Hamilton Academical v Clyde

Recap

When trying to recover from your first defeat in a quarter of a season, there is not a better match than a derby against one of your fiercest rivals but although Clyde didn’t lose the game, the game left most of the crowd disappointed after a poor affair.

Clyde recalled Neil McGregor, with the injured Craig Bryson dropping out of the squad. There were returns for Robert Harris and Ruari McLennan to Clyde’s bench.

The first half of the game saw little to please the Clyde fans as Accies created several great chances and had most of the possession, without playing any superb football. First, Brian Wake fell over his own feet when clean through on goal and then David Winters produced an excellent stop from Hutton. Brian Easton then missed a good headed chance before Mark Gilhaney blazed the best chance of the game over the bar when bearing down on Hutton’s goal.

Clyde’s sole counter saw an ambitious Craig McKeown effort tipped past the post by David McEwan. The resulting corner was an excellent delivery from Malone, which was well cleared by Alex Neil.

The second half was not much of an improvement however Clyde did manage to wrestle control of possession but without ever troubling McEwan. With the game seemingly destined for a goalless draw, Hamilton managed to score with a superb goal.

Neil McGregor fouled Accies striker Wake and was correctly booked as a result. The resulting freekick was curled by Winters into the net via the crossbar. It’s remarkable in a league where freekick experts are rare that there has been 3 stunning strikes in the Clyde vs Accies games this season.

The goal managed to wake Clyde from the slumber engulfing the stadium and they piled pressure on Accies as the home side chose to sit back. From a long throw by Chris Higgins an equaliser was created, with Gary Arbuckle spinning to slot home his 6th in 7 games.

The final chance fell to Clyde, as Paul McHale’s swerving cross slipped past McEwan’s far post. In truth, it would have been a totally undeserved winner had it crept in.

For Clyde, goalkeeper Hutton was once again impressive, Higgins and McGregor were solid defensively and McHale dominated the midfield after the break. McGowan also dealt admirably with the tricky Gilhaney. Arbuckle’s confidence is now clear to see and he deserved his goal.

MotM: Gary Arbuckle. Plenty of effort, strength and skill and another crucial goal.