Largs Thistle 0
Clydebank 0
League (WoSFL Premier)

Match Report

The top two in the West of Scotland League faced off at Barrfields as leaders Clydebank travelled to second place Largs Thistle, and despite the game ending in a goalless draw, it was a match full of drama and tension.

Even though the Bankies played over 75 minutes with ten men, we can count ourselves unlucky not to come away with all three points, as Wilton made a superb save near the end from Nicky Little. Thistle would be reduced to ten men themselves with five minutes to go, and it brings into question the performance of the referee who showed the yellow card eleven times (including two for the dug outs) as well as the red cards.

The game did threaten to boil over on occasions which is understandable due to the importance of the fixture, however had the ref shown a little more restraint early on then he would maybe have had better control over proceedings.

Bankies fans had been looking forward to this game all week and a near 600 crowd inside Barrfields showed the significance of this fixture. The first quarter of an hour brought little in the way of goalmouth action, but it did bring about a premature exit for Matt Niven.

The big defender was yellow carded after eleven minutes for a foul which could easily have been let past with a warning, however the caution put Niven on thin ice. This was tested just three minutes later, when he was second to the ball out on the left wing – a late challenge that just about everyone in the ground could see coming. A yellow card was fully merited this time, but because of his earlier indiscretion it would be accompanied with a red.

Too make matters worse, the Bankies lost Keir Samson to injury just three minutes later, though a more than capable Ciaran Mulcahy came on to replace him. A tactical change was also made with Danny MacKenzie replacing the unfortunate Liam McGonigle whose recent performances had been rewarded with a start in the starting eleven.

Largs had already shown signs of early dominance, and with the extra man they used the full width of the pitch to great effect pulling the Bankies defence from side to side. The first big chance of the match came for the home side after 23 minutes when the ball came to Will Sewell just outside the penalty box. The prolific striker made a little space for himself, but fortunately the ball skipped past the left hand post with Keaney beaten.

A minute later Martin saw a shot deflected over the bar after a superb piece of footwork. Connor Keaney injured himself trying to pull down the crossbar, and the treatment time-out allowed Gordon Moffat to have an impromptu meeting with his players to adjust the tactics.

The Bankies defence were outstanding throughout, and they limited Largs to a minimum of shots at goal and they saw their way to the interval with the goal intact. The only real scare was from a short corner from which Ryan Deas shot across the goal from a tight angle, only for the ball to flash past the far post.

The break gave the Bankies the chance to re-organise themselves for the hard shift ahead in the second period and great credit must be given to the manager for getting his tactics spot on and the players for executing his instructions so effectively.

Almost immediately, the marauding Largs attacks of the first half were reduced to a shadow of the threat we saw in the first half. They still had plenty of the ball, but the Bankies contained the danger and as time wore on were able to build attacks of our own as the home raids became more ineffectual.

It was refreshing to see such a determined Clydebank side. We all too often capitulated in this kind of situation in the past, but this is a group who showed some real balls this afternoon. They kept their shape and discipline, and were aggressive when they needed to be. The players were not prepared to roll over and accept a defeat.

After an hour, the Bankies began to make the Largs keeper work. Nicky Low drove a great shot to Wilton’s right hand post and the keeper had to be alert to push the ball away for a corner. From the resultant flag kick, Nicky Little went agonisingly close as his header went just past the post.

David Ramsay came on for ex-Bankie Ryan Deas who was withdrawn immediately after luckily avoiding a second yellow card and he had the closest effort for the home side when he sent a diagonal shot just wide of the post. This is a testament to the Bankies defence that Largs failed to have a shot on target of any note throughout the match.

It’s always a bad sign when the referee is one of the main talking points in any match, and there is no doubt that the Bankies should have been awarded a penalty when a Lee Gallacher cross struck the outstretched arm of Cory Hughes. The reaction not just of the Bankies players, but that of Hughes suggested this was a penalty of the stonewall variety. Unfortunately, the ref was the only person in the ground not to see it.

The whistler didn’t exactly cover himself in glory either when Largs playmaker Jamie Martin was sent off with five minutes remaining for a foul on Adam Hodge. There is no doubt that Hodge made the most of it, and it was probably and undeserved red card. What it did do was give the Bankies the impetus to go forward and try to win the match now the numbers on the field were level.

Twice in the closing stages the Bankies could have snatched the winner. The first came from a long Adam Hodge throw-in. The ball broke to Nicky Little whose instinctive first time shot was met by an equally instinctive save from Wilton in the Largs goal. From the corner kick, Dean Cairns was inches away as his powerful downward header just passed the wrong side of the post.

Most would have been happy with a point at a difficult venue after Niven’s red card, but the resilience and indefatigability of the players meant that we were a fraction away from taking all three points. Considering the circumstances, however, it was a good point and may be vital in the long run.

The whole team put in an incredible shift, and it is hard to pick out star performers. Personally I’m going to go with Nicky Low as my man of the match, but it is a close run thing. Ciaran Mulcahy had a tremendous game up front, and David Syme led the defence to a fourth consecutive clean sheet, and great praise to deputy keeper Connor Keaney who has done better than anyone could have expected. I thought Dean Cairns had his most effective game in a while, and Nicky Little is just having a great season overall.

As a spectator, the excitement on the terraces is palpable, and the crowds seem to be getting bigger week on week the more the players achieve. We can now all take breath for a few days before we head off to Broxburn next Saturday in the South Challenge Cup which will be another difficult test.

Match report written by Stuart McBay