Clyde v Arbroath

Recap

Christmas arrived just before halftime as Clyde went three up over a poor Arbroath side. Despite a convincing win the second half was played with all the verve of a bounce game and Clyde should really have ran up a cricket score. The game was soured by the sending off of Millen two minutes from full time for what was deemed a deliberate lunge at Heenan when winning the ball. This game marked the halfway point in the season and Clyde have 31 points. If they can get near to 31 points in the second half then they will be in the hunt.

To everybody’s surprise Nish failed to make the team through illness. This opened the door for Falconer to show what he can do. Potter was also straight back into the team after suspension. Clyde opened very brightly with some sharp passing and within four minutes had taken the lead. Falconer flicked the ball onto the advancing Hinds. Although the Arbroath centre-half was in close attendance, Hinds used his strength to hold him off and slotted the ball under the keeper. Minutes later Keogh nearly made it two as a deep cross found him at the far post. His header looked a goal all the way until Hinchcliff touched it away. Clyde dominated for the opening 20 minutes but as they passed up chances you began to wonder if one goal would be enough. Arbroath finally mounted an attack and won a corner. Their centre-half rose unopposed to head narrowly wide. Arbroath began to see a lot more of the ball at this stage as Clyde began to struggle but they lacked any cutting edge. Clyde doubled their advantage after 40 minutes. Falconer pressured the Arbroath defence to clear the ball for a corner. Simon Mensing came up and headered into the roof of the net from about 12 yards out. Clyde visibly relaxed and scored another just before halftime. Ross and Fraser exchanged some cute one touch passes on the right and Keogh was left with the simple task of sweeping the ball home from six yards.

With the game won Clyde didn’t change anything at halftime. It was a question of would Clyde go for goals or would Arbroath opt for damage limitation? Clyde certainly began as if they were hungry for more but Falconer passed up several chances. The Manager seemed to lose a bit of discipline and went charging forward on a few occasions leaving gaps behind him. McConalogue replaced Falconer as the game petered out. Hagen and McConalogue came closest to increasing the score while Brownlie fired just over for Arbroath. Convery replaced Ross at wing-back and then the game ended on a sour note for Clyde and Millen in particular. The veteran had been bumped a few times in the first half and during the second half Brownlie and he seemed to be niggling each other to the extent that Referee Martindale was watching them very closely. It seemed a case of if either of them stepped out of line then they were going in the book. In the event Millen lunged for the ball studs up. He certainly got the ball but he connected with Heenan too. From the home fans angle it looked like robust play and maybe a booking. However from Martindale’s angle it looked bad enough to merit a straight red card.

The pleasing aspect of this game was how efficiently Clyde set about beating a team at the bottom of the league. In the past we’ve always struggled against such teams and their defensive tactics at Broadwood. With this result and the recent drubbing of Alloa things are obviously improving. The defence looked far more settled with the return of Potter and Falconer’s physical presence gives more of a target to aim for then Nish. However Falconer needs to put a chance or two away if he’s to get a game in front of Nish.

STAR RATINGS (*****)

Halliwell (void) Had so little to do it’s not fair to give him a rating.
Potter **** Solid return from the big man.
Mensing **** Another good game and a goal too.
Kernaghan **** Very comfortable game and good passing out to Hagen.
Fraser **** Another lung-bursting performance.
Ross *** Solid if unspectacular game.
Hagen *** Keeps the left tight but needs to hurt teams more.
Millen *** Kept possession well but will now be out for a few games.
Falconer *** Provides a target but can he score?
Keogh *** Scored but still way short of top form.
Hinds ***** Scoring, setting up others and working hard to win the ball back.
McConalogue *** Looked interested in his short spell.
Convery ** Had little time to show what he can do.

REACTION

Alan Kernaghan: "It was a good first half, we struggled in the second half as they (Arbroath) made it a bit more difficult but the game was won by half-time and I am delighted. It was good to create chances for a change, over the last two weeks we haven’t created much but we had a number of chances today which was a good point. The last couple of weeks may have put a dent in our title hopes and we want to win every game, but that’s not possibly, however we won today and that’s all we are concerned about. At times we tried to make the pitch as big as possible and especially in the first half got at them. With them only playing with one upfront Simon (Mensing), myself and John (Potter) had plenty of time on the ball.

Leigh Hinds: "After the last two weeks we needed to get back on track so the main thing today was we started well. It was a great start I think I scored in only three minutes and I was just happy to get another goal. The defender may have looked favourite to win the ball but I just went for it and somehow got there. I can’t put my finger on my present scoring streak, if everyone knew why they started scoring they would keep it going every week – its just confidence I think from the team doing well. If we put a run together like we did previous to the two defeat we will be there or there abouts but the league is in Inverness’ and Falkirk’s hands just now, so basically it is up to us to keep winning and hope they drop points."

David Hagen: "I have managed to stay relatively injury free and have enjoyed a good run in the team recently. I would just like to score a goal this year, I am the only one in the team who hasn’t done so and I am getting a bit of stick about it. If I could buy a goal off Stav (Leigh Hinds) I would be happy! If we keep winning and the others drop a few points you never know what can happen."

John Brownlie: "Over the peace they deserved their victory but we never gave ourselves a chance. We came here with a plan and it went out of the window after three minutes, but football’s like that – I doubt Rangers meant to lose a goal in 18 seconds to Celtic last week. We did a lot better in the second half and I am hopeful we can turn things around. I didn’t think Andy Millen needed to make the tackle which saw him sent off. His side were three-nil up, and he’s gone right up the boys legs but I think it was silly. I’ve seen worse but I’ve seen nothing at all – he shouldn’t have gone for the ball."