Alloa Athletic v Clyde

Recap

Clyde’s unbeaten start to the season continued this afternoon, with a very credible draw at promotion favourites Alloa.

New signing Declan Gallagher, Paul McMullan and John Neill were all added to Jim Duffy’s starting line-up, with Pat Scullion missing out due to a knee injury.

The home side probably had the better of the early period of the match, but it was the Bully Wee who claimed the first goal. Once again, it was John Sweeney who got it and it was another fantastic strike by the midfielder, finding the top corner of the net from around 25 yards.

The match was now producing plenty of action at either end and Liam Cusack had two good chances to increase Clyde’s lead, with Alloa unlucky to see a shot come back off the post.

The Wasps did get an equaliser they probably deserved though, when Ryan McCord put a lovely volley into the roof of the net with half an hour on the clock.

Early in the second half, Steph McDonald had a great chance to score after being released by Sweeney, but his shot was blocked by Scott Bain inside the box.

With just over an hour played, a defensive slip saw the hosts take the lead for the first time. Mark Docherty was the man to take advantage, neatly chipping the ball over the onrushing Felip Mentel.

However, Clyde came back again and were awarded a clear penalty with ten minutes left to play. Liam Cusack’s pass put McDonald in on goal and the striker was brought down by ‘keeper Bain, who missed the ball and was also shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity. After a long delay waiting on Alloa’s sub goalkeeper to take to the field for Ross McCord, John Sweeney stepped up and squeezed the spot kick into the net to make it 2-2.

There was a big scare for the Bully Wee before the end though, as an Alloa shot from the edge of the box came crashing out off the inside of the post and the ball was somehow cleared to safety.

The final whistle brought to an end an entertaining match that was a fine advert for the Scottish Third Division.