St. Johnstone v Clyde

Recap

Clyde were left bemoaning a uncharacteristic late error by goalkeeper David Hutton as St.Johnstone came from behind to take an undeserved share of the spoils at McDiarmid Park.

The Bully Wee reverted to their traditional 3-5-2 system, with Craig McKeown and Ruari McLennan coming into the side. Joe Cardle moved forward to partner David McGowan.

The first half saw St Johnstone dominate possession but all of their chances came in a 3 minute spell. On-loan Gretna striker, Kenny Deuchar, saw his looping header superbly tipped over the bar by Hutton and from the resulting corner, the big striker had a clear sight of goal, only to be denied by Chris Higgins’ superb challenge. Then, another ball forward was met by Deuchar only for his header to dip past the post, with Hutton stranded.

Despite their territorial advantage, the home side were always wary of a Clyde team that looked dangerous on the break. The lively Cardle won a freekick on the edge of the box and the resulting effort saw a typical Masterton free kick dip just over the bar. Then, a quickly taken corner was just missed by two Clyde players as a wonderful flick from the St Johnstone defender managed to clear the ball.

The second half was expected to be a similar affair but Clyde took charge of the game early on and created a host of chances. Within a minute of the restart, Imrie had been fouled in the box by Gary Irvine but the referee, who over the course of the game awarded a remarkable 8 yellow cards, surprisingly decided not to award a spot-kick. David McGowan then saw a low shot slide past the post from 20 yards as the pressure on the Saintees goal continued to increase.

Imrie was producing some of his best play of the season and nearly created the opening goal by skipping past Irvine before fizzing a low cross into the box that Steven Anderson did well to clear ahead of Cardle. Imrie then ghosted inside Irvine again before hitting a dipping right foot shot that Main tipped over the bar.

Predictably, when Clyde took the lead it was to be after another Imrie run. The wing-back once more went past Irvine and with the entire stadium expecting a cross, he chose to loop an effort high over Main into the top corner. It’s debateable whether a shot was intended but if he meant it, then it must be an early candidate for goal of the season.

Clyde looked comfortable and indeed, nearly doubled their lead on the break. McLennan burst clear and slid in Cardle but the youngster, who otherwise played well in an unaccustomed position, over complicated things and ended up running the ball into Main s arms.

The home side were always likely to carve out a chance but when they did level, it came from a totally unexpected source. Deuchar picked the ball up on the left but his weak cross appeared to be floating into Hutton’s hands. In the wet conditions though, the goalkeeper managed to spill the ball into his own net.

Desperate to try and regain the lead, Clyde saw a neat move between Imrie and Masterton end with the latter curling a low shot onto the post as his jersey appeared to be pulled by Alan McManus. The home side then almost snuck an undeserved winner, only for Higgins to once again superbly block a low shot.

So, a better display from Clyde but once again, missed chances cost the Bully Wee a crucial victory. Hutton made a huge error but in truth, the game could have been finished before then and the goalkeeper has made a habit of saving Clyde in previous matches. The defence with McKeown back didn’t ever look like conceding and the midfield had a good balance to it. Up front, there were still deficiencies but Cardle played as well as anyone has in that role in the past year and a half.

With the derby match coming up next week and Clyde desperate to avenge their 4-0 thumping at Firhill earlier this season, it would be a good time for Clyde to produce some better form.