Whitletts Victoria 0
Clydebank 7
West of Scotland Football League Cup (2nd Round)

Match Report

The Bankies bandwagon rolled on for another week as they wiped the floor with Second Division Whitletts Victoria in the 2nd Round of the West of Scotland Cup at New Voluntary Park. In a devastating opening half hour, the home side’s hopes were left in ruins as Clydebank ran in five goals on their way to a seven-nil victory. The result came at a cost however as Nicky Low was given a straight red card and Sean Ewart suffered the same fate as the game threatened to boil over.

Despite winning the last two games against Cumnock and Keith, the Bankies haven’t really clicked from an attacking point of view, with both wins being built on sound defensive principles as three clean sheets in a row will testify.

However, the forwards were in irresistible form from the first whistle as the tempo of the passing was fast, and penetrative which the Ayrshire side could simply not cope with. They were also highly susceptible to the ball over the top which saw David Syme claim a hat-trick of assists.

The first goal was as simple as you like after six minutes. Syme pushed the ball to Cairns on the left wing and his first time cross was met by Ciaran Mulcahy on the edge of the six-yard box where he powered a header low past Johnson.

Keeper Johnson suffered a series of embarrassments after this. If there is one thing goalkeepers hate it is being lobbed, and he was about to be on the end of three in a row. The first one came from a long clearance upfield by David Syme after sixteen minutes. The ball was pulled down wonderfully by Samson, and with Johnson in no man’s land, the striker executed the lob perfectly to make it 2-0.

Just three minutes later, Gallacher pulled off the same trick. Again, it was a long ball from Syme which created the opening. Gallacher was still fairly far out on the left, but he executed his lob perfectly as it sailed over the keeper’s head.

Dean Cairns then proceeded to make it a hat-trick of lobs, as he was the last man to touch the ball following a great team move where virtually every player was involved. He delicately floated the ball over Johnson, and if there was a dictionary definition of resignation then a picture of the keeper’s face would surely be next to it.

Samson completed the scoring in the first half when another Syme long ball evaded the defence. The striker resisted the temptation to lift the ball over the keeper as he ran through, and instead netted low into the corner for his 11th goal of the season.

With the game done and dusted, it was disappointing to be reduced to ten men just five minutes before the interval. Nicky Low had been subject to some rough tackling which you might expect from a lower league side trying to level the playing field. And, while you might hope for some protection from the referee, Low’s reaction by scything down a Whitletts midfielder was unbecoming of a player of his experience and was worthy of the red card he received.

With the game on the point of exploding, Whitletts only managed to hold on to their extra man advantage for all of three minutes. Sean Ewart made a disgraceful tackle on Liam McGonigle as the winger got away from him, and he also deservedly received his marching orders.

Luckily, the interval put a stop to all the nonsense and the Bankies sensibly played a game of keep ball on the resumption which took the sting out of the game.

The Bankies weren’t in much a hurry to anything in the second half, and it was only when the substitutions came on that we upped the ante once more. Two further goals were scored late on when McGonigle steered home a Hodge cross and Nicky Little headed in his 170th all-time goal for the club with a close range header from a Truesdale free kick.

Whitletts didn’t offer much (or weren’t allowed to) but the long throw from Fraser McMillan warrants a mention. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before, as he could quite comfortably reach the back post with an absolute rocket of a throw. It was a challenge for keeper Connor Keaney, but he was well protected by Syme and Niven.

So, win number sixteen out of sixteen was put up on the board as the Bankies continue to chalk up win after win. However, we are now about to embark on a run of difficult fixtures which will test our mettle to the full.

We kick off with a top of the table league clash against second placed Largs Thistle at Barrfields next Saturday. The Ayrshire side have been in red hot form since the start of this calendar year hardly losing a game in that period. This could prove to be the toughest test of the season so far for the Bankies, and with a five-point lead and two games in hand it goes without saying what a win would mean in the league standings. There is certain to be a substantial number of Bankies fans in town for this match as the tension and excitement are ramped up another notch.

Match report written by Stuart McBay