Clyde v FC Edinburgh

Recap

Clyde earned their first win in seven games to move five points clear above Peterhead at the bottom of cinch League One with a scintillating performance at New Douglas Park.

Jim Duffy made three changes to the side that drew against Kelty Hearts with Ryan Mullen, Martin Rennie and Darren Hynes replacing Neil Parry, Euan Cameron and Cameron Salkeld, who missed out due to illness.

It was a blistering start for Clyde as they opened the scoring with seven minutes on the clock. Ross Lyon fed the ball to Kyle Doherty in the box, and Martin Rennie pounced on the resulting shot to divert it past Mutch.

Clearly encouraged by their positive start, the hosts came close to doubling their lead four minutes later after Rennie released the ball to send Liam Scullion racing down the left. Barry Cuddihy was on hand to meet Scullion’s cross, but his header was comfortably saved by the ‘keeper.

Mutch was forced into action mere minutes later to deny Doherty, who unleashed a long-range effort after Jon Craig won back possession. Rennie had the ball in the net again after meeting the knock down from a free-kick, however the referee ruled it out due to an apparent handball in the build-up.

As the match progressed, the Bully Wee continued to dominate play in the visitors’ half, who were more stubborn in defence and limited the home side from advancing forward.

Despite that, the Citizens equalised on the stroke of the half hour mark, but it wasn’t without controversary. In their first real opportunity of the afternoon, Murray found ample space to rifle the ball through Clyde bodies in a cramped box and beyond Mullen. The strike received calls for offside in the home dugout which resulted in Duffy receiving a yellow card.

The hosts didn’t let the setback derail their control of the match as they continued to increase pressure on the visitors. Doherty came close in the 35th minute after latching onto Kurtis Roberts’ pass, but his header scraped the woodwork.

Clyde were rewarded in the 40th minute as they regained their advantage. Scullion dinked a cross into the near post area, where Barry Cuddihy was well positioned to crash a clinical header into the net.

It was a cagey affair after the restart with the capital side attempting to grow into proceedings. Mullen was called into action on the hour mark in a one-on-one with Murray, but the ‘keeper reacted aptly to make a composed save. Meanwhile, at the other end, Rennie was yet again involved in the action with a powerful header which curled over the bar.

In the 74nd minute, the ball was knocked into Roberts’ path, who then directed a powerful effort at goal from 30 yards, but Mutch stretched his fingertips to tip the ball over for a corner.

The Bully Wee were determined to maintain and extend their lead heading into the closing stages of the match with Doherty playing in Scullion, but his effort was blocked and turned behind. As the clock ticked down, Shanley’s shot went narrowly wide in a last-gasp attempt from the visitors.

In the dying seconds, Roberts sprinted into the box looking to put the icing on the cake, but Mutch hurried forward to collect the ball ahead of him. The Clyde players were met by a rapturous applause at the full time whistle after a commanding display and well-deserved three points.