Linnvale Clydebank 0 V 4 Broadwood Clyde
Broadwood travelled to the League Champions’ home with a little trepidation as they had been well beaten by their opponents twice last season. Broadwood were further rocked by the news that star striker McGee was injured for this tricky tie.
Broadwood started well though and soon were creating openings, Andrews ran through the middle and rounded the keeper only to shoot weakly wide. Then Clyde took a deserved lead, Reilly beat his man in midfield, played the ball to S.Wandrum who layed it off to McMahon, he then played on to Reilly who had timed his run to perfection and neatly volleyed into the bottom right hand corner. S. Wandrum was then unlucky when he beat the keeper but his shot was cleared off the line. Broadwood kept up the pressure and were rewarded soon after when McMahon burst through and chipped the keeper, the ball caught up in the wind but still allowed Andrews to nip in and head Broadwood’s second from close range. Horne then had a free-kick well saved as Broadwood dominated in all areas. Andrews could havehad his second when he met a Hawkes corner on the volley but his shot was well saved. The only scary moment for Broadwood came when a corner was headed goalwards, but with C.Wandrum beaten, Aitken headed clear from the goal-line. With the second half coming, Broadwood were dealt a blow when McMahon received his marching orders for dissent.
10 man Broadwood went into the second half determined to make life difficult for their numerically superior opponents and the defensive line of Foley, Kimmett, Aitken and True epitomised that determination. Any Linnvale attack petered out at the edge of the box and with the defence covering each others back’s C.Wandrum had little to do. Broadwood had to weather a small period of Linnvale possession but normal service was soon resumed when Andrews found himself on the end of another Hawkes corner, but he dwelt too long and the keeper managed to save his shot. Gaffney was brought on for the tiring Andrews and Broadwood attacked yet again, Horne this time breaking clear from a Reilly pass and he was unlucky to see his shot go out for a throw-in. Horne had run himself into the ground and so was replaced by Broadwoods ageing pint-sized hit-man Bryant. This proved the killer blow as Linnvale couldn’t cope with the portly strikers pace. S. Wandrum seized the ball in midfield and left a trail of bodies in his wake before running straight into the keeper, the ball broke kindly for Bryant though and he used all his years of experience to curl the ball past the defence and into the net. Reilly saw the devastation Bryant was causing with his runs and again played the ball to the “Broadwood Bullett”. Bryant broke through and used the S.Wandrum tactic of running straight into the keeper and when the ball broke back to him he calmly stroked the ball into the empty net for 10 man Broadwoods fourth. Linnvale almost clamed a consolation late on when slack marking on the edge of the box by Bryant saw a shot fired in. C. Wandrum saw it late but lept and touched it onto the bar. McEwan came on at the death for Hawkes and didn’t put a foot wrong.
The gaffer said after the match “Bryant can’t do the things that Horne can up front, but that’s OK.”
Broadwood: – C.Wandrum, True, Kimmett