Hibernian 3
Clydebank 0
Scottish Cup (4th Round)

Match Report

The Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road against Premier League Hibernian was another landmark step in Clydebank Football Club’s journey to return to the Scottish Football League. The result was largely irrelevant, though the 3-0 defeat was creditable given the six tiers in difference in standard between the clubs.

What this game was about was raising the profile of the club, and we did that in some style by taking 2484 supporters to Easter Road. The Hibs supporters were very complimentary as have been the wider community of Scottish football.

We may not have this level of support week in week out, but people travelled from all over the country who are unable to visit Holm Park regularly, Boys clubs who will hopefully be the next generation of Clydebank supporters saw the Bankies at the top level in this country, and the latent support that exists in the town came out in force to show that we have a viable club who can exist at a higher level.

For long-term (slightly) older supporters like myself, it was like turning the clock back to a time when visiting Easter Road was seen as normal. I, and a hundred or so supporters, sat in that main stand against Hibs 25 years ago watching a Clydebank side in the Scottish Cup gutted of its stadium, having been through the mill with the Dublin fiasco, playing out of Cappielow with no money and at that point in the season having only won just one game in the league. So, it was a special day for those of us who had to endure the hardships of those times, and a reward for everyone who has worked so hard to return this club to this level. There is still much to do, and we are heading in the right direction.

We, of course, have to talk about the game itself. It is a match report after all. We spoke of this before the game, but we were glad that the Bankies elected to shoot towards our own supporters in the first half as it would probably be our best chance to provide some excitement against a Hibs side who put out an almost full strength side.

Given the nature of the game, it would be harsh to really be critical of anything. From a playing perspective coming out of this by not getting a hammering would have been seen by most as creditable, and we largely achieved that.

Most supporters would have been happy to just have had a ‘moment’ in the game where the players gave the large contingent behind the goal something to shout about, but unfortunately we never really got that, other than a long range shot from Nicky Low and a through ball which Lee Gallacher just didn’t get break from.

This was probably due to the fact that we conceded in under two minutes. A long ball down the left channel was mis-judged by Adam Hodge and this allowed Hoilett the opportunity to race into the box and square it for Martin Boyle who scored with a first time shot at the near post.

I’ve been a long-time advocate for Adam Hodge in his time at the club, and it was an unfortunate error that he didn’t really recover from on the day. After receiving a yellow card after 17 minutes, he left the field injured after half an hour or so. Hodge has been a good servant to the club and I’m sure he will come back stronger from this.

Other than the goal, Clydebank held their own very well in the first half. Hibs did have a couple of other chances, but weren’t cutting us open at will as some of their supporters may well have expected.

The Bankies did enjoy some decent spells of possession particularly through Nicky Low. Low was the Bankies best player on the field. You could tell he had played at a higher level. He wasn’t rushed, made his passes, and was able to just give himself that extra wee second on the ball that maybe some of our less experienced players found difficult against a higher level opposition. Hibs did quash that particular problem in the second half as you would expect from a good team.

Gordon Moffat would have been very happy going into the interval knowing his side had acquitted themselves admirably, kept the scoreline tight and could hopefully still provide something for the fans to cheer about in the second half.

Unfortunately, any plans went out of the window as we conceded a second goal just 60 seconds into the second period. The timing of both goals couldn’t have been any worse and the home side knew they were on their way to the fifth round of the cup. Molotnikov was the scorer this time with a similar effort to the first when he volleyed home at the back post after Boyle chipped a cross over from the bye-line

From then on, it was just a case of trying to contain Hibs as much as we could, and they only managed one further goal scored after 59 minutes when Boyle slammed the ball past Leishman from ten yards after a clearance was deflected into his path.

The part-time Bankies suffered in the last twenty minutes or so due to the superior fitness of their opponents, and also having not played a competitive game since the middle of December now catching up with us. That Hibs did not score further is testament to the effort put in by the players.

If there was one grumble at this stage it would be that I was surprised that we continually tried to play the ball out from the back. We see inferior teams to ourselves try to play that way and inevitably possession is lost deep inside your own half. Perhaps, going long with the ball would have helped relieve some of the pressure occasionally. It is a very minor complaint however.

At the full time whistle the players and supporters spent a considerable amount of time congratulating each other for their efforts on the day and the run that brought us all to this point, and for most enjoying the day for what it was. Even the announcer calling us ‘Cowdenbeath’ wouldn’t dampen any spirits, but I suppose you get used to that kind of thing when you support a ‘wee’ team.

So now the sideshow is out of the way. Sure, we’ve made some money, maybe made some new friends, possibly gained some new supporters. However, the season starts now.

Building your profile is one thing, but winning the league and moving up to the next level is ALL that matters to the supporters. We lead the league table by a point but also have games in hand. We have 20 league games to play before May 10th and It all starts next week against Shotts Bon Accord.

It would be great if some of those extra supporters turn up, but what we really need is the players to turn up and make this into a truly memorable season.

Match report written by Stuart McBay