Dumbarton 5
Clydebank 4
League (Division 2)

Match Report

Bankies have yet to beat Dumbarton either at Boghead or at Kilbowie. The reason for their defeat on Saturday is quite simple for after a great first half display they faded away to nothing in the second half.

Goals came fast and furious in the first half and by half time Bankies were leading by four goals to three after being 3-1 down at one point.

Defences on both sides were always rather suspect and neither keepers had what you might call a memorable day. Bankies defence have lost nine goals in two games and so there must be plenty of room for improvement.

Men of the match were Bankies John Baxter who scored two fine goals (John was outside left for the day) and ex-Rutherglen Glencairn player, John McGoldrick, who was at centre for Sons and scored three goals.

Sons Henderson started the goal spree after only four minutes when he took advantage of bad mis-judgment on the part of Madden and headed the ball past the luckless keeper.

King equalised four minutes later with a fine shot from 20 yards which left the Dumbarton defence standing.

Two quick goals by McGoldrick and McCormack for Dumbarton shot the home side into the lead that they held on for some time and looked in a commanding position; but Bankies fought back and John Baxter got his first goal after 27 minutes with a shot that had the Sons defence flummoxed. They thought it was a cross, but it flew straight into the net.

The next goal was a beauty. Fleming got into a tangle with the home defence but managed to get the ball to Tony Moy who slammed it goalwards and the ball curved past the outstretched hands of keeper Dunne.

Five minutes later John Baxter was there again with another long shot which beat keeper Dunne to put Bankies into the lead.

A difference was seen in Dumbarton's play midway through the second half when they brought on substitute Joe Davin in place of Andy Watson. Davin was given all his own way down the right and sent in some dangerous crosses.

John McGoldrick got the equaliser after 64 minutes when he rammed home a McCormack pass and seven minutes later he settle the issue when scored from a May cross to give Dumbarton the game.

Meanwhile Bankies just seemed to fall away completely in this half and this was sad as they had the initiative with a one goal lead. Defence was at fault for most of the goals and a lot of rethinking will have to be done at Kilbowie.

The team had a good build-up system but one notices, and this was greatly evident last season, that when Bankies are a few goals down they seem unable to fight back, although they did this in the first half.

Match report written by Mark Cook (Clydebank Press)

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Two-and-a-half thousand pairs of eyes were rubbed in astonishment at last Saturday's performance at Boghead. And that was taking a chance - you could have missed an awful lot there just by blinking. It takes two teams to produce a rip-roaring football bonanza of this standard, so hats off to both Dumbarton and Clydebank for the most entertaining match seen at Boghead in years. Even though the 5-4 score gave Dumbarton their first win of the season, the fact that they finished a goal ahead was almost an irrelevance after what had gone before.

This was the game that had everything, even in between the nine goals. For here were two sides playing as if winning was a matter of life and death, The tension was stretched taut right to the whistle, and even with minutes to go it would have been no great shock if Clydebank had walked off with it. At any rate, no one would have grudged them a point for their efforts, perhaps not even the Sons, as relieved as they were elated at notching up their first win.

Defences, obviously, didn't dominate this match, and Dumbarton's stars were in attack, with hat-trickster John McGoldrick at his goal-grabbing best. In fact, the Sons full-backs, Curran and May, popped up frequently in their attacks, and May was the man behind two of their goals.

Both sides got down to it right away with the kind of play that promised much. It was no surprise when Dumbarton took the lead, but then, it would have been no surprise either if Clydebank had taken it. It was that kind of match.

It was a soft goal, the first one, courtesy of 'Bankies keeper Madden. Henderson headed in a McCormack cross, and the keeper, misjudging its flight path," let it dip into the net.

That was four minutes after the start, and four minutes later Clydebank equalised, Rutherford beat Lynas on the wing and crossed into the middle, from where King cracked in an 18-yarder.

Within a minute of Dumbarton's kick-off, however, they went ahead again after May had burst through and hit the post. Madden, who had dived in a futile attempt to save, was helpless as McCormack stepped up to tap the rebound into the net,

Play swung from end to end with a frequency and speed that kept the crowd's gaze. glued to the pitch, and after eighteen minutes Dumbarton were two goals ahead, Henderson and McGoldrick combined in a race through the middle to beat Boyd, then, as Madden rushed out to intercept, Henderson slipped the ball to McGoldrick, and the centre guided it into the empty net.

Still the whirlwind pace continued, and for the rest of the first half Clydebank had a greater share of the pressure. Dumbarton still looked dangerous in breakaways, but any idea they may have had that they had the game tied up was knocked on the head in the 38th minute when Baxter scored for, the 'Bankies with a long angular shot that deceived Dunne completely and curled into the net. Clydebank pulled out the stops and outpaced the Sons defence with a series of quick passing moves in the 38th minute. Every pass found its man with telling accuracy, and Moy finished off with a well-placed goal from just inside the box.

This see-saw of a match was still in its downward swing for Dumbarton, and Clydebank completed their fight- back by taking the lead before the interval. Two minutes from the whistle they tore through the Sons defence at a dazzling pace before Baxter cracked in his second goal from just inside the box.

In the 62nd minute Watson went off and was replaced by Davin, who gave the Sons a new lease of life. Two minutes later McCormack crossed for McGoldrick to head into the net, and Dumbarton were back with a bang. McCormack rammed the ball against the post with a great drive, then nipped in for the rebound and headed inches over the bar. Finally, in the 71st minute, the Sons took the lead again after a great run on the wing by May, who beat two men before crossing into the goalmouth. McGoldrick's head flashed, the ball was in the net, and the centre's hat- trick was complete.

The end? Not likely-there were no more goals, but it wasn't for the want of trying by either side. Ten minutes from time a great drive from McGoldrick struck the underside of the bar with Madden helpless, then Henderson missed a great chance when he beat McGhee, McAleer and Madden in quick succession before sending the ball inches past the far post. The tension lasted right to the end, as a Boyd free kick was deflected and McGoldrick raced away and was foiled by Madden.

Match report taken from the Lennox Herald