Ross County v Clyde

Recap

Clyde are now staring relegation in the face after passing up a glorious chance to pick up three points in Dingwall. Combined with Airdrie’s shock win in Dundee, the Bully Wee are now four points adrift at the foot of the table.

With Willie McLaren suspended and Scott Gemmill dropped to the bench, there was a chance for Gregory Tade to impress as he partnered Robbie Winters up front. Pat Clarke and Tony Stevenson were both employed in unfamiliar roles on the wings.

A small group of away fans had made the long trip north and only some impressive goalkeeping in the early stages of the game gave them cause for excitement. Firstly, Michael Gardyne skipped past Marvyn Wilson but his 25 yard drive was tipped over the bar by David Hutton. Then, a swirling cross by Mark McCulloch briefly caught out the Clyde ‘keeper but as Craig Brewster fired in a powerful header from 6 yards, Hutton recovered superbly to punch clear with the home players already celebrating a goal. As players congregated for the corner, a couple of the Ross County players congratulated him on his save.

Clyde created very little in the first half hour but Pat Clarke should have done better as a deep cross from Wilson found him at the back post, only for the ball to bounce off his shins and out for a goal kick. However, the flow of the game was disrupted with one of the more bizarre incidents of the season. County were awarded a throw-in as Clarke allowed a pass to slip under his foot but with play set to resume, referee Craig MacKay walked over to the home side’s Richard Brittain and sent the midfielder off. It took the majority of the crowd a good minute to become aware of the referee’s decision. Post-match comments revealed that Brittain had apparently aimed a kick at Wilson. Despite the numerical advantage, the only other chance of the half fell to Ross County but a series of blocks by Higgins and Gibson prevented them from netting after a goalmouth scramble.

Remarkably, Clyde stuck with the same defensive formation in the second half and struggled to create any real chances for long periods. In fact, County forced Hutton into another decent save to prevent a cross from Gardyne dipping in at the far post. The introduction of Gemmill, Dave McKay and Ruari MacLennan did see Clyde increase their attacking threat to some extent and from their first real passing move of the game, Mark Brown produced a powerful cross from the bye-line that Clarke diverted towards goal, only for Joe Malin to save well. From the resulting scramble, Clarke once again fired in a goal-bound effort but the goalkeeper had risen to his feet quickly and once more managed to block the shot.

The final chance of a dull game was to fall to Ross County and should have resulted in a goal. A decent move saw substitutes Steven Craig and Dyron Daal combine and play in Gardyne, only for the ex-Celtic youngster to fire high over the bar with the goal gaping.

Although a point from the long trip north is normally seen as a good result, on this occasion Clyde were playing against 10 men for the majority of the match and this was compounded by the fact that County barely had anything to play for. To only create a couple of half chances and show no real inclination to chase the three points was extremely disappointing for the travelling supporters.