Clyde 0-4 Motherwell

The Bully Wee dropped out of the Scottish Communities League Cup this evening, following a ruthless display of finishing by SPL Motherwell.

With the exception of JC Hutchison in goals, Clyde fielded the same starting team as the one that faced Montrose on Saturday and the early stages of the match were encouraging. Both Stephen McDonald and John Neill had attempts on goal from distance, although neither really troubled away keeper Lee Hollis.

As can so often be the case against higher opposition, a promising start was soon dealt a blow as The Well scored from their first corner of the match. Hutchison and the Clyde defence were beaten to the ball by Michael Higdon, who prodded it into the net from six yards.

Jim Duffy’s men continued to give a good account of themselves after the set back, but the visitors claimed a decisive second goal with half-time approaching. Nicky Law was the man with a rasping finish, after utilising some free space at the edge of the box to get himself into position.

Any hopes of an unlikely comeback were ended early in the second half when Tom Hateley lashed an unstoppable drive into the corner of the net from outside the box.

There was then a further blow for The Bully Wee as Stephen McDonald (right) went down awkwardly and had to be carried off the field with an ankle injury. Thankfully, early indications are that the injury is not too serious but he will be assessed further tomorrow.

The visitors rounded off a comfortable victory with five minutes left to play and it was another cracking finish. Steven Lawless pounced on a loose ball in the box and blasted a shot into the net via the underside of the bar.

Despite the scoreline there were plenty of positives to be taken from Clyde’s performance against a very good side, which was played in front of an official crowd of 1778.

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