Clyde v The Spartans

Recap

Clyde suffered defeat at home for the third time this season after first half goals from Hamish Ritchie and Ayrton Sonkur handed The Spartans victory at New Douglas Park.

Darren Young made two changes to the side that drew with Peterhead with Jay Kennedy replacing Robbie Hemfrey in goals due to illness while Scott Williamson made his second start as Liam Scullion dropped to the bench.

The first opportunity fell to Clyde in the fifth minute when Sutherland raced down the left hand side to square the ball to Rennie in the centre of the box, only for the ball to be cleared. Murdoch then went close five minutes later after receiving Rennie’s pass on the edge of the box, but his shot flew wide.

At the other end, Russell managed to muster a shot from inside the box for Spartans, but his effort was too high.

As the match continued, the hosts were enjoying the vast majority of possession, but were struggling to bypass the visitor’s firm defence. Murdoch swung the ball into the box and across the goalmouth from the left, but Carswell tipped his attempt over.

With 15 minutes remaining of the first half, Ritchie was left unmarked in the Clyde box as he sent the ball goalwards but his shot bounced narrowly wide. Meanwhile, Sutherland came close for the home side, however, his effort was blocked.

In the 41st minute, Sutherland caught the end of a floating ball and fed it through to Murdoch, but his shot from outside the box flew over. Two minutes later, Rennie played in Sutherland on the outskirts of the box, but his shot was quickly intercepted.

Williamson muscled past a defender and raced up the park to place home a goalbound shot, but he misjudged his shot which went wide.

However, in the final minute of stoppage time before the break, Spartans broke the deadlock. Craigen squared the ball to Ritchie who rifled the ball beyond Kennedy from a tight angle.

The Spartans doubled their lead ten minutes after the restart. A corner was catapulted into the box by Russell with Sonkur rising highest to crash a close-range header into the net.

In the 66th minute, there was a rare opportunity for The Bully Wee when Scullion tried his luck with a shot from outside the box which the ‘keeper collected with ease.

There was little in the way of chances for either side during the remainder of the match with both teams frustrated as any foray into the box was blocked. In the final five minutes, Walls danced into the box, but he was closely marked with Scullion stealing back possession to clear the danger.