Montrose v Clyde

Recap

The Bully Wee went down to yet another frustrating defeat today, this time at Links Park.

Clyde’s line-up featured several changes from the match against East Stirling a fortnight ago. New signing Paul McMullan was handed a start and Gavin Brown – of Kilmarnock – featured at right back as a trialist. JC Hutchison and Alan Lithgow also returned to the team.

Stuart Millar’s men started brightly and created several chances to open the scoring in the early stages, as Montrose struggled to get into the game at all. Ricky Waddell came close with a low shot and Marc McCusker somehow failed to connect with a bouncing ball as he raced in at the back post.

There was also a very strong shout for a penalty turned away by referee Frank McDermott, as McCusker appeared to be brought down when through on goal.

Although the first half display deserved better, thankfully one goal came just before the break. The busy McCusker collected a clever pass from Nicki Paterson in the box, turned well and blasted the ball into the net from 12 yards.

However, the second period got off to a nightmare start thanks to a bemusing penalty award. McDermott adjudged that in clearing the ball, Ricky Waddell had committed a foul and pointed to the spot after a lengthy delay. Veteran Paul Tosh sent Hutchison the wrong way to make it 1-1.

Ten minutes later, it was Alan Lithgow’s turn to make a mistake. The defender slackly conceded a corner and the resultant delivery was headed into the net from close range.

At the other end, Marc McCusker found himself bearing down on goal but couldn’t find the target. Unfortunately though, the Bully Wee’s second half performance couldn’t match that of the first and another sloppy goal finished the match off as a contest, with Boyle rolling the ball into an empty net.