Airdrieonians 1-1 Clyde
The Bully Wee earned another point this afternoon against title chasing Airdrieonians, after a hardworking and improved performance against their North Lanarkshire rivals.
Danny Lennon made three changes to his side, two of which were injury enforced, with Josh Bradley-Hurst, Ross Cunningham and Lewis Jamieson coming in for Neil Parry, Mark Docherty and Gregory Tade.
Clyde had a great chance to open the scoring in the fifth minute when Ally Love found Lewis Jamieson in the box with a cross. His header crashed against the bar and the rebound fell to Aaron Splaine, whose subsequent header was cleared off the line by a defender.
Jonathan Afolabi then had the hosts’ first real opportunity of the afternoon. His initial shot in the box was blocked and the ball fell to him again, but he blazed the rebound over the bar.
The Diamonds seemed frustrated by a stubborn Clyde defence, and Adam Frizzell, Calum Gallagher and Afolabi all threw themselves to the ground in quick succession in attempts to win penalties or free-kicks. Referee Calum Scott didn’t buy it, and he eventually booked Afolabi for simulation following his second dive in the box, though it was perhaps surprising that more of his teammates didn’t follow him into the book for the same offence as the afternoon wore on.
The Bully Wee took the lead just before the interval. A neat passing move down the right flank eventually saw the ball go to Adam Livingstone on the left. His drive was blocked by Callum Fordyce, but it only fell as far as Jamieson, who sent a blistering volley into the roof of the net with his first touch from the edge of the box.
Airdrie forced Josh Bradley-Hurst into a couple of good saves after the restart; first holding Gallagher’s header from close range, then getting down low to stop Brody Paterson’s drive from a wide angle.
Clyde had a golden chance to double the lead in the 71st minute. A counter attack saw Max Currie save Livingstone’s low shot and the ball fell kindly for Jamieson with the open goal at his mercy, but he sent the shot off target.
The Bully Wee were made to rue that miss as Airdrie equalised a few minutes later. After the referee got in the way of an Airdrie pass, play restarted with a dropped ball just outside the Clyde box. The Bully Wee seemed to switch off from the restart, with Rhys McCabe curling a ball over the Clyde defence for Gabby McGill to finish.
The Diamonds went all out attack in the closing minutes to try and take the three points but Clyde’s back line held firm. There was a late scare when the game entered stoppage time as Bradley-Hurst was poleaxed whilst claiming a high ball and suffered a heavy landing on his head, but after treatment he was able to continue and see out the game.
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