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MIDFIELD MAESTRO RYAN WADDELL THE HERO FOR CLYDEBANK AS A VITAL THREE POINTS ARE GAINED

Clydebank 2-1 Vale of Clyde

I'm dubbing today as the perfect day - the 5th of March 2005, best day of the season so far.  Why, you may ask?  Three reasons: I actually played half-decent in the supporters match (and the young guns won on a penalty shoot-out), Yoker finally got defeated off of St Anthony's and Clydebank won what was the most important game so far this season.  We seem to be dubbing a lot of matches like that, heh.  But we've finally won against Vale of Clyde, and our next opponents got gubbed off Rutherglen Glencairn, leaving me in high hopes we'll get another three points next week which will potentially put us into 2nd place.

This is how both sides lined up:

Clydebank took the lead with the first chance of the match, as a long Sean Brady throw-in from the right had Chris Wilson in goals all over the place, and Fallen powered home a header to make it Clydebank 1-0 Vale of Clyde, after 6 minutes.

The Tin Pail bounced back from this by winning several corners, the first corner won when a shot deflected just wide of the post.  After the third corner, Danny Drew finally got his head to it and the ball was cleared off the line by Clinton Maxwell, after 10 minutes.  A couple of minutes later Sean Brady threw a long ball in once again, and Fallen did connect but the header was easily collected from the giant Chris Wilson.

It was an exciting game of football, with chances for both sides every couple of minutes.  After Sean Brady's long cross almost snuck in, Danny Taylor had a great chance for Vale of Clyde but his shot was well dealt with by Halpin.  And right after that with 15 minutes gone, Sean Brady's long throws once again created a chance when the ball fell to Ryan Scobie, but he got underneath the ball and fired over the crossbar.

The fiery Danny Simpson got booked on 17 minutes for a silly foul to concede, which was my main fear after seeing him in the starting 11.  A game with a lot of ferocity in it, and Danny isn't exactly the calmest person in the world, no matter how good his footballing may be.  On 23 minutes, Sean Brady again caused havoc in the Vale of Clyde's defence as his long throw from the right once again found Mick Fallen, but his header was wide of goal.  The Tin Pail were now recognising the pattern, and Danny Drew was the answer to dealing with these sort of attacks.

Vale of Clyde's best chance of the match came on 28 minutes, when a long ball over the top caught out Mitchell and Danny Taylor was through on goal.  Halpin closed down the gap very well, and the resulting shot slowly went wide of goal.  It was a let-off for Clydebank, to say the very least!  With ten minutes until half time, a few Danny Simpson corners in quick succession eventually made it to Sean Brady, who had his header cleared off the line and Derek Readie's header seconds later was well held from Chris Wilson.  So far, it was an evenly matched game, both sides having glorious opportunities to score but it was Clydebank who were able to take their chances.

Disaster struck for the Bankies when a ball played into the penalty box saw a Clydebank defender slip, and Danny Taylor head the ball past a helpless Halpin to make the score Clydebank 1-1 Vale of Clyde, after 37 minutes.  The celebrations afterwards from a certain Tony Fraser were very funny to watch, as he taunted the fans with all sorts of gestures.  Yes, the gestures could provoke a riot, but Clydebank fans just have to learn to laugh it off, and use actions like those displayed from Fraser to really get behind the team, it gets the fans fired up!  The goal itself was close to being off-side, but I didn't hear much complaining from fans who were in line with it so I assume it was onside.

Tony Fraser's comedy antics on 41 minutes was hilarious to watch.  First, he pretends he's been hit in the face, and the referee completely ignores him.  Fraser, not happy about being ignored by the ref Hugh Kennedy, then proceeds to ask him why he didn't get a free kick for being hit.  So because of his whining and play-acting, he was booked for it.  I couldn't stop laughing at the stupid fecker for doing that!  The last chance of the half fell to Ryan Waddell, when a Derek Readie cross on the left found the midfield maestro who directed his header wide of goal, much to his disappointment.  The referee blew for half-time, with the scores evenly poised at:

CLYDEBANK 1-1 VALE OF CLYDE

The wonderfully-entertaining half-time show!

Instead of the usual drivel of watching the Clydebank subs miss the goal all the time, a special treat was in store.  A local boys football club were invited to Glenhead to perform at half-time in a penalty shoot-out against Scott McNab!  They were under-11s, only wee bairns, but their footballing skills were good to watch.  A couple done step-overs, others attempted to nutmeg McNab (without success) and a few just fired the ball past the big mean bully!  One goal flew into the top corner, something which McNab didn't expect at all as he crouched low expecting a ground shot.  The rest of the subs couldn't help but watch and laugh at this, and the boys raised over 180 quid, which exceeded their expectations and the money will go to buying the black away strips with the CIS logo on it, which they will proudly wear at a footy tournament coming up.

The second half started as the first half ended - Ryan Waddell having a chance to score.  His shot on 48 minutes though was saved well from Wilson.  Sean Brady thought he had fairly challenged Wilson on 55 minutes to win a header, and so did I - but Hugh Kennedy booked him for it.  I asked the Vale manager, who were handily next to me in the away dug-out, and Dennis Curran replied "hand-ball".  I could not see any other reason why Brady would be booked, so it must've been that then.  The bookings continued to be dished out from the ref as Paul McGlaughlin was yellow-carded on 61 minutes.  A couple of minutes later, the same player saw his shot stopped well from Halpin.

Time was fast running out, and changes had to be made.  Vale of Clyde brought John McGowan off for Paul Thomson after 64 minutes, and Thomson would be on the right helping with attacks.  Graeme Dempsey fancied his chances after 66 minutes, a 35-yard volley had power but it was straight at Wilson.  A couple of minutes later, Thomson had his first chance of the game as his shot from a tight angle just went wide of Halpin's post.  Clydebank had a couple of corners but didn't make them count, as they were cleared easily and the Tin Pail counter-attacked well.  I'll talk more about this in the in-depth analysis.

There was less than 15 minutes to go, and more changes were made.  Vale of Clyde were going all-out for a victory they felt they deserved, and brought off Steven Kerr and Thomas McDonald for Bryan Caldwell and Alex Reilly.  At the same time, Danny Simpson was replaced by Joe Allison.  Nothing much happened with these changes instantly, and on 81 minutes Fallen picked up his weekly booking, and Clydebank made another substitution.  Clinton Maxwell made way for super-sub David Fisher.

The crowd were edgy and at times eerily silent, which didn't make me feel too happy because you'd think the fans would be really getting behind the team to push for a winner, instead of standing in absolute silence.  A good effort from Joe Allison on 86 minutes produced a fine save from Wilson, and the resulting corner from Ryan Waddell saw Fallen's header go wide.  This seemed to spark the fans into action again, and I had not heard the fans be so loud at Glenhead Park ever since the Coltness title match!

Clydebank had two stone-wall penalty claims.  The first was when Danny Drew squashed a Clydebank attacker when a high ball was played in.  Crawford was penalised against Vale of Clyde in the last meeting between the two sides for less than that!  And Danny Drew picked up a booking in a seperate incident with three minutes remaining.  David Fisher made a mazy run and was brought down inside the penalty box, and Tin Pail gaffer Dennis Curran had the most relieved look on his face when he realised that his team got away with it.  There was hardly any time left for much to happen.

Clydebank won a free kick on the right of the penalty box bang on 90 minutes.  Waddell saw Wilson trying to fix his wall, and he just took his chance and curled it in at the near post, completely catching out Wilson and sending the Clydebank fans into a state of absolute delirium.  Dennis Curran could not believe it, and Ryan Waddell had been the last-gasp hero.  The score was now Clydebank 2-1 Vale of Clyde, after 90 minutes.

Danny Taylor picked up a yellow card with 93 minutes gone for a hard challenge on Fallen, who seemed to be in some pain with his back.  The way Taylor went into him, and the way he landed as well, meant that he struggled to get back up.  As he hobbled over to the touchline, he asked me how long had gone - 94 minutes of play.  Ryan Scobie had just made way for Paul McGlinchey, and Fallen was only back on the pitch a few seconds when the full time whistle blew.  The joy on the faces of the Clydebank players certainly made me wish I had a camera, it was a win which could win us promotion - or more!  The full time score at Glenhead Park was:

CLYDEBANK 2-1 VALE OF CLYDE

In-depth Analysis

Chris Wilson in goal had a few good stops, but he failed to manage the simple things like holding on to a ball.  Halpin, on the other hand, did very well to close down the space in one-on-one situations, had a couple of good stops but I honestly felt he, like McNab last week, has to be more vocal with his defence!  And speaking of the defence, Mitchell is not a defender, he gives the strength in midfield.  Long balls over the top caught him out way too easily (not his fault - as I already keep saying, he ain't a defender so he ain't used to dealing with things like that) but he's just back from injury, and it's good to see him starting again.

Clinton Maxwell was played out of positions in which he has more of an impact.  He couldn't do much because he has little effect in a central midfield role.  When Fisher came on, he ran at the tired defence and won a penalty which was never given, runs like that are more suited to a wing than in the middle of the pitch.  One player who IS doing great in a position he's meant to be in is Derek Readie, another outstanding performance from him which deservedly won him the Official man of the match award.  He won the ball well in the air, controlled it well on the ground, passed it around well and helped create chances for himself and others.  It's wonderful to see this week in and week out.

We used Sean Brady's long throws at first as our main means of attack, and Fallen was usually the target of these throws.  But Danny Drew was eventually marking Fallen for these, and usually won them.  And whenever we had any more throw-ins and corners, we did seem to not be able to make anything from them, and Vale of Clyde's counter attacks are quick and swift.  Whenever the ball was cleared from the Tin Pail penalty box, it came out to a Vale of Clyde player who then seemed to be destined to almost score each time, if not for Halpin's heroics or Harkins' interceptions.  It was too easy at times, for Vale of Clyde.

Hugh Kennedy is a controversial referee, turning down two stonewall penalty kicks and not even booking Dempsey when he almost destroyed a Vale of Clyde player through the second half.  Mr Kennedy is as much of a talking point in a match as the game itself, and if he is the man in the middle next week for the Shettleston match, then at least we are guaranteed an exciting and controversial game.

Official man of the match: Derek Readie.  Vote for your own man of the match here!

Attendance: 342

EDIT: I have been informed that John Mitchell in his Kilsyth days mainly played as a right back, so is technically a defender.  I know when to shut up, and won't go on about the whole "he should be in midfield" rant I've been using lately.  But I still feel he may be more EFFECTIVE in midfield...

Please note that the content in this match report is from a fan of Clydebank FC, and anything said within this match report does not represent the club in any way or form.  This is all personal opinion, and is totally unofficial.

C'mon the Bankies!