Clyde v East Fife

Recap

Clyde will go into the final day of the cinch League 2 season two points clear of safety after Martin Rennie’s first-half strike ultimately proved enough to edge past East Fife.

Ian McCall made two changes to the side that drew with Stenhousemuir as Ross Lyon and Liam Scullion returned to the starting lineup in place of Jaze Kabia and the injured Robbie Leitch.

After a rather subdued start to the match, Clyde came close to opening the scoring in the 12^th minute. The ball was played into the reach of Jordan Allan, who shrugged off an opposition defender, but his effort went narrowly wide. The Bully Wee then spurned another opportunity seconds later. Allan’s second attempt from close-range was saved by Fleming, however, the ‘keeper lost his grasp of the ball which fell at the feet of Cameron Ballantyne, but he misjudged the power of his rebound which careered high over the bar.

The Bully Wee were consistently seeking to pierce open the visitor’s defence as Allan connected onto Liam Scullion’s cross in the 22^nd minute. In the centre of the box, the on-loan Falkirk striker twisted round at a tight angle, but the ball flew wide off target.

Allan found himself in prime position within the box in the 33^rd minute, however, he could only drag his effort wide, while Cuddihy sent a long cross into the box from the corner flag, but the ball was too quick for Scullion’s run-in for him to take possession. Having said that, The Bully Wee’s persistence paid off in the 37^th minute when they broke the deadlock.

The ball floated into the box from a corner and into the reach of Howie, whose goalbound header was cleared off the line, but the loose ball allowed Martin Rennie to pounce and knock the ball beyond Fleming and over the line from close range..

In the final minutes of the first period, East Fife were slowly beginning to create meaningful opportunities in the hosts’ box with Shepherd managing to hit a shot goalwards, but Brian Kinnear was on alert to dive across and block his effort.

The first chance after the restart fell to Clyde in the 49^th minute when Cuddihy crossed the ball to Allan on the outskirts of the box, who then sprinted into the area, however, the narrow angle meant his shot was aptly blocked by Fleming. Scullion then fired a cross into the box and the vicinity of Craig Howie, but he was unable to reach the ball which the ‘keeper calmly collected.

Howie then cottoned onto Scullion’s effort at the back post, only to be expertly denied by Fleming, while Rennie’s attempt deflected wide, before the Fifers’ shot stopper had to immediately recover to block Allan, who charged into the box only to see his shot nestle into the palms of the ‘keeper.

As the clocked ticked down into the final ten minutes, East Fife were desperately attempting to break the hosts’ resolve and force a last-gasp equaliser. In the 83^rd minute, former Clyde defender Jonathan Page rifled a header homewards from inside the box, which was comfortably saved by Kinnear.

Clyde, aware of what was at stake were keen to seal the three points with Allan going within a hairs-width of hitting the net with two minutes of normal time remaining. The striker raced down the wing and muscled past both an opposition defender and Fleming, only to be denied by a deflection which sent the ball agonisingly wide.