No Holiday!

“We are not here for a holiday. We are here to win.” That was the immediate post match reaction of goalscorer Alex Williams after the Bully Wee’s victory over Border Stars. “Clyde won the match but the Border Stars won their respect.”

The match was certainly competitive and was at some stages a fiery encounter. A crowd of approximately 1,500 took in Friday’s friendly where the Bully Wee quickly established they weren’t about to tread softly against the hosts. Indeed a couple of hard tackles set a serious tone and CPSL referee Silvio Petrescu issued five yellow cards and at one stage had to direct Clyde boss Graham Roberts back to the bench after he protested about a tackle by the Stars’ Justin Marshall.

The warm welcome given to the Clyde party can be seen at the Tuesday press conference above. Picture courtesy of the CPSL.

It was the play of Williams that resulted in the penalty kick award, hauled down following a driving run into the box with just over three minutes left. Williams took full advantage on the ensuing penalty kick against Stars goalie Anthony Santilli.

“They’re a good team,” Williams said. “They made it hard for us. We were sort of arguing with each other. That’s how difficult they made it for us. We had to be patient.”

The Stars weathered an early Scottish storm and settled down to create a few chances of their own through the efforts of striker Aaron Byrd. “They’d definitely be at the top of our league,” said Byrd, the CPSL scoring leader last year. “They’re young. They’re fit. They run a ton and they put you under pressure.”

The Stars were most vulnerable late in the first half as Clyde dictated the fast pace of play. Santilli made three quality saves to keep the scoresheet empty as the second half progressed but he had no answer from the penalty spot.