Recap
East End Park

Dunfermline Athletic
Clyde
Recap
Clyde crashed out of the Co-Operative Insurance cup after a topsy-turvy tie at East End Park against Dunfermline Athletic.
The Bully Wee reacted to their thumping 4-1 loss against Berwick Rangers by making several changes. Iain Gray replaced the injured Neil McGowan at left back and Murray Henderson came into the centre of defence in a move that saw Ross McMillan start in a midfield five. Stuart Mills was also given his first start of the season on the right wing.
The Pars featured three ex-Clyde players in their starting line-up; Austin McCann, Joe Cardle and Pat Clarke. Neil McGregor started on the bench but there was no place for Chris Higgins in the Pars’ squad.
Despite their defensive approach to the match, the Bully Wee shocked the home side by scoring within the first two minutes. A terrible pass by Alex Burke saw Marc McCusker challenge Alex Keddie for possession and after the ball had broken away from the pair, Adam Strachan took charge of proceedings to curl a superb shot into the top corner of the net.
What followed can only be described as a period of sustained domination by the home team but Clyde’s back line remained organised and competed well. Cardle was the first Pars man to have an effort on goal but after cutting past Ally Park, his shot went high over the cross bar. J.C. Hutchison then did well to tip a Steven Bell header over the crossbar.
Despite being under pressure, Clyde actually had the best chance in this period of the game to add a second goal. Good play on the wing by Strachan ended with a low cross into the box that Mills flicked onto the post. From the rebound, John Sweeney returned the ball into the box and McCusker missed the ball entirely from just 6 yards out.
Dunfermline then started to create some chances to go with their possession. A good move ended with Clarke being slipped through on the left side of the penalty area but Hutchison saved well. The goalkeeper then produced an even better stop to block Gibson’s header from 6 yards. Unfortunately, just a minute before half-time, the Pars levelled as a cross from the left wing was headed down by Bell for Andy Kirk to fire home.
Most supporters probably feared the worst at the start of the second half but although there was an early goal, it came for the Bully Wee. Another terrible pass by a Dunfermline player gifted possession to Strachan and from his through ball, McCusker stepped away from a defender and swept a shot past Chris Smith.
This led to a crazy couple of minutes as first Cardle had a goal disallowed after he had tripped Park in the build-up. Then Clyde almost gained a two goal lead as McCusker slipped Mills through on goal but after some neat footwork, his shot was too weak to seriously trouble Smith.
The Pars then really began to force the pace and they appeared to have a good penalty shout turned down when Kirk and Henderson clashed in the box. The Northern Ireland striker then clattered the woodwork with a tremendous shot. However, the leveller was coming and it came from substitute Steven McDougall. Receiving a pass from Bell, the ex-Airdrie man turned inside Lithgow before firing home an unstoppable shot.
Mills and McCusker were then replaced by Sawyers and Stevenson but this failed to turn the tide and Hutchison again was needed to superbly keep out Nicky Phinn and Kirk. Sadly, this only delayed the inevitable as Dunfermline netted the winner with just 3 minutes remaining. A corner from the left was headed down by Bell and once more, it was Kirk who fired home from inside the 6 yard box.
There was still time for Clyde to threaten an unlikely equaliser as Sawyers raced onto Dingwall’s through ball but under pressure from a Pars defender, he could only squeeze a shot in that Smith saved comfortably.
Goals
Dunfermline Athletic | Clyde | |
---|---|---|
2' | Strachan | |
Kirk | 44' | |
46' | McCusker | |
McDougall | 67' | |
Kirk | 86' |
Line-Ups
Dunfermline Athletic | Clyde | |
---|---|---|
Smith | Hutchison | |
Woods | Park | |
McCann | Gray 86 |
|
Bell | McMillan | |
Dowie | Lithgow | |
Keddie | Henderson | |
Gibson | Finlayson | |
75 Burke |
McCusker 75 |
|
63 Clarke |
Mills 61 |
|
Kirk | Sweeney | |
75 Cardle |
Strachan | |
Substitutes | ||
75 Phinn |
Girvan | |
Allison | Allan | |
63 McDougall |
Stevenson 61 |
|
75 Willis |
Dingwall 86 |
|
McGregor | Sawyers 75 |
Details
Date | Time | League | Season | Full Time | Attendance | Report Author |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 24, 2010 | 7:45 pm | League Cup | 2010-11 | 90' | 1107 | David Worton |
Officials
- Referee
Dougie McDonald