Clyde v St. Mirren

Recap

Filthy weather, crowd chaos but in the end a victory. On an unusual night for football when everybody was trying to promote the game, as a foot-shooting exercise it was par-excellence. Still if you could be bothered queuing in the rain the performance from Clyde was in stark contrast to last week’s submission at Perth. Changes were expected but only the suspended Fraser was replaced by Gibson and John Potter made way for McLaughlin who was returning from injury.

Sadly your reporter has no idea what happened in the first 17 mins as he was outside trying to get in with hundreds of others (mainly St Mirren fans). Apparently a Clyde goal was chalked off for a foul on the keeper. The surface made it difficult to control the ball but Clyde seemed to be on the offensive until the middle of the first half. The Saints keeper in particular was having difficulty in clearing the ball but neither side was really testing the keepers. All the action came in the last five minutes of the half. First Saints carved Clyde open and McGinty was clean through on Morrison but the keeper pulled off a good save with his feet. Saints were to rue that miss as Clyde went up the other end and scored. A ball aimed for Keogh skidded through into the box and McConalogue collected it. Keogh in support received a neat pass inside and fired the ball into the net. Soon after Hagen, turning up on the right, fired in a fierce shot that the keeper did well to parry away. In difficult conditions Clyde were more than happy to have the lead at the interval.

With no changes at half time in was Saints who came out the more fired up. Four minutes into the half Gillies nearly levelled the scores. Collecting the ball on the left he cut inside and sent in a dipping shot. It looked a goal until it smacked off the bar and away to safety. Clyde heeded the warning and immediately replaced Millen with Marshall. This allowed Ross to do the running in the middle and Marshall to take over Ross’s role on the right. Straight away Marshall zipped down the right and fired over a lovely cross for Keogh that the striker should have done better with. The tackles were starting to fly in and Keogh limped off to be replaced by Harty. McConalogue was soon given the hook as well to be replaced by Gilhaney. Within moments Gilhaney was racing into the box and his angled drive went just wide. After that a poor kick by the Saints keeper went straight to Gilhaney and he sent Harty in on the keeper. With time to steady himself the striker could only blast the ball straight at the keeper. Saints were pressing hard for the equaliser and Russell had a couple of darts and flashes from the left but neither was on target. With time running out Clyde played the remaining minutes in the Saints half. Then in the last seconds Harty got the ball on half way. He charged towards the box and could have shot himself, but instead he passed the ball across to Gilhaney and he stroked the ball home for the second goal.

Overall a much better performance and a much better looking midfield with Gibson and Marshall on the park. At the back they hardly lost a header all night and Harty and Gilhaney showed that we can break quickly and effectively. Shame about the crowd shambles though.

STAR RATINGS *****

Morrison *** Not much to do but one good stop in the first half.
Mensing *** Coming back to his form.
McLaughlin **** Seldom loses the ball once in possession.
Kernaghan **** Bottled up the middle effectively.
Gibson ***** A battler but comfortable on the ball too.
Ross **** Up for it and may have a role in the central midfield role.
Hagen **** Strong shift from the experienced man.
Millen *** Put himself about as usual and always available.
Keogh *** Still not quite happening but another goal so can’t complain.
McConalogue *** Showed well for the ball as usual and set up first goal.
McGroarty *** Tough game against a bigger opponent but stuck to it well.

Marshall **** Cocky, confident and maybe just what we need.
Harty *** Lacking confidence but set up second goal well.
Gilhaney **** Good goal and showed maturity in holding the ball in the final minutes.

REACTION

ALAN KERNAGHAN – "It’s a vital three points. I spoke to the players before the game and told them that that was all that mattered about the match, and that the three points would come if we worked hard enough. I think that showed.

"The first half was a bit crazy; there were chances every time possession changed hands. At 1-0 you are never safe and we could have scored more but for some unfortunate finishing and good goalkeeping, but the goal at the end was great.

"We’ll need to work a lot more on the 4-4-2 to be more proficient at it but tonight it proved its purpose.

"Andy Millen took a hamstring injury early on and the half-time break didn’t help him as it stiffened up, so we made the change as quickly as we could. Pat Keogh has taken a bad kick on the calf, but we are hopeful he’ll be ok for next week. Andy might be a different story though. We’ll get them boss assessed on Monday.

CHRIS McGROARTY – "It was a very important win for us. It was one of games that we knew, if we want to do anything this season, we had to take the three points. We are delighted to get the victory.

"I played most of my games at Dunfermline at left-back and prefer that position to anywhere else. That’s the first time we’ve played a 4-4-2 for a whole match and I think we coped a lot better in the second half. David Hagen is two footed, a great crosser of the ball with a great work rate. The Gaffer asked me to try and get the ball down and support him and I think we put in a good shift on the left.

"I’m due to go back to Dunfermline at Christmas but at the moment I’m just playing away and we’ll see what happens. My contract there is due to run out at the end of the season."