Clyde v Albion Rovers

Recap

Clyde picked up their third defeat in a week as Albion Rovers snatched a last gasp winner at Broadwood Stadium.

The Bully Wee resorted to a starting line-up similar to that which played Berwick Rangers, with only the inclusion of trialist Kenny Connolly being a move away from that team.

Albion Rovers’ ex-Clyde contingent included Paul McLeod and Tony Stevenson, whilst Chris Hamilton had a short spell as a trialist in 2006.

Like all of their matches this season, Clyde started strongly and twice had superb chances to take the lead early on. The first saw Adam Strachan’s cross find Kevin Finlayson at the back-post but from a tight angle he couldn’t manage to hit the target. The second opportunity was remarkably similar as Strachan once more fired in a terrific deep cross but again, Finlayson couldn’t hit the target despite being in a better position on this occasion.

Albion Rovers had barely seen the ball at this point but with their first foray forward, they took the lead. Some quick passing around the edge of the box ended with Hugh Kerr being brought down by J.C. Hutchison as he looked to round the goalkeeper. Stevenson took the penalty and fired the ball low into the bottom corner.

Rovers has a good opportunity to double their lead but after breaking clear in a two-on-one situation a poor pass ended up giving Clyde a chance to get back and recover. In truth, the goal seemed to have unsettled Clyde and although John Sweeney missed another terrific chance with a header from Connolly’s cross, Albion Rovers seemed to be dealing comfortably with the Bully Wee’s threat. However, that changed with just 10 minutes left in the half as from nowhere, an equaliser was created. Bryan Dingwall’s header inadvertently landed at the feet of Finlayson and although Ciaran Donnolly blocked his shot, Dingwall reacted quickest to hook a terrific volley past Derek Gaston.

Half-time didn’t signal any change in the away team’s approach to the match and Clyde were not showing the necessary quality to break through. Dingwall once again reacted well to a loose ball in the penalty area but after rounding Gaston, his shot from a tight angle was blocked on the line.

Clyde continued to have all of the possession but any attempts on goal were bravely blocked or deflected off target by the away team. Albion were showing very little inclination to push for a winner themselves but spurned a glorious chance when substitute Ian Smith mis-controlled the ball when given the chance to go through on goal just seconds after entering the field of play.

The match was perhaps petering out to a draw but this all changed with just 9 minutes remaining as Marc McCusker, who had earlier been booked, launched himself into a poor tackle on Michael McGowan and was shown a second yellow card. Stuart Mills was immediately brought on to replace Dingwall and Clyde actually burst into life to some extent without actually creating any chances. However, the sucker punch was due to come as Albion Rovers netted with just their second serious attempt on goal. A cross from the right was met by Robert Love and with just stoppage time remaining, the diminutive attacker made no mistake from 8 yards.