Clyde v Queen of the South

Recap

Another Saturday and another three points in the bag. Given the traffic chaos on the A80 it was odd the game was only delayed five minutes. The Manager picked himself again and playing like he did it’s hard to see how he can now drop himself.

Clyde started confidently and Kernaghan immediately went forward for a free kick. He found himself with a free header but it flew well wide. Queens looked very sprightly on the break and Halliwell had to be at full stretch to stop one drive. At the other end Ross’s shot was straight down Goram’s throat. A break by Kane and Hinds saw the latter shoot tamely into Goram’s arms also. Then Queens made the breakthrough. First a shot was turned around the post by Halliwell. From the resulting corner former Clyde stopper, Slim Jim Thompson, got his head to the ball. Despite the presence of Halliwell and Millen on the line the ball skipped past both of them and into the net. Clyde looked very nervous at the back and a second goal looked likely as they struggled to find any fluency in attack. Only Hagen looked in the mood for taking people on and creating things.

The Manager changed things at half time with Fraser replacing Hinds. Fraser made an immediate impact with a strong run down the right to set up Ross with a chance. Sadly his finish missed the target. Still Clyde weren’t to be denied and Kernaghan came up with the equaliser. A short free kick and cross found him at the back post to head past Goram. Seconds later Clyde repeated the feat. This time Kane crossed to the back post and Keogh powered above the defence to score. More goals looked likely but Clyde’s ambitions were thwarted by Millen being sent off. He threw himself into a challenge with both feet and when he recovered from injury was sent off. Clyde decided to shut up shop and set up two banks of four to defend the lead. Convery was quickly brought on to replace Nish and do the running up front. It was a nervous last thirty minutes as Queens tried to find a goal. Thankfully very little was getting through to Halliwell although he did pull off one spectacular parry near the end. Clyde survived and can look forward to playing much better.

A ten minute burst of activity at the start of the second half was enough for Clyde to win this game. Otherwise Goram had little to do but pick the ball out of the net twice. How many times have Clyde suffered that way? It’s nice for things to change. The defence looks good but has Kernaghan created a monster in himself? He must surely want the team to develop without him, but how can he drop himself when playing and guiding the team so well?

REACTION

Jon Connolly – We’re really disappointed that we are going to walk away from here today with nothing to show for our efforts. It was poor defending for Clyde’s two goals and we also need to take our chances when we get them. I thought we were fairly comfortable at half-time, and then 5 minutes into the second half we are 2-1 down. The sending off changed the game again because Clyde just stuck bodies behind the ball after that, which is never easy to break down at any level.

Paddy Keogh – It was a great cross by Paul Kane for my goal. We’ve been working on them in training, and I managed to get my head on that one today. People have been giving me a hard time for not scoring many so I was glad to get that one. I missed an easy one against Falkirk 3 weeks ago which cost us the game so I was glad to get the winner today. It was a bit disappointing to give them the first goal; I had the chance to clear the ball and had a mix-up with Simon Mensing which resulted in their goal. The team has really come together recently and the spirit is great. We had a good win over Inverness and a good result last week but today was a big one for us. We want to be up there challenging the likes of Falkirk and let teams know that we will be there or there about by the end of the season. The Manager has come into the team and done really well – he talks at the back for 90 minutes. Paul Kane has also made a difference, leading by example. John Fraser turned the game for us from the bench today, making runs and winning free-kicks. Everyone is giving 110% and we are delighted with the way it’s going.

Alan Kernaghan – I’m pleased in the end, but the result masks a very poor first-half from us. We didn’t answer any of the questions Queen of the South put to us and we could have been further down at half-time. The substitution made all the difference, John Fraser came in and got in behind them which was the difference in the game. We did well to keep them out after going down to ten men; they only really had one good chance. I was surprised the referee sent Andy straight off. I’ll watch the tackle on television and speak to the Chairman before deciding if we take action against Andy. It was good to score because I was getting a bit of stick from the Queen’s fans. I had it in my mind to give them a bit of stick back… but decided against it! I was getting the usual "too old" and "too fat" stuff from them, but you expect that it wouldn’t be a game of football without it. It is always nice to score though.