Clyde v Stranraer

Recap

Clyde secured their first league victory of the William Hill Scottish League Two season after Raymond Grant’s header proved the difference in a narrow victory over Stranraer.

Jordan Houston and Robbie Leitch replaced Craig Howie and Martin Rennie in the starting lineup as Ian McCall made two changes from the side that faced Forfar Athletic last weekend.

The visitors created the first opportunity of the match in the eighth minute after the ball was floated into the box from a corner and directed goalwards only for Jordan Houston to block its path on the line, while the resulting cross back was tipped over the bar by Brian Kinnear to dissipate the danger.

As the first quarter came to a close, Ross attempted to snatch possession from a freekick, but the ball evaded his reach to fly wide off target. At the other end, it was Clyde’s turn to break into the box courtesy of Liam Scullion who squared the ball to Marley Redfern, only for his header to land in the palms of Pazikas.

Keeping in pace with an energetic start to the match, the Blues yet again waded into the box with Foster managing to force the ‘keeper into action from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked by the shot stopper.

As proceedings reached the half hour mark, The Bully Wee were exploiting initial loopholes in the visitors’ defence, but struggling to make the connection in the final third with Tommy Robson connecting onto Scullion’s pass to send a whipping cross into the box only for no Clyde bodies to intercept.

Three minutes later, Jordan Allan sprinted into the box and was making a beeline for the target only to be deemed offside, despite an injured Stranraer player playing him on. Meanwhile, an unmarked McQueen sent a powerful effort towards target, but he was denied by Kinnear who stretched out to tip the ball over the woodwork.

With under five minutes until the interval, Allan muscled his way past numerous opposition defenders in an attempt to place a goalbound shot, only to lose his footing in the buildup, while Dunlop waded into the box from the far edge and drafted the ball through, only for Lee Hamilton to sweep in from the left and block his shot.

In a last attempt to utilise the majority of possession and start the second half on the front foot, Clyde thrust the Blues under a barrage of pressure with numerous shots flying into the box which resulted in Pazikas casting an iron grip on the ball from Scullion’s dinking cross.

Clyde maintained their first half domination possession-wise after the restart with Kyle Connell’s free-kick narrowly creeping past the post, while in the 50th minute Raymond Grant’s volley soared wide. Meanwhile, at the visitor’s end, Lang also came close after cottoning onto the ball from inside the box, only for his shot to avoid the target.

As the Bully Wee grew in possession, their woes in front of goal continued. Connell attempted to chip Pazikas in goal from inside the box only for the ball to be tipped over, before Logan Dunachie’s rebound from a saved header rippled the side netting.

However, in the 63rd minute, Clyde’s mammoth share in possession eventually paid dividends as they prised open the deadlock. On the back of Connell’s free-kick being cleared, the ball was knocked into Grant’s reach allowing the midfielder to cushion a header across the box which bypassed Pazikas to crash into the top left corner.

With 20 minutes remaining, Dunachie attempted to infiltrate the box with a shot that was diverted away by Ross. The defender followed this up by causing a scramble in the box as he headed the ball goalwards in a crammed area, which went a hairs width away from crossing the line. Meanwhile, after sparse action within the hosts’ half, Hamilton foiled a late attack from the visitors as the Blues seeked a way to gain a late foothold on events.

In the final ten minutes of the match, Stranraer tried to haul themselves up the park with an effort from the corner of the box calmly collected by Kinnear, while in stoppage time Lee Connelly raced into the box with Dunachie on his right, however, he decided to attempt a shot of his own, only for the ‘keeper to correctly position his dive as the ball was cleared.