Clyde v Celtic

Recap

At the end of the game the scoreboard showed Clyde 0 – Celtic 5 but what it failed to show is how things could have been oh so different had referee Craig Thomson allowed an advantage following a series of fouls on Craig Bryson. Bryson strode forward on the half hour mark and despite several attempts by the Celtic rearguard to stop him he struck an unstoppable shot from 18 yards which had Douglas grasping at thin air as it struck the top corner of the net.

Unfortunately ref Thomson had a split second earlier blown for the last of umpteen fouls on the youngster when advantage had clearly ensued and the goal could not stand. From the resultant free kick Darren Sheridan forced Douglas to dive to his right and tip the ball onto the post and out for a corner.

It was at that point that you sensed it was not going to be Clyde‘s day and when Varga nodded home minutes later Clyde fans’ hopes of an upset were not to be. It was just going to be left to see if the worst fears of a hammering would be confirmed and whilst the eventual manner of victory was pretty convincing it was undoubtedly hard on the home team.

It could be argued that Clyde were the better side for the first 40 minutes until Varga’s goal but unfortunately a game lasts 90 minutes and Celtic’s class was apparent in the second half as they scored four goals and could indeed have bagged a couple more.

However, the first half belonged to Clyde and the tactics to stifle Celtic were certainly working. With six men in midfield, Harty up front on his own and Jones and Burns on the bench Clyde gave their more illustrious opponents no time on the ball and the frustrations of the cup holders was evident with their constant sniping and moaning towards the referee, Bellamy and Sutton being the main culprits.

Indeed Chris Sutton was also having problems with his boots as every time a defender came near him he mysteriously would fall to the deck! So hard did he fall to the pitch when Balmer was close to him that he injured himself as he fell and did not show for the second half.

Halliwell was having a quiet time in the first half as all he really had to deal with was a couple of cross balls and corners. Unfortunately it was a sign of things to come when he came for a couple which he did not have much chance of getting but they were cleared by the defence.

After fifteen minutes Clyde could have taken a lead but Jimmy Gibson seemed surprised to have so much space inside the Celtic box that he snatched at his first time shot and it drifted harmlessly wide. Then came the decision which turned the tide as Bryson saw his chance of history cruelly denied by a whistle-happy referee and then Varga opened the scoring when Halliwell came for another cross he had no chance of getting but this time it fell nicely for Celtic defender and the scoring was opened.

Second half goals by Thompson (inevitably from the penalty spot), Petrov, Varga again and Bellamy put a gloss on the scoreline for the holders but at the final whistle Clyde fans were left wondering what might have been had the referee waited for one second before awarding a first half free kick.