Clyde 5 v 0 Cumbernauld United

LINE-UP

Morrison

Bossy Smith McLaughlin

Convery Dunn
Kane McClay
Cosgrove

Nish Hinds

SUBS: Kernaghan (Bossy 45), Halliwell, Hagen (Cosgrove 65), McConalogue (Hinds 55), Keogh (Nish 55).

REPORT

The match began fairly evenly, with Cumbernauld looking up for the match. Stephen Cosgrove had an early shot, powerful from the edge of the box, well blocked by a United defender. The Junior side then had their best chance of the match - after a mix-up in the Clyde defence, United's striker was left alone in front of goal but Morrison came out well and made an excellent block. Clyde scored the opening goal from a good David Dunn corner (one of several on the night). Stevie Convery managed to beat the keeper to the ball and nodded into the net. Andy McClay then had a good effort when he put a low shot wide from the edge of the box. By this stage, Clyde were beginning to take control of the game, especially in midfield where Cosgrove in particular looked impressive driving forward. After a neat touch by McClay, Convery burst through towards the goal-line and put in a good cross which Leigh Hinds connected with on the run. Sadly, his shot clipped the bar and went over. A deflected shot by Cosgrove was then well saved by the Cumbernauld keeper. Clyde made it 2-0 before half-time when Leigh Hinds collected the ball 20 yards out with his back to goal, and brilliantly turned his man and flicked the ball into the corner past the onrushing keeper. A long accurate pass by Paul Kane reached David Dunn, who crossed to Hinds but his header was saved. On 45 minutes, a cross from the right by Convery reached Cosgrove in the box who neatly slipped the ball to Dunn. His resultant shot flew just wide of the post. After a slightly shaky start, Clyde dominated the half and played some nice football.

The second half wasn't as action packed as the first. Cumbernauld appeared to get a bit tired and Clyde seemed to ease off a bit. Alan Kernaghan replaced Bossy to continue his stewardship on the pitch. Just after kick-off, Colin Nish scored a penalty to make it 3-0 for Clyde. 5 minutes later, Nish was sent through and he sidestepped the keeper and put a shot in. The ball was cleared by a Cumbernauld defender's arm (although the ball appeared to be well over the line) and a penalty was awarded by the ref. Leigh Hinds stroked the ball into the corner to make it 4-0. It wasn't until midway through the half that Clyde next threatened the United net, and it led to the fifth goal. A long range effort by Pat Keogh smased off the inside of the post and Davie Dunn neatly volleyed the rebound into the net. He performed very well on the night an deserved the goal - his display was one of the positives for Alan Kernaghan. He nearly scored another soon after when he volleyed a deflected Convery cross towards goal but the keeper made a fine reflex save. Stephen McConalogue made his first mark on the game when he tried a good looping shot from 25 yards, but it was held. Cumbernauld's only real attempt on goal in the half was a long range strike that flashed by Alan Morrison's (another excellent performer) left hand post. Morrison made a couple of good saves and took some high balls very comfortable, not to mention his accurate distribution. The Bully Wee's last chance was very nearly a sixth goal. A high cross by AK to the back post was headed back across goal by Keogh and Andy McClay nipped in to head onto the face of the bar.

Overall, a very good exercise for the team. Cumbernauld were a decent enough side, although nowhere near 1st Division standard so the scoreline isn't really important. Most encouraging was the performaces of Cosgrove (potentially one of the best attacking midfielders in the Division), Morrison (will push Bryn hard) and Dunn, who seemed to perform much better without a crowd watching. Colin Nish, without being spectacular, at least showed signs of why he is highly rated by AK. Mark McLaughlin and Paul Kane both had pretty quiet games, but pleasingly came through the 90 minutes without looking out of place.