Broxburn Ath 2
Clydebank 1
League (Lowland League)

Match Report

Sometimes you get what you deserve, and sometimes you don’t. This was a “don’t” day, as the Bankies hit the bar three times, saw two goal-line clearances, and missed at least two more gilt-edged chances in a 2-1 defeat to Broxburn Athletic at Albyn Park this afternoon.

Any neutral observer would readily accept that Clydebank were the superior side in all departments except one — putting the ball in the net. And that, of course, is the name of the game. The home side scored two well-taken goals at vital times, and they will feel they got their tactics spot on, even if they had to ride their luck on occasion.

If I were to be critical of Clydebank’s performance, it would be that we didn’t show quite enough urgency, particularly in the first half. There was a growing swell before the equaliser, and for a spell afterwards when we were chasing the winner we looked much more dynamic. Unfortunately, the final cross into the box — and some of the decision-making at crucial moments — was lacking, and we paid for it in the end.

That said, we created enough chances to win the match comfortably, and still managed to field a strong starting eleven despite the never-ending injury crisis. There were few options from the bench to change things, with five players out injured and Neil McLaughlin’s suspension compounding matters. However, we won’t use that as an excuse, as the Badgers were also missing top scorer Errol Douglas.

Clydebank controlled possession from start to finish, while Broxburn’s plan was clearly to hurt us on the transition. Perhaps that led to us not moving the ball with quite enough urgency, and it took eighteen minutes before we finally breached the home defence.

Keir Samson flicked on a long ball from defence into the path of Nicky Little. It was one of the best chances of the match as Little struck cleanly with just the keeper to beat, but he didn’t quite get enough angle on the shot and McConnell saved well to his right.

The Bankies had to be patient, but our luck was out again when a sweeping move led to Adam Hodge sending in a great little cross for Lee Gallacher, of all people. Not renowned for his heading ability, he was unlucky as the keeper, standing well behind the line, managed to push the ball away.

All eyes were on the linesman, but seeing as he had earlier flagged for offside when a Broxburn player played the ball towards his own goal, there was no chance of a favourable decision this time.

It was only towards the end of the half that chances began to appear at both ends. Broxburn enjoyed a decent spell, forcing a couple of corners before Docherty brought a near-post save from Stott.

At the other end, Broxburn somehow escaped when the Bankies hit the crossbar twice in ten seconds. It came from a wicked Hodge delivery on the right. Samson could do little more than direct his header goalward, but the underside of the bar came to Broxburn’s rescue. Oisin McHugh was quickest to react as the ball rebounded upwards, but unbelievably his header also struck the woodwork before O’Kane cleared for a corner.

The half ended with Broxburn also hitting the crossbar — though had that gone in, it would have been filed under “F” for fluke. A completely wayward cross from Lavery sailed over Stott and bounced off the top of the bar.

The Bankies had not created enough in relation to their first-half dominance, and just three minutes after the restart things became a whole lot more difficult. It was great play by Jamie Docherty, who seemed to take out three Clydebank defenders with one simple turn inside. He then fed a perfect pass to Chris O’Kane, removing David Syme from the equation. With only Stott to beat, the former Pollok man calmly dinked the ball over the advancing keeper and into the net.

It was a crucial goal at a crucial moment, and it played perfectly into Broxburn’s game plan. They were now content to let Clydebank have even more of the ball and look to hit on the break.

Clydebank reacted positively, and Cairns had two fine efforts — the first from great tenacity in midfield to hold off a challenge before unleashing a thunderous shot that rattled the crossbar yet again, and the second a volley that flew just over from a well-worked corner routine.

As the Bankies continued to find themselves in great positions, it seemed only a matter of time before the equaliser came, and it duly arrived after 69 minutes. Nicky Low threaded a precise pass down the left for Aaron Black, who cut the ball back across the six-yard box for Nicky Little to head home.

At that stage, there looked to be only one winner, but Clydebank couldn’t turn their possession into clear-cut chances. Credit must go to Broxburn’s defence for keeping the Bankies at arm’s length.

In some ways, it almost felt inevitable that Clydebank would end up losing. We probably had as much control in this match as in any this season, but if you don’t put the ball between the sticks, you leave yourself open to what came next.

A quick break from the Badgers saw the ball lofted out to the right wing. Chris McGowan didn’t deal with it well and was beaten to the header by Docherty. The forward managed to knock it back inside for himself to run onto. With McGowan now behind and the rest of the Bankies defence committed upfield, Docherty had a clear run on goal.

Owen Stott was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t — so exposed was he — and Docherty executed a perfect lob to put the Albyn Park side back in front.

The Bankies sent on Arbroath loanee Hickey-Fugaccia in place of Hodge, but Broxburn held out comfortably to claim a hard-earned three points.

With midweek results not going our way and today’s other scores offering little help, the top of the table has really tightened up — just six points now separate the top five.

Clydebank remain top for now, and must defeat Gala next week while most of the rest of the league are in South Challenge Cup action. Gala are in freefall, having lost six of their last seven league matches. It is vital that the Bankies open up a five-point gap before Linlithgow Rose visit Holm Park in two weeks’ time.

Match report written by Stuart McBay