Arbroath 2-0 Clyde

The Red Lichties secured a second win over the Bully Wee in five days tonight, and in doing so took a huge step towards the Third Division title.

Jim Duffy made a number of changes to the Clyde team, mostly for enforced reasons. Ally Park, Ricky Waddell, Kevin Finlayson, Jamie McCluskey and Marc McCusker all stepped aside as Gavin Brown, Neil McGowan, Iain Gray, Stuart Mills and Willie Sawyers were added.

The adjusted Clyde side competed well in the early stages of the match, but an opening goal for the home team after 23 minutes was to prove a crucial turning point. A cross from the right caused problems for the Bully Wee defence and Steven Doris was able to finish.

Arbroath went on to grab a killer second goal just before half-time, largely assisted by a mix-up in the Clyde rearguard. Gavin Swankie blasted the ball high into the net to make the second half a very difficult task for the visiting side.

The league leaders continued to be comfortable after the break but Clyde did have moments at the other end; shots from Gramovics and Sweeney went close but both just missed the target.

Kieran McAnespie failed to take a glorious chance to add a third goal with a close-range header, but it didn’t have any bearing on the final outcome.

If you were at tonight’s match and are a website member, don’t forget to vote for your top three performers in the Man of the Match vote.