Clyde v Berwick Rangers

Recap

A debut goal from John Gemmell helped The Bully Wee earn an important win over a battling Berwick Rangers side at a cold and blustery Broadwood today.

There were several changes to the team following last week’s depleted line-up at Elgin, with Gemmell, Marc Waters, Ross Millen and Mark McLaughlin all added to the side.

It was obvious from early in the match that the weather conditions would make the contest difficult and chances were hard to come by in the first half. Gemmell was the first to come close when he managed to get on the end of a ball into the box but, from a tight angle, a combination of away ‘keeper Mark Walters and the post kept him out.

The opening goal came via the penalty spot after 33 minutes. A cross from the left was clearly pushed away from the head of Gemmell by Brian Martin, which was spotted by the assistant referee. Scott Linton stepped up and sent Walters the wrong to make it 1-0.

Seconds later, the lead was doubled thanks to a superb header by Gemmell, following a fine cross by Chris Smith.

With the wind at their back, Berwick looked to put on the pressure in the second half and came close to scoring just after the hour mark. Waters pulled off a good save from close range and David Gormley was on hand to clear the rebound off the line.

Gormley could then have finished off the match following good work by Sean Higgins and an excellent pass by Gemmell, but the forward somehow missed the target with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The visitors took advantage of that let off and quickly forced Waters into two good saves, with both efforts coming from substitute Finn Graham. However, from the following corner, Ewan McNeil fired a low shot into the bottom corner of the net.

That led to a difficult finish to the match for Clyde and Waters had to be sharp again to keep out a header from Sandy Cunningham and, in injury time, a low shot from the same player.