Clyde v Rangers

Recap

The Bully Wee lost out to The Gers in the IRN-BRU Third Division this afternoon, following a spirited display at a near-capacity Broadwood Stadium.

Jim Duffy was pleased to welcome David Marsh back into the starting line-up and he joined Michael Oliver at the heart of the defence, as he continued to feature in his new position. John Sweeney, Stef McCluskey and Stuart McColm were also brought in, following last week’s defeat at Berwick.

The first real chance of the match fell to the visitors, as Andy Little forced Jamie Barclay into a block from close range and then blasted the rebound wide of the far post. However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic and Stuart McColm’s cross almost found Stef McCluskey at the near post.

Rangers took the lead after 19 minutes, with Dean Shiels finding the top corner of the net from 20 yards out.

Barclay pulled off two fine stops for Clyde, before McCluskey missed a glorious chance to level the scores before half-time. The forward was given a clever reverse pass by Bryan Gilfillan, but he just missed the target from inside the box.

The Bully Wee were still well in the game as the second period progressed and McCluskey was unlucky to see his header pushed away by Neil Alexander, following another good cross by McColm.

Midway through the half, one incident dramatically changed the course of the match. Following a late challenge by Shiels on Paul Hay, both Gavin Brown and John Neill reacted angrily, resulting in Neill seeing his second yellow card of the match.

With ten men, Clyde struggled to put any more pressure on The Gers defence and Lee McCulloch sealed the points, tapping in after Barrie McKay managed to keep a looping cross in play.