Arthurlie 2
Clydebank 1
South Challenge Cup (5th Round)


Arthurlie 

2 - 1

Clydebank

South Challenge Cup (5th Round)
Saturday, February 1st, 2025
Dunterlie Park. Att. 455
1:30 PM Kick-off


Goalscorers
Jamie Darroch (og 38)
Dylan McGuigan (45+1)
Nicky Little (58)

Team Managers
Colin Reilly Gordon Moffat

Starting Eleven
1 Marc Waters
2 Ryan Sinclair
3 Michael McMullin
4 Lee David Roulston
5 Michael MacNeil
6 Sean Doherty
7 Conor Bolger
8 Jorden Leyden
9 Mark Taylor
10 Aaron Healy
12 Dylan McGuigan
Andy Leishman 1
James Grant 24
Danny MacKenzie 3
Jamie Darroch 5
David Syme 22
Chris McGowan 19
Craig Truesdale 16
Dean Cairns 8
Keir Samson 17
Nicky Little 10
Liam McGonigle 11

Bench
1 Thomas David McGaughey
14 Ryan McGregor
17 Kieran Brophy
18 Ross McKenzie
20 Sam Greenwood
26 Christopher Calder
Lee Gallacher 7
Connor Keaney 20
Nicky Low 23
Ciaran Mulcahy 9

Substitutions
Kieran Brophy -> Dylan McGuigan (69)
Sam Greenwood -> Mark Taylor (76)
Ryan McGregor -> Aaron Healy (82)
Ciaran Mulcahy for Danny MacKenzie (67)
Lee Gallacher for Liam McGonigle (79)
Nicky Low for Jamie Darroch (79)

Cautions
Jorden Leyden (36)
Sean Doherty (57)
Mark Taylor (74)
Liam McGonigle (54)

Red Cards
None. None.

Match Officials

Steven MacDonald (Referee)
Scott Douglas & James Hesketh (Assistants)





Match Report


After going the best part of five years without losing to a lower league side in a cup match under Gordon Moffat the Bankies have now managed to do it twice in a row following today’s 2-1 defeat to Arthurlie at Dunterlie Park in the South Challenge Cup.

We have now exited three cup competitions in the space of the last five matches, but more worryingly we have only won a single game in that period. It has been over an extended period, due to match postponements, but it is a concern that we seem to have lost the winning habit that has carried us through the first half of the season.

It was an enthralling tie it has to be said in which the Bankies squad were riven with injuries and suspensions. Gordon Moffat was only able to name four substitutes and had to smash the ‘In emergencies only’ glass behind which Jamie Darroch stood. Unfortunately, it was a move that didn’t pay off.

Overall, the Bankies didn’t do an awful lot wrong. We controlled the game virtually from start to finish, but our goals scored to chances created ratio is becoming increasingly worrisome in recent times. Taking out the pastings we have handed out in the cup this season our league results have mostly been narrow wins based on a strong defensive unit.

Today we were missing McHugh, Niven, and Hodge, and with Low, Mulcahy and Gallacher on the bench we tried out different formations and personnel in different positions. The main beneficiary was Craig Truesdale who was much more involved in the centre of midfield and had a much better game than of late.

Arthurlie are a big, strong physical team and this was their main attribute they used against the Bankies, especially in the second half when it was backs against the walls defending for most of the time. They do, however, have players who can hurt you on the transitions as we found to our cost late in the first half.

For most of the first period it was Clydebank dictating possession kicking down the Dunterlie hill. Nicky Little flashed a near post header in the first few minutes which ex-Bankies keeper Marc Waters could only push away on his left-hand side.


Little was involved in the next opportunity when he turned the ball round the corner for Truesdale who skinned his marker and sent a 25-yard left-footed drive just inches past the post.

In truth, the Bankies didn’t make the most of the good positions they found themselves in and a dink down the right-hand channel for Nicky Little by David Syme which saw the forward sclaff the ball wide was the last chance before the roof caved in down the other end.

Arthurlie had shown in flashes that they had some danger in their ranks but the loss of the first goal after 38 minutes was all of our own doing. Keeper Waters punted the ball forward from his penalty box, and a tragic case of miscommunication saw Jamie Darroch get his head to the ball and sending it back towards the goal, but Leishman had already come off his line to intercept the long kick-out. The players will have to sort it out themselves who was to blame for such an amateur-ish own goal, but it gave the home side an unlikely lead.

The Barrhead side revelled in this turn of events and scored a second in first half stoppage time. Sadly, the goal came from a Clydebank attack. A massive clearance upfield gave Roulston acres of room to run into, and with Darroch’s hopes of catching him a forlorn fantasy, the midfielder slipped the ball inside for McGuigan who had so much time to beat Leishman.

The second half was essentially one-way traffic, and the one good thing to come out of this game was the sense of urgency in which we attacked. We are going to have to exceed these levels in the upcoming league games which are an order of magnitude more important than this cup tie.

There were a few key moments in the second half which determined that we would ultimately lose rather than win. The first was a diving handball into the net by Liam McGonigle after 54 minutes from a Samson knock down. Had he stayed on his feet, he may still have had the time to put the ball over the line, but using his hand put paid to that.

After a period of sustained pressure, Clydebank finally got the goal that got them back in the game. Just before the hour, two tackles were made by the home defence, either of which could have been a free kick. The ref awarded the one closest to the penalty box, and Nicky Little curled a beauty into the top corner.

Nicky Little has been on course to smash Ken Eadie’s all-time goal-scoring record for the club this season, and this was a wonderful strike to draw level to the legendary striker. 175 goals for a single club is a magnificent achievement at any level and not the circumstances Little would have wanted to score such a landmark goal.

Perhaps it got into his head a wee bit when the Bankies were awarded a penalty six minutes later when McGowan had his legs taken away from him. A penalty is not an ideal way to break a record, and Little’s tame effort was easily pushed away by Waters. His time will come.

This was really the defining moment of the game. Had the Bankies equalised from the spot, I don’t think there is any doubt that we would have gone on to win with half an hour remaining. We had umpteen chances, but heroic defending by Arthurlie kept us out, and they will rightly see this as a great triumph.

The players should remember the over-celebrating from the Arthurlie players and fans at the final whistle. We have a target on our backs, and we better get used to it. We are a big scalp nowadays and the players need to show the mentality to handle it.

We should hopefully see a stronger line-up against Beith during the week with at least McHugh and Black returning to the squad and Low, Mulcahy, and Gallacher all starting. There are no excuses now. We have had two tough competitive games in the last two weeks, and it is time to show that we truly have championship credentials.

Match report written by Stuart McBay



Squad Statistics (as at February 1st, 2025)


2024-25 All Time
League Cups All
Andy Leishman (GK) 9 - 3 - 12 -
James Grant 10 - 111522
Jamie Darroch 1 - 3 - 20617
Chris McGowan 3 - 6 - 9 -
David Syme 11 - 12 - 23 -
Danny MacKenzie 6 - 7 - 43 -
Dean Cairns 113111224
Craig Truesdale 10 - 132363
Liam McGonigle 3 - 10210524
Nicky Little 1161210283175
Keir Samson 7 - 12121912
Lee Gallacher (sub) 11313415137
Nicky Low (sub) 6311 - 629
Ciaran Mulcahy (sub) 11311410133







Recent Results


League results since Clydebank's last match
1st February 2025
Beith Juniors7-3Benburb
Darvel2-1Auchinleck Talb
Hurlford United1-0Largs Thistle
Johnstone Burgh2-1Glenafton Ath
Pollok1-0Troon
Shotts Bon Acc2-2Drumchapel Utd
St Cadocs1-0Gartcairn

League Table (as at February 1st, 2025)


Pld W D L +/- Pts
1. Clydebank 11 9 2 0 +13 29
2. Johnstone Burgh 14 7 5 2 +11 26
3. St Cadocs 13 8 1 4 +15 25
4. Troon 13 8 1 4 +6 25
5. Drumchapel Utd 16 7 3 6 +3 24
6. Beith Juniors 13 6 3 4 +4 21
7. Largs Thistle 14 6 5 3 +8 20
8. Auchinleck Talb 13 4 6 3 +2 18
9. Pollok 12 5 2 5 +2 17
10. Glenafton Ath 15 4 5 6 -9 17
11. Benburb 16 3 6 7 -11 15
12. Cumnock 12 3 3 6 -5 12
13. Hurlford United 14 2 5 7 -14 11
14. Gartcairn 16 6 3 7 +2 6
15. Shotts Bon Acc 13 1 3 9 -13 6
16. Darvel 13 1 5 7 -14 5

Point deductions:
Darvel: -3
Gartcairn: -15
Largs Thistle: -3