Cowdenbeath 0
Clydebank 4
League (Lowland League)

Match Report

Brilliant, Barnstorming, Breathtaking, Blistering Bankies! It’s alliteration gone mad, but you really have got to take your hat off to this Clydebank team over the last six matches. Six straight wins, twenty-six goals scored and just two conceded, with four consecutive clean sheets to boot.

The four-goal victory over Cowdenbeath at Central Park tonight took the Bankies back to the top of the Lowland League for the first time since January and put us firmly in the driving seat in the title race. However, apart from the three points, nothing has been won, and we must be mindful of that. Gordon Moffat and his team did a great job last season of keeping their players grounded and focused on the task in hand, and the margin for error remains small. One defeat could undo all the hard work.

For the moment, however, the fans can bask in another devastating performance from their favourites. The first twenty minutes of the match were simply sublime. Even the absence of the imperious David Syme made no difference, thanks to the return of Matt Niven. Big Matt had missed the last eleven games, but you would never have known it, so solid was he.

The Bankies players were like dogs straining at the leash, and as soon as the referee blew her whistle there was a massive release of energy. Cowdenbeath did not know what hit them as they were swamped from all angles.

This is what top teams do. They set out to blow the opposition away in the early stages, and the Bankies did just that. The ever-impressive Neil McLaughlin scored twice in the first fifteen minutes, both assisted by the equally outstanding Owen Wardell.

The first goal after nine minutes was great from a Bankies perspective, but the Cowdenbeath defenders should not have allowed McLaughlin to dance around them inside the box before picking his spot in the net. Five minutes later, he again got on the end of a Wardell pass and slipped the ball into the same bottom corner.

Cowdenbeath were fortunate not to find themselves further behind before they began to get a foothold midway through the first half, but by then it was already too late. Samson, Cairns and Niven could all have extended the lead, but, as Albion Rovers did at the weekend, the hosts had some “success” in making it more of a scrappy affair and survived to the interval without conceding further.

The Clydebank players were hungry for more, and within a minute of the restart both McHugh and Docherty had efforts on goal. It did not take long for the third to arrive, as Neil McLaughlin completed his hat-trick with a fine finish from a well-weighted Adam Hodge pass.

Remarkably, this was the fourth hat-trick by a Clydebank player in the last five games.

Just before the hour, the fourth goal arrived, and it was a disaster for keeper Dion Gear. He came a long way from his goal line to meet a looping Nicky Low cross into the box and missed it completely. McLaughlin chested the ball down and, as it headed towards goal, stood back to allow Samson to net his 22nd of the season.

Perhaps he might not have been so generous had he realised he was passing up the chance to reach 30 goals for the campaign.

From that point, Gordon Moffat began to make changes to protect his key players and see the game out. It also allowed Cowdenbeath their first (and second) attempts at goal after 70 minutes, both off target. It is a testament to the defence that Owen Stott did not face a single shot on target for the second consecutive game.

There was still quality to come from the bench, with Nicky Little and Lee Gallacher helping to see the match through, and Gallacher was unlucky to see an effort come back off the inside of the post late on. Both have been fantastic servants to the club over the years and continue to show they still have something to offer.

Man of the match can only be Neil McLaughlin, but every player has contributed to the current run of form. A special mention must go to Adam Hodge. He has seen his position come under threat at times and had things go against him in some big games, but he never gives up. Any supporter will tell you that he “gets the club”, and he is held in huge esteem. Adam will make his 150th appearance on Saturday, and hopefully he receives the reception he deserves.

Elsewhere, Linlithgow Rose slipped up tonight, drawing 3–3 at home to Civil Service Strollers. On the face of it, that is good news for the Bankies, but it also underlines the spirit in the Rose camp, having rescued four points from losing positions in their last two games.

This weekend, the Bankies entertain Broxburn Athletic at Holm Park. The Badgers won the first meeting at Albyn Park earlier in the season, but Broxburn have played ten league games since the turn of the year and have won just once.

It is great to see the Bankies back in pole position, but any sense of triumphalism must be held in check. There is still plenty that could go wrong. The supporters were immense again tonight, and the noise from inside the Central Park stand was incredible. If that can be replicated on Saturday, the crowd can play their part in taking the club another step closer to where we all want to be.

Match report written by Stuart McBay