Falkirk v Clyde

Recap

Clyde concluded their Premier Sports Cup campaign with a narrow defeat to fellow cinch League One rivals Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium.

Joshua Bradley-Hurst, Raymond Grant, Morgaro Gomis, Kurtis Roberts, Conner Duthie and Ross Cunningham all returned to the starting line-up as Danny Lennon made six changes to the side that got the better of Greenock Morton.

Cunningham was the first to get a chance at the face of goal in the opening minutes of the match but his blazing effort flew wide. McGinn then got hold of the ball for Falkirk, however, his strike from distance went over the bar.

Both teams sat tight in the middle of the park during the remainder of the early stages with two free-kicks the closest the Bully Wee got to making inroads, which didn’t come to any fruition.

The Bairns were the first to open the deadlock in the 21st minute as McGuffie lined up to take a free-kick at the edge of the box with his powerful strike soaring high above Bradley-Hurst to hit the roof of the net.

The hosts kept their grip on the majority of possession as the match entered the 30th minute with Morrison reacting quickly to a cross with a header that was denied by Nathan Nyamsi Hendji. At the other end, Roberts came to a whisker of an equaliser as his effort brushed off the post.

There was little action of note as the first-half drew to a close with referee Barry Cook strangely showing Ross Lyon a yellow card as Falkirk took a narrow lead into the interval.

Clyde got off by the skin of the teeth in the 55th minute as a blunder on the edge of the box by Bradley-Hurst gave McGuffie the opportunity to hit the ball home into an empty net, however, Brian McLean reacted swiftly to make the save.

Falkirk continued to press forward as the clock reached the hour-mark with Bradley-Hurst making a strong save while Morrison curled a free-kick from a tight angle that went narrowly off target.

The Bully Wee finally broke through to test PJ Morrison in the 70th minute with Lyon’s effort from a corner deflected wide and McLean’s header looped over the target.

McKay came close to doubling the advantage for the Bairns in the 78th minute, however, Bradley-Hurst stretched his fingertips to push the ball over the bar. The same could also be said for McGinn as the keeper’ went down low to deny his effort.

Clyde continued to get hemmed into their box with 10 minutes remaining as Morrison found space to catch Bradley-Hurst one-on-one but his shot was comfortably saved.

Alegria was next to find a way past a stubborn Clyde defence after reacting to Mackie’s cross, however his header failed to meet the target.

Lyon drilled the ball into a dangerous area of the box as Clyde sought a last-gasp equaliser, however, the ball was cleared before Olly McDonald could react.

As the match entered the dying minutes, Paul Kennedy hit a free-kick, however, Peter Grant failed to connect and the ball skidded past the post. Conner Duthie and Liam Scullion then pushed forward in a final drastic attempt but found both their efforts to be blocked.