Clyde v Falkirk

Recap

Clyde fans were left annoyed and more than a little perplexed at the finish of this game. Falkirk’s midfield completely dominated the proceedings and eventually scored their second goal with 20 minutes to go. Our Manager decided to desert his defensive role with 15 minutes to go and play as a centre forward. Yes the game needed chasing but was a front four consisting of Kernaghan, McLaughlin, Smith and Hagen the way to go about it? This was route one stuff in the crudest possible form and the fans don’t want to see it again.

Clyde began with their now familiar diminutive trio of Harty, Gilhaney and McConalogue leading the way. Within a few minutes Clyde were already a goal down. Clyde had trouble clearing a corner and when another was conceded the ball broke to Latapy who fired the ball into the box. Following some frantic stuff the ball came to Henry who lashed the ball into the top corner. Clyde replied immediately and from a corner Millen’s shot was cleared with the keeper lost. Falkirk’s play in general was far sharper than Clyde’s with numbers getting forward very quickly as Clyde’s attacks frittered out all too easily. Not much was getting through to Halliwell though but the danger signs were certainly there. Then after 28 minutes Clyde snatched an equaliser. A break down the right saw the ball fed into the box and collected by McConalogue. He made room for his shot and swerved the ball into the corner of the net. Just before the break Clyde nearly gained an unlikely lead as Harty saw his shot from the edge of the box come off the top of the bar.

As usual Clyde made no changes at half time and must have been heartened by how they had got back into the game. Sadly this was not reflected on the pitch as Falkirk penned Clyde in for long periods. Halliwell had little to do though but the pressure was mounting. With Clyde a man down when Potter was getting treatment for a head cut, Falkirk struck. Former Clyde misfit, Hagi McPherson, ripped Clyde’s right apart and cut the ball back. Again some ping-pong resulted but Henry was in the right place again to fire the ball home. After that the game really opened up for a spell with end to end stuff and Kernaghan fancied his chances at centre forward. Clyde struggled to make real impact though and the panic button was pushed. Within minutes Smith replaced Harty, Hagen replaced Gilhaney and finally McLaughlin replaced McConalogue. Despite some physical presence the forward ball was still regularly finding the head of giant defender Kevein James. Given how Clyde were so badly out of shape it’s strange that Falkirk couldn’t exploit the shambolic situation. The game eventually ended on a sour note with several Clyde players running off refusing to shake hands for whatever reason.

With 15 minutes to go and only a goal down it’s sad that Clyde resorted to some dire tactics. Even if the Falkirk midfield had a strangle hold there was always a chance. Simply throwing big men up front won’t do.

STAR RATINGS

Halliwell *** Safe hands but no chance with either goal.
Potter *** Another solid stint.
Mensing *** Stuck well to a difficult task.
Kernaghan *** Some fine passing but why did he go forward?
Fraser ** Outgunned in midfield.
Ross *** Some lung-bursting runs but for little reward.
McGroarty ** Occasional glimpses of flair but anonymous in the second half.
Millen ** Outgunned with Fraser. Not a happy boy at the end either.
Harty ** Little service but lost the ball too easily when he got it.
Gilhaney ** Found the experienced defenders too much today.
McConalogue ** Fine goal but needs to hold the ball better.

Smith * Struggled to put himself about.
Hagen * Fruitless task chasing the long ball.
McLaughlin * On for 10 mins but didn’t touch the ball.

REACTION

ALAN KERNAGHAN – "First half we were not bad, but in the second half we couldn’t get out of our own half. I then made the crazy decision to move up front with 20 minutes to go and that was the crux of the problem really. I hold my hands up for that. I didn’t realise there was 20 minutes to go but I thought I could go up there and do something and I was hugely wrong. It’s frustrating and disppointing to say the least.

"I think it would be fair to say that we played too much with the heart and not with the brain. We just didn’t play well at all second half. We showed first half that we can match them, but our own form outplayed us in the second.

"However, leagues aren’t won after 6 games so we’ll take this on the chin and try to learn from it, starting next week."

JOHN HUGHES – "I thought it was a good game of football. We changed things around a bit from last week and I got everything I asked for from my players. That type of up and at them hard working performance is what Falkirk FC is all about. The only time that stand is opened here at Broadwood is when we come, which shows you how well supported we are. We’ve got other things happenning at this club that other teams would be really jealous of; our fanbase and our new stadium to name two.

"I’m disappointed with one or two yellow cards getting thrown about – football is all about getting stuck in. John Henry got one for ripping someone’s tights. Jason Lee got punished for being 6’4". What’s wrong with being 6’4", putting yourself about and using your height? Who doesn’t jump with their arms?

"Other than that I thought the referee handled the game very well – especially when he let me off!"