Montrose 2-3 Clyde

Clyde’s 2012-13 IRN-BRU Third Division campaign got off to a fine start this afternoon, with a thrilling comeback securing a victory over Montrose at Links Park.

Jim Duffy added John Kane (pictured) and John Neill to the team and also named two trialists in the starting line-up; previous Clyde favourite Stevie Masterton and ex-Annan forward Bryan Gilfillan.

The Bully Wee had the best chance of the early stages of the match, when John Neill’s flick released Stefan McCluskey but the striker’s shot was well parried away by home ‘keeper Sandy Wood.

Two goals for the hosts then completely changed what had previously been a fairly even contest. The first came from Lloyd Young who curled a shot into the net from 20 yards and the second was blasted home by Paul Watson, after a cross was only partially cleared by the Clyde defence.

A half-time scoreline of 2-0 was slightly harsh on The Bully Wee, but thankfully the players produced a determined second half display to turn the match around.

Gilfillan started the comeback when he latched onto Neill’s clever pass and showed great composure to slide the ball past Wood and into the net.

The equaliser came only a few minutes later. Gilfillan found Stuart McColm in space at the edge of the box and his chip over the keeper was eventually bundled into the net by Neill, who just managed to beat two Montrose defenders to the bouncing ball.

The winning goal came with ten minutes left to play and was the pick of the three. Substitute Kevin Watt collected the ball on the right wing and picked out McColm with an excellent cross-field pass and he fired an equally superb first-time shot into the far corner of the net.

The Gable Endies then pushed hard to bounce back and Jamie Barclay had to react quickly to push a header over the bar, but Clyde held on for a very welcome three points to open the league season.

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