Queen of the South v Clyde

Recap

Clyde produced another good performance to take a valuable and deserved three points from Dumfries.

The story of Clyde’s season continued as once more, injuries struck and saw Michael Ohnesorge miss out. He was replaced by Mark Brown, with Chris Higgins moving to left wing back. John Brown also chose to recall Paul Emslie after injury, with Ruari MacLennan dropping to the bench.

Queen of the South came into this game on the back of three straight defeats but any lack of confidence wasn’t immediately obvious as David Weatherston was first to strike for goal, with a powerful volley that went over the bar. This was to be the first of many early efforts and after a good ball over the Queens defence by Willie McLaren, Pat Clarke scuffed a poor effort past the post when he should have hit the target. Queens then missed a sitter of their own as a trundling free kick by Jamie McQuilken passed several Clyde players before being blasted wide by Craig Sives, with the goal gaping. Jim Thomson then saw his deflected shot tipped over the bar by David Hutton.

Much of Clyde’s improvement in the St Johnstone game was down to the return of McLaren and he was once more a huge threat in this game. He almost opened his account for Clyde but after bursting past a poor challenge in the middle of the pitch, he was unlucky to see his powerful drive crack against Cammy Bell’s post. Then, a smashing pass by Emslie released Dave McKay but with only Bell to beat, the striker fired his shot high over the bar. Queens also then hit the woodwork as a good run by right midfielder Paul Burns saw him drive into the box and curl in a left footed shot that Hutton appeared to touch onto the post. Emslie then received the first yellow card of the game for an innocuous tackle on Neil McFarlane.

Things settled down to some extent after this but Stewart Kean still had the chance to score from close range after a pullback by McFarlane, only for him to shoot straight at Hutton. Then, a good tackle by the excellent Alan Lowing saw him release McKay down the wing. His wicked cross was parried by Bell and Clarke was on hand to fire into the net, only for the referee to correctly say that he had used his arm to control the ball. The final chance of an eventful half saw Billy Gibson just fail to connect with an excellent McLaren free kick and the ball skipped on through to Bell.

Predictably, the second half was less open but Clyde undoubtedly had the better of the play and took the lead with a decent goal. Emslie spread the ball out to Higgins, who clipped the ball neatly over Tom Parratt, allowing McLaren to hit a low cross into the box. Thomson should have perhaps cleared but Clarke seized on the loose ball and with the aid of a slight deflection from Sives fired high into the net. Lowing was then booked within seconds of the restart for a wild tackle on Weatherston.

This led to a period of pressure from the home side but they struggled to create a clear chance. A bundled effort from a corner hit against Hutton, whilst a combination of Gibson and Brown did well to block a close range free kick by Stephen Dobbie. However, Clyde weren’t content to sit back and defend their lead and McKay should have done better than just win a corner when played through. The striker has played an increasingly important part in Clyde’s team in recent months and after a burst forward minutes later, he slid Clarke through on goal. The striker managed to nick the ball over Bell, only for Thomson to superbly block his shot on the line. From the rebound, McLaren thumped a cross against the post and Emslie then fired in a composed strike from the edge of the box, only for Steve Tosh to block on the line.

After that sudden burst of chances, it could have been expected that Queens would level but it was Clyde that killed the game off with an excellent goal. Emslie picked the ball up ten yards into the Queens half and picked out Clarke with a superb clipped pass over Thomson’s head. The striker’s first touch was outstanding as he cut back inside Thomson before his second touch whipped a shot around Bell into the far corner of the net.

Queens struggled to lift themselves in the remainder of the match and Clyde saw out the game comfortably, with McKay coming close to a third goal. John Brown even had the luxury of taking off McLaren to large amounts of applause, with Gary McSwegan being given a late run out.

Clyde have perhaps had some luck with red cards and weather conditions in their previous wins this season but there is no doubt that this victory was earned with good tactics, decent football and plenty of effort. Overall, the shape of the team whilst defending was compact and the bursts forward were full of energy and pace.

The backline was once more marshalled superbly by Gibson, whilst Lithgow’s height has given Clyde something extra defensively. The middle of the pitch saw Kettlewell produce a typically brave performance, with Emslie’s return bringing a bit of strength and passing quality to the team; he was probably man of the match. Up front, McKay’s pace forced the home team’s defence back towards their own goal and allowed plenty of space for McLaren and Clarke to operate. After a poor run of performances, Clyde won’t want to get carried away but there’s no doubt that a pacy side that look to go forward at every opportunity will produce plenty of excitement for supporters. With a run of three consecutive home games coming up, the Bully Wee should be looking to be comfortably in the main pack come Christmas.