Clydebank 2
Ayr Utd 1
League (Division 1)

Match Report

Bankies sent table-topping Ayr crashing to their first League defeat of the season - and on this performance, at least, look more probable contenders for promotion than their fancied rivals.

After a first half, memorable only for a crazy Jim Fallon goal after 37 minutes, Clydebank stormed at United for the second 45 minutes, and emerged clearer winners than the scoreline suggests.

Blair Millar, Jim Given (scorer of a spectacular winning goal), and Tom Coyne could all have added to the total as Ayr struggled to find the kind of form which has taken them to the top of the League.

That's not to say, however, that the Seasiders didn't have chances to get a result.

Minutes from the end, substitute Christie had the easiest of chances to make it 2-2, when he stopped to head a Morris cross, but he somehow allowed the ball to bounce wide of Gallacher's right-hand post.

Earlier, after Ahern had scored from the spot to equalise Fallon's goal, they were denied what looked a certain penalty, after Gervaise handled in a duel with Morris, but Referee Waddell waved away their protests.

A win, however, for a Clydebank side who refused to let Ayr settle into any sort of rhythm, was the right result.

They survived the first period, when they looked jittery, to play some lovely football after the break and finally wear down the visitors' defence.

Clydebank's early problems stemmed from the slack defensive play which gave Jim Gallacher some anxious moments. As early as the third minute, Jim Fallon, back in the centre of the defence after Gerry McLauchlan failed a late fitness test, left a through pass to Gallacher, and vice versa, and Bankies were lucky to see the ball run just wide.

At the other end, Millar, McCabe and McKeown all had efforts at Stuart Rennie's goal, but the Kilbowie faithful could have been excused for feeling it was going to be "one of those days" again.

However, after half an hour of poor clearances, woeful passing and miserable finishing, Clydebank marshalled by Gerry McCabe, began to take a grip of the game and after McCabe and Millar had missed further chances to open the scoring, ironically it was skipper Fallon who made the breakthrough.

The veteran defender started the move playing a long ball out to Millar on the right touchline. Millar looked up, crossed and there was young Tom Coyne in lots of room and with only Rennie to beat. The ex-Motherwell keeper, however, spread himself bravely to save with his legs, but Fallon, following up, seemed to have the easiest of tasks to head home. He failed!

His downward header struck the inside of the post spun into the air and dropped again to the Kilbowie skipper. Surely this time he wouldn't fail; He did!

Another miskick saw the ball still bobbing around inside the six-yard box, where eventually, he slammed home the opener. It was a comedy of a goal for Ayr, who had seen their best chance of the half disappear only minutes earlier, when Kean found himself unmarked in the Clydebank box, but shot wide of Gallacher's post.

Clydebank were well worth their half-time lead, but in all honesty, it had been desperately dull stuff for long periods. After the break, however, it was a different story. Straight after the restart, Millar latched on to a McCabe through ball, deceived the defence with a lovely clipped pass and left Ronald in front of an open goal. Gerry, however, completely miskicked, and the ball somehow ended up behind him. Minutes later, he redeemed himself with an inch-perfect cross to Blair Millar, who climbed above the Ayr defence, but headed over.

Ayr showed why they are at the top of the table by weathering this early storm to come back and put Clydebank under considerable pressure. First, Tony Gervaise reacted sharply to knock a powerful Morris header off the line, with his defence at sixes and sevens, and then in the 61st minute, United were awarded a penalty when Jim Fallon handled while challenging Morris for the ball. Brian Ahern put Jim Gallacher the wrong way and knocked the ball in off the post.

This could have been the signal for Ayr to lay siege on the home goal, but Bankies had other ideas. And only minutes later Jim Given slammed home a goal fit to win any match. Gerry McCabe the best player on the park - made yet another surging run down the centre of the field, with players for once running off him to give him some options. As the Ayr defence back-pedalled, he sent a lovely ball down the left edge of the penalty box, right into the path of Given, whose thundering angled drive beat the diving Rennie in the far corner.

As far as the scoring goes that was that. But there was more excitement to come in the form of Ayr's legitimate penalty claim mentioned earlier, and that laughable miss by Substitute Christie.

At the other end Given almost scored his second when Rennie parried his header straight back into his path. Shanks, however, was on the spot to deflect the ball over the bar. Near the end, Millar had two efforts which might have just sneaked in, but both went just wide.

Campbell McKeown, injured late in the game is struggling to be fit, and his substitute in that match, young Martin Hughes, could keep his place in midfield. Failing this, Joe McBride could return to first-team duty.