Stenhousemuir v Clyde

Recap

The start of Clyde’s 2009-2010 campaign saw the Bully Wee face up to another new Second Division side, albeit in the ALBA Challenge Cup, with a trip through to Larbert to take on Stenhousemuir.

Needless to say, the team line-ups were of great interest to away supporters and the Warriors arguably fielded more familiar faces than Clyde, with Kevin Bradley and Craig O’Reilly in their squad. There were numerous changes to the Clyde team that defeated Partick Thistle in last week’s friendly, with Jay Lang, Alan McFadden and Paul McLeod all starting and Jordan Allan given his first-team debut in goal.

The early stages of the game perhaps gave an indication of what was to come, with neither side able to gain control of possession. The first chance fell to the home side as a corner was headed over the bar by the unmarked Chris McLeod. Throughout the match, Lang was to provide Clyde’s best efforts on goal but his first attempt was a poor free-kick that was comfortably held by Chris McCluskey.

Stenhousemuir were finding some joy down the right-hand side of Clyde’s defence and twice threatened. Firstly, Scott Dalziel moved into space at the edge of the penalty area but Allan dived well to save his low shot. Then, Robert Love burst clear from the halfway line but Alan Lithgow did well to cover and prevent the diminutive midfielder from getting in an effort on goal.

The Bully Wee then took charge of possession towards half-time but failed to create any clear-cut chances. Willie Sawyers managed to outmuscle McLeod but his weak lob didn’t trouble McCluskey, whilst Robert Halliday thumped a free kick past the post from 25 yards. Probably the best chance of the match for Clyde fell just before the half-time interval as a loose ball dropped to Lang on the edge of the box but the ex-Falkirk youngster could only scuff an effort wide of the post.

As play moved into the second half, Clyde started reasonably well and a couple of corners were well defended by the home team, with Lithgow in particular coming close to netting one of them. Steven Thomson then became the only booked player in the match after pulling back Lang after the Clyde midfielder had robbed him of possession in a dangerous area. At the other end, Love was inches from connecting with a fine in-swinging delivery by Dalziel in a situation where any touch would have almost certainly resulted in a goal. Dalziel then did well to cut inside past Scott Gair but his shot flew a couple of yards over the bar.

Jamie Doyle had produced a good hour of midfield play but given his truncated pre-season, understandably tired and was replaced by Connor Stevenson. Conn Boyle also took the place of McFadden. This saw a change in the pattern of play as Stenhousemuir started to see more of the ball, although Lang’s pacy free kick needed to be tipped over the bar by McCluskey in Clyde’s best effort on goal of the match.

Clyde completed their substitutions by introducing Steven Howarth for the ineffectual McLeod, whilst Stenhousemuir brought on Bradley and Kevin Motion for Love and Brand. The fresh legs benefitted the home team and Motion was to play a huge part in them taking the lead. Some intricate play on the right hand side involving Bradley and Willie Lyle ended with the ball finding its way to the edge of the box where both Motion and another home player were able to fire in efforts on goal that were blocked. Unfortunately, O’Reilly lashed home the loose ball from 10 yards and Clyde were left with 15 minutes to rescue their Challenge Cup campaign.

The remaining period of the match saw the Warriors play out time comfortably, although McCluskey had to move quickly to block another Lang effort from distance. With a tiring Clyde pushing players forward in search of a leveller, a goal on the counter attack was always likely and after playing a neat one-two with Motion, Dalziel found himself through on goal. The striker took a couple of touches and slotted the ball high past Allan for a very well worked goal. The referee blew for full-time almost immediately.

Ultimately, this wasn’t a great game of football and prior to O’Reilly’s opener, neither goalkeeper had been seriously tested. In truth, Clyde began to struggle after the hour mark and given the lack of a proper pre-season, the end result wasn’t surprising. The main positives for Clyde are a promising performance from young Allan in goals, a solid looking backline and a midfield that seemed to be competitive at this level. Unfortunately, a lot of work is needed on the offensive aspects of the side as the Bully Wee appeared to have run out of ideas in the first half hour.