ClydebankClydebank |
3 - 03 - 0 |
Beith JuniorsBeith Juniors |
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League (WoSFL Premier) |
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Goalscorers | |
Aaron Black (1)
(Assist Nicky Low) James Grant (54) Nicky Little (89) (Assist Dean Cairns) |
None. |
Team Managers | |
Gordon Moffat |
Chris Strain |
Starting Eleven | |
1 Andy Leishman 24 James Grant 15 Oisin McHugh 22 David Syme 19 Chris McGowan 23 Nicky Low 7 Lee Gallacher 8 Dean Cairns 9 Ciaran Mulcahy 10 Nicky Little 21 Aaron Black |
Owen Stott 1 Max Brown 2 Evan Dunne 3 Robbie Scullion 4 Scott Rough 5 Jordan Stuart 6 Carlo Monti 7 Paul Frlze 8 Callum Graham 9 Alan Docherty 10 Abraham Osemeke 11 |
Bench | |
25 Jay Gibb 20 Connor Keaney 3 Danny MacKenzie 11 Liam McGonigle 17 Keir Samson 16 Craig Truesdale 5 Jamie Darroch |
Kyle Baird 21 Declan Hughes 14 Conor O'Donnell 15 Jude McClymont 16 Andrew Monk 17 |
Substitutions | |
Craig Truesdale for Aaron Black (72) Keir Samson for Ciaran Mulcahy (78) Liam McGonigle for Lee Gallacher (89) |
Andy Monk -> Callum Graham (46) Conor O'Donnell -> ? (79) Declan Hughes -> ? (87) Jude McClymont -> ? (87) |
Cautions | |
None. |
Carlo Monti (21) Jordan Stuart (34) |
Red Cards | |
None. | None. |
Match Officials | |
Ross Birrell (Referee) |
There was a “little” bit of history made at Holm Park tonight as Nicky Little overtook Ken Eadie as Clydebank FC’s all-time top goalscorer. I was 16 years old when Eadie signed for the Bankies and he was my absolute hero, and not many of his 175 goals were missed by these eyes.
Eadie was so far ahead of his nearest rival, that his record tally seemed to be totally out of reach, especially in this day and age when players move around more regularly. But then came along Nicky Little.
You could write an essay on Little’s Clydebank career in its own right, and deservedly so. It is an outstanding achievement and worthy of all the plaudits he will receive on social media in the coming days. The moment he broke the record will live long in the memory of those who were there and adds another chapter to the lore of this fantastic football club.
Now for the really important part. The game itself. If there is another team in the West of Scotland League that plays with the same intensity as Beith Juniors, then I have yet to see it. Chris Strain demands nothing less than every last drop of your very being on the football field, so to run out with a handsome 3-0 scoreline was not just a big win, but it really felt like it too.
Beith were the champions for the past two seasons, and they had a point to prove coming to Holm Park tonight. They are like a battering ram at times, and you have to withstand some heavy blows to stay with them. The Bankies defence were, to a man, immense and they will not earn a harder clean sheet all season.
What they are missing from their championship winning sides is a true goalscorer. Diver scored 43 last season and Fowler 32 the year before. This year Monti leads the way with 9, and it is clear that is why they are not challenging for the title this season.
Gordon Moffat made five changes from the defeat against Arthurlie in the South Challenge Cup on Saturday. If you weren’t sure where the manager’s priorities lie, then you should be now. In came McHugh, Low, Mulcahy, Gallacher and latest signing Black, and it was the new boy who got the Bankies off to a flyer scoring after just a minute.
Nicky Low caught the visitors off guard bursting through their rearguard on the left-hand side. He was ably supported by Aaron Black and when Low squared the ball to him, he calmly side-footed toward the top corner, and the diving Stott could only divert the ball into the net.
Buoyed by this start, Black almost grabbed another after four minutes when his superb first time shot from the outside of his boot forced Stott to slap the ball over his own crossbar.
Beith weren’t going to have this, and they battled their way into match. They are like a version of Largs Thistle and Auchinleck Talbot where they blast you from all angles. If you are not on your game, they will simply sweep you away. Fortunately, the Bankies defence withstood absolutely everything Beith could throw at them.
We were holding on by our fingernails at the end of the first half, when there was a fair bit of desperate defending as Beith firmly hemmed us into our own penalty box, but in looking back there were few chances created. Ex-Bankie Callum Graham made a good run to the near post to divert a cross from the left-wing toward the goal, but it was straight at Leishman.
Other than that, a deflected Jordan Stuart effort was all that Andy Leishman in the Bankies goal had to deal with.
The question you had to ask yourself as the whistle sounded for the break is whether Beith could keep up that level for the entire 90 minutes. They had mostly prevented the Bankies passing game from taking a hold as they pressed at every opportunity and made life extremely uncomfortable.
Gordon Moffat must have made clear at the interval how we had to match Beith’s intensity in the second half, and we immediately saw a much-improved performance as we began to push Beith back properly for the first time in the match.
We earned our reward after 54 minutes when Jimmy Grant doubled the lead. It was slack defending by Beith as they had several attempts to clear the ball properly, but once it was picked up by Dean Cairns they were in trouble.
The midfielder worked a one-two with Aaron Black, and his low cross from the right-hand side was cut out by Dunne, but he basically teed the ball up for the incoming Grant to slam into the net.
For a ten-minute spell after the goal, Beith went all out to get back into the game, and they were unfortunate when a shot deflected off the crossbar, and Leishman made a great save from another effort.
Once Clydebank had survived that mini onslaught, it was clear that Beith had “shot their bolt” and they Bankies controlled the last twenty minutes. The visitors could no longer chase down every ball as they had done on the first half, and the Bankies began to pass the ball around them.
Clydebank could have scored more goals as Ciaran Mulcahy was incredibly unlucky as he used sheer brute strength to force his was through the Beith defence only to be stopped at the last moment. His replacement Keir Samson was even more unlucky as he drilled a shot off the bas of the left-hand post.
There was to be one final goal however, and it was to be a historic one for Nicky Little. It was a fine passing move across the field, and the forward pass by Dean Cairns was perfectly weighted for Little to hit first time on the turn leaving Stott rooted to the spot.
His 176th goal for the club was greeted by great acclaim by fans and players alike, and a great personal moment for Nicky himself as the supporters on the terraces chanted his name.
Last season, we beat Beith at Holm Park by the same scoreline and at the time it felt like we were going places. It didn’t quite work out in the end, so there is still a long road ahead. Johnstone Burgh and St Cadocs are both in fine form themselves and they will not be giving in anytime soon.
What this game showed to the players, is the commitment required in all eighteen remaining games if we are to have a chance of winning this thing. It also showed that they are capable of overcoming these challenges and they need not fear anyone.
There is no time to let up as we welcome Benburb to Holm Park on Saturday. The Bens won both encounters last season and are a side we often struggle against. They should not be under-estimated, but we have to go out with intent and show why we are top of the table.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
2024-25 | All Time | All Time | |||||||||||||
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League | Cups | League | Cups | All | All | ||||||||||
Age | Nat | ![]() |
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Andy Leishman (GK) | 36 |
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10 | - | 3 | - | 10 | - | 3 | - | 13 | - | |||
Chris McGowan | 26 |
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4 | - | 6 | - | 4 | - | 6 | - | 10 | - | |||
James Grant | 25 |
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11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 53 | 3 | |||
David Syme | 27 |
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12 | - | 12 | - | 12 | - | 12 | - | 24 | - | |||
Oisin McHugh | 23 |
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12 | - | 11 | 1 | 89 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 117 | 3 | |||
Lee Gallacher | 29 |
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12 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 110 | 25 | 42 | 12 | 152 | 37 | |||
Nicky Low | 33 |
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7 | 3 | 11 | - | 42 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 63 | 9 | |||
Dean Cairns | 27 |
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12 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 23 | 4 | |||
Ciaran Mulcahy | 27 |
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12 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 74 | 20 | 28 | 13 | 102 | 33 | |||
Aaron Black | 24 |
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2 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 1 | |||
Nicky Little | 33 |
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12 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 208 | 123 | 76 | 53 | 284 | 176 | |||
Craig Truesdale (sub) | 25 |
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11 | - | 13 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 37 | 3 | |||
Keir Samson (sub) | 27 |
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8 | - | 12 | 12 | 8 | - | 12 | 12 | 20 | 12 | |||
Liam McGonigle (sub) | 30 |
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4 | - | 10 | 2 | 71 | 15 | 35 | 9 | 106 | 24 |
League results since Clydebank's last match |
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1st February 2025 |
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Beith Juniors | 7-3 | Benburb |
Darvel | 2-1 | Auchinleck Talb |
Hurlford United | 1-0 | Largs Thistle |
Johnstone Burgh | 2-1 | Glenafton Ath |
Pollok | 1-0 | Troon |
Shotts Bon Acc | 2-2 | Drumchapel Utd |
St Cadocs | 1-0 | Gartcairn |
4th February 2025 |
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Clydebank | 3-0 | Beith Juniors |
Drumchapel Utd | 1-2 | Johnstone Burgh |
Pld | W | D | L | +/- | Pts | ||
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1. | Clydebank | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | +16 | 32 |
2. | Johnstone Burgh | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | +12 | 29 |
3. | St Cadocs | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | +15 | 25 |
4. | Troon | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | +6 | 25 |
5. | Drumchapel Utd | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | +2 | 24 |
6. | Beith Juniors | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | +1 | 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