the second half when the Bankies defence pulled up the drawbridge and afforded their attackers next to nothing.

They did have some moments here or there in the first period and while the scores were goalless, there was always a nervousness in the Bankies support. The bookies had Clydebank as heavy favourites but despite having the bulk of the possession, there wasn’t a great deal in it in the first forty-five.

From a corner kick, James Brownie was allowed a free header at goal after 14 minutes which fortunately bounced just wide of the post. Twelve minutes later a low cross from the right found Joe Wilson just outside the box. He rode a couple of challenges, but his driven shot went just over the bar, though Keaney appeared to have it covered.

The Bankies tended to be wasteful with possession, with set pieces looking like the best avenue for a goal. After a series of corners Craig Truesdale came close with a left footed shot inside the box, but his mis-hit effort dribbled past the near post.

Then a Lee Gallacher cross from the right was met by the head of Ciaran Mulcahy but his low placed header just scraped past the goalkeeper’s right-hand post. Other than those chances, a decent side footed effort by James Grant from a Nicky Low lay off which flew over the bar, was about the only thing to get excited about in first half.

Clydebank massively upped their game after the resumption, however we continued to find it difficult to break Keith down from open play. It really was no surprise that when the goals finally came along that they were from corner kicks.

The first was a fantastic delivery from Lee Gallacher after 53 minutes. It curled dangerously to the back post for Oisin McHugh to guide into the net with his head from no more than a couple of feet.

The second goal followed just ten minutes later from the same corner. This time, the ball was half cleared to Nicky Little on the penalty spot and he shot first time. The ball looked to be going off-target, but Matt Niven who just couldn’t get out of the way, diverted it into the net with his body.

The two goal cushion was more than enough as Keith were not allowed to get anywhere near the Bankies goal as the visitors had a firm grip on proceedings. It was only once McGonigle and Samson came on as substitutes, did it look like we might get something from open play. The direct running of those two really caused the home defence some problems.

McGonigle will be disappointed to have put the ball over the bar when he was through on goal, and Samson was brought down for the stoppage time penalty when he had his legs taken away from him in the box by Spink. Nicky Little despatched the ball into the net for his 10th goal of the season with virtually the last kick of the ball for a well deserved victory.

The Bankies have been handed three fairly kind draws in the Scottish Cup this season, and all ties have been negotiated professionally with the minimum of fuss. A run like this continues to raise the stature and the awareness of the club, as we now enter the third round where the Championship and League Cups enter.

It also needs to be reinforced that we have now technically won fifteen games in a row which is a magnificent achievement for any club. On top of that it should be acknowledged that the squad has been riven with injuries for almost the whole season so far. The side has almost been picking itself due to the numbers who have been out crocked. It is the quality that runs through the squad that has allowed the manager to put out a strong starting eleven each week and keep the whole thing rolling forward..

The cup adventures continue down at Whitletts next week in the West of Scotland Cup, then a trio of hard games against Largs Thistle, Broxburn, and Auchinleck Talbot follow before we return to Scottish Cup action at the end of November.

Match report written by Stuart McBay