BANKIES LOSE TO HOSTS NARROWLY
Clydebank put up a brave performance in front of a healthy crowd of 100+ Bankies fans, but were beaten 2-1 by a weak-looking Neilston side. What struck me as odd, though, was how we played 35 minutes in the first half, and 40 minutes in the second half!
The new away top made it's debut for Clydebank, and it looked mightily impressive. We may have lost today, but at least we looked awesome! Neilston wore yellow tops with black shorts, and we had our new black away top with white shorts.
Here's how we lined up:
1) Paul Halpin
2) Sinclair Soutar
3) David Harris
4) Mark McGuire
5) Mick Fallen
6) Ryan Waddell (Captain)
7) Michael Tolland
8) Joe Allison
9) David Simeon
10) Mark Kirkpatrick
11) Clinton Maxwell
SUBS
12) Graeme Dempsey
13) Mark Hailstones
14) Derek Readie
15) Trialist
16) Trialist
Clydebank kicked off the match, but it was Neilston who looked more threatening. And whenever Clydebank had a chance, it was just wasted, such as a Joe Allison free kick won in the 8th minute of the match, which saw no chance created.
On 10 minutes, disaster struck when Neilston gained the lead. A run down the left hand wing was made, and our new goalie Halpin, on his debut, was helpless, as an unmarked striker blasted the ball into the back of the net to give the hosts the early advantage. Neilston 1-0 Clydebank.
Clydebank fought back into the game, and on 16 minutes the scores were level. A ball over the top to Simeon saw him with options to shoot, or hold the ball. He chose the latter, and lured out the keeper and then passed to Kirkpatrick, who deftly lobbed the ball over the defenders who came rushing back to try to stop Clydebank from scoring. A very good finish from Kirkpatrick, and a nice assist from Simmy, who got clobbered from the goalie just before passing to Kirkpatrick. Neilston 1-1 Clydebank.
Very few chances were created, as Neilston stuck the boot in with several reckless challenges, and there were worries that Budgie would have some injury concerns for Clydebank's next match.
On 26 minutes, Joe Allison attempted something special to put Clydebank into the lead, but his strike from 25 yards flew over the bar, but it was still a decent effort from the talented midfielder.
On the half hour mark, a shot from the right wing broke through across the face of goal, and came out to Ryan Waddell, who fired in a shot. Pity the Neilston goalie was on good form, as he pulled off the save.
Three minutes later, Neilston attacked, and again created a chance down the left wing. The cross came in, and Halpin came out only to make an error, and a Neilston player took advantage of this. With an open goal, he struck the ball, but out of nowhere, newbie Sinclair Soutar headed off the line to keep the scores level. Whew!
Clydebank responded to this close call by creating a great chance for themselves two minutes later, Joe Allison bursting down the left hand side and knocking the ball across goal. Simmy raced to get to the ball, but the defender done enough to put him off and he barely got contact on the ball, as it trundled wide past Kirkpatrick, who just missed out on connecting with the ball also.
Bizarrely, the referee blew for half time round about now, so after only 35 minutes, the half time score was:
NEILSTON 1-1 CLYDEBANK
The half time entertainment was superb, with Mehigan pulling off a move once done by a Columbian goalie, and he was very happy to have pulled it off. The crowd cheered, clearly appreciating his skill.
A half time substitute was made for Clydebank:
Mark Kirkpatrick OFF, Trialist ON
It was clear to me when Neilston kicked off the 2nd half that there was a man-marking tactic, with no Neilston players having too much space for themselves. Clydebank got more and more threatening, and were looking the most likely to take something from the game.
On 45 minutes (10 minutes into the 2nd half), Neilston had a great chance when a header from a cross on the left was well saved from Halpin. 2 minutes later, Neilston attacked again, with a free kick curling into the box only to be punched away by Halpin, and the punch fell to a Neilston player who shot well over from distance.
After this effort, Clydebank made a double-sub:
Joe Allison and Clinton Maxwell OFF, Mark Hailstones and Graeme Dempsey ON
With this change, Tolland (who had been doing very well down the right in the 2nd half) moved to the left wing, while Dempsey commandeered his usual role of being on the right. Hailstones just slotted into Joe Allison's role.
On 52 minutes, Hailstones does very well skipping down the right hand side to get past a defender, and he pulled it back across goal to set up Simeon. But he didn't shoot first time, and he then couldn't get a shot in. It was a decent chance that seemed to be wasted.
5 minutes after this, a Ryan Waddell free kick was blasted high and wide, and Clydebank made another change:
David Simeon OFF, Derek Readie ON
An hour had gone, and Derek Readie had a low shot on goal that was easily saved from the Neilston goalie. There was 15 minutes left to play, and I was starting to feel myself that the next goal would win it.
On 63 minutes, a Neilston corner was headed in by an unmarked player, and Neilston took the lead. It was a bitter blow to Clydebank, who had been playing better than their opponents throughout, and to have lost a goal with such little time remaining meant that some players either gave up hope, or were too reckless in trying to get an equaliser. Neilston 2-1 Clydebank.
Before Clydebank kicked off, yet another sub was made:
Ryan Waddell OFF, Trialist ON
On 67 minutes, the Trialist who came on for Mark Kirkpatrick had a shot saved, and time was running out. 71 minutes, and Mark Hailstones has an ambitious header going harmlessly wide. And with a single minute remaining, a long throw in near the corner flag broke to Derek Readie, who had his shot agonisingly blocked by the stubborn Neilston defence.
This was our last chance, and the referee blew his whistle after 75 minutes of play. There seemed to be a mix-up on how long games would last, and it was all cleared up in time for the Bellshill V Renfrew game. That match lasted 90 minutes, and Bellshill won 2-0, which sees us playing Renfrew for the 3rd place play-off. The full time score for Clydebank was:
NEILSTON 2-1 CLYDEBANK
Neilston stuck to the traditional 4-4-2 formation, while Clydebank played an interesting 3-1-4-2 formation. Mark McGuire had a superb game, playing in front of the defence, but just behind the midfield. It's the role I pipped him to excel in, and he certainly done that today.
Once again, results from pre-season doesn't matter much. What DOES matter is individual performances, and a few noticeable players today were the afore-mentioned McGuire, Simeon and Kirkpatrick's partnership seemed to work well, Ryan Waddell having a more attack-minded game (But I personally feel he's best suited to being the left midfielder, like he was against Edinburgh City last week) and Tolland really came alive in the 2nd half when he was on the right, charging at Neilston with every chance he had, before he switched sides and quietened down. Sinclair Soutar's goal-line clearance was a sign of his good awareness and reaction, and the idea of only 3 defenders instead of 4 left us vulnerable at times.
My personal opinion is that we'd be better off with a back 4 against teams of Neilston's standard. Against smaller teams, maybe we can risk 3 at the back. Comparing to how we lined up against Edinburgh City, this was not such an effective formation to have. McGuire playing in front of the defence worked well, and let's hope that Budgie made note of what worked and what didn't for our next match.
Man of the Match - MARK McGUIRE
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