East Stirlingshire 0
Clydebank 1
League (Division 1)

Match Report

Any Bankies fans who weren't at this game (and let's face it, they were in the majority) may have thought from the scoreline this was a close shave for Clydebank.

They'd have been wrong. For had Bankies mistaken the venue and turned up at East Stirling's own Firs Park, they could scarcely have had less opposition. Whether they would have scored is a different matter.

In an embarrassingly one-sided match, a string of dreadful misses and a frustrating offside ploy by the home side kept the scoring down to a Gerry McCabe effort just before the break.

How Clydebank failed to take even a couple of the dozens of chances they made, I will never know.

Towards the end of the game they were falling over themselves to get into the box and have a go, with their efforts ranging from the inaccurate to the ridiculous.

Their finishing problems stemmed from an inability to do the simple thing in the penalty box.

In defence and midfield Bankies were superb, playing silky, incisive football mesmerising an insipid, talentless East Stirling side content to commit foul after foul to stop their tormentors.

But once Gerry McCabe, Gerry Ronald and company saw the whites of 'keeper Brian Pearce's eyes, they were transformed from confident, arrogant masters into nervous trialists passing the buck rather thar risking yet another miss.

Had they knocked in one or two of their opportunities Bankies would have had a scoreline worthy of their otherwise classy performance. The one that didn't get away, however, was put away beautifully.

Gerry McCabe had earlier contrived to miss the easiest chance of the game, dithering in front of an open goal long enough for Renwick to get back and clear, but he made amends with an excellent 43rd minute goal.

An East Stirling defender failed to clear a mishit corner, McCabe robbed him, wheeled and curled a shot past Pearce from 12 yards. This should have opened the floodgates.

It was not to be. Try as they might, Bankies just could not put away their chances after the break, despite the fact that near the end 'Shire folded like a tired Boys' Brigade side.

There seems to be every chance now that the Falkirk side will return to Division Two at the end of the season. Division One will not miss them. Their tactics, based on the principle of frustrate first, ask question later, annoyed the fans, the Bankies players, and can't have been much fun for themselves.

Apparently they are capable of good football, having trounced Falkirk 3-0 on Wednesday, but their sole intention on Saturday was to stop Clydebank.

It was football at its worst, the sort of negative play which, more than anything else, is driving fans away from the game. It's nothing short of criminal when Clydebank, the most attractive side in Division One, can pull in no bigger crowds than teams like East Stirling.

Clydebank are by no means world-beaters, but the gulf between them and East Stirling on Saturday was enormous. The teams moved differently, they played differently. Bankies, for all their failings in front of goal, swept the ball around almost contemptuously.

'Shire failed to trouble Jim Gallacher at any time. Casting aside their unfortunate finishing, Bankies yet again were good value for their league position. Gerry McCabe was outstanding, with most of his team-mates not far behind.

A final word about the department of the side least used on Saturday - the defence. Over the past few matches the back four of Williamson, Fallon, McGhie and Gervaise has been outstanding, giving away only two goals in the past six games. They couldn't have come good at a better time.

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How the other side saw it
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Minutes after the final whistle a defiant Martin Ferguson was still refusing to accept that his Shire side is almost definitely doomed to the depths of Division Two.

"There are still points at stake," thundered Ferguson as he stood outslde a despairing dressing room where his players were recovering from yet another morale-shattering single-goal defeat.

But, to be fair to Clydebank, it should have been a barrowload. Some shoddy finishing and desperate defending kept the goal tally down to a minimum.

Not even a change of venue, which saw Fergie's men returning to Brockville, scene of their famous derby victory last Wednesday, could help a jaded Shire.

Indeed, their first-half performance was so sluggish it appeared the players were suffering from the effects of the gas- leak which had put Firs Park temporarily out of bounds.

Ferguson named two trialists in the line-up. Yoker's Mcllroy who played up front with Alex Grant. The juvenile - Tierney - came on in the second half for Derek Lowe.

Shire had their problems before the kick-off. Charlie Kelly was side-lined again and both Tom McGorm and the banned Donald Watt were unavailable.

In a dreary first half, distinguished only by some clever wing play by Clydebank's Gerry Ronald and Gerry McCabe, East Stirling struggled to find any cohesion.

The midfield of Ray Edgar and Ian Gourlay didn't spark, and up front Grant and the trialist were getting no change from the Bankles' defence.

In 19 minutes Brian Pearce did well to clutch a Blair Millar header after some fine work by Ronald.

Four minutes later Ronald latched on to a Given pass and worked his way into the box only to be robbed by a three-pronged effort from Peter Kettings, Jim Blair and Craig Renwick.

Ronald and McCabe combined beautifully in 41 minutes in a move which saw the latter delay his parting shot too long. It beat Pearce, but Renwick kicked McCabe's half-hearted effort off the line.

Clydebank's opener finally arrived one minute before half- time. Given chipped the ball into the box and John McGall seemed to have it under control.

But MCCABE nipped in to rob McGall and swept a curling shot past Pearce from ten yards.

The second half saw Shire stage a stonewall defence, trying to hit the Bankies on the break. It was all one-way traffic. Bankies' keeper Jim Gallacher could have gone home early.

In 54 minutes McCabe fired just over the top, and seconds later Coyne did exactly the same thing. Blair Millar struck a superb volley inches over after a fine run and cross by Coyne just on the hour-mark.

And both Coyne and Hughes came close with shots in 62 and 75 minutes respectively.

Clydebank should have increased their lead in 80 minutes when Ronald sent McCabe away to beat the Shire offside trap. But the winger slid the ball past with Pearce well beaten.

To add to Shire's day of misery, Gourlay was booked for a foul on Ronald in 82 minutes, and Ian Rennie followed his team-mate into referee Fred McKenzie's notebook seconds later for another foul.

And, as for Martin Ferguson's apres-match comments, everyone likes an optimist. But surely Shire's First Division survival is now very much pie (and Bovril) in the sky.