Clyde 1-0 Caernarfon Town
A Ray Grant winner at the death ensured Clyde would progress to the Fourth Round of the SPFL Trust Trophy in a narrow victory over Caernarfon Town at New Douglas Park.
Ryan Mullen made his Clyde debut between the sticks alongside returns for Barry Cuddihy, Paul Kennedy, Ross Lyon and Kurtis Roberts as Danny Lennon made five changes to the side that lost to Airdrieonians last time out.
The opening stages of the match consisted of a fierce physical battle in the middle of the park with clear chances not coming easy for either side. The nearest the hosts came to any goalmouth action was a whipping cross into the box by Kennedy, however, it was too strong for McLean to catch his head to. At the other end, Donohue criss-crossed his way into the box, but he was prevented by Clyde bodies.
In the 18th minute, Lyon got a hold of the ball in the box, however Mudimu slid in to steal the ball in the split-second before he was going to shoot. The Cofi’s then tested Mullen with a shot at goal, however, the ball went wide.
As the match neared the half-hour mark, Roberts found ample space on the edge of the box, only for his effort to roll agonisingly past the post.
Gruff John managed to hit a high shot at goal in the 35th minute, however, he misjudged its height and the ball flew wide off target. Roberts then passed the ball in the path of Cameron, however, his effort was comfortably saved by Tibbetts.
As the match neared half-time, Bradley managed to hit a shot from a tight angle inside the box, but his effort flew wide. Donohue looped the ball in from a corner-kick, but Mullen rose high to deny his effort as both teams went into the interval in a stalemate.
The first chance fell to The Bully Wee after the re-start as Lyon charged forward and got himself in an ideal position to hit a strong effort which flew over the top of the net.
A tumble on the edge of the box lead to a free-kick for Caernarfon which was blocked by the defensive wall, while the following corner was parried away by Mullen.
Cunningham was next to try his luck for the home side as he cut through to hit a shot which looked goal-bound, however it was blocked by a defender.
The match remained at loggerheads as the game wore on with neither ‘keeper being seriously tested. Gosset found himself with an opportunity to hit a shot past Mullen, but his effort skewed wide. Cunningham then had a free-kick on the edge of the box and hit a well-worked shot which curled behind the net.
With minutes left to find a winning goal, O’Rourke pushed through the Clyde defence, but couldn’t build up enough power and his effort from close-range went wide.
However, The Bully Wee persevered and finally broke the deadlock in the 90th minute. Raymond Grant whipped in a powerful cross from the left, which bounced off the post, across and over the line and into the net.
If you were at today’s match and are a CIC owner with a website account, you can vote for your top three performers in the Man of the Match vote.
FULL MATCH REPLAY: You can watch a replay of the full 90 minutes of this afternoon’s game from midnight tonight at a cost of £5. The replay will be available until Tuesday and you can order through the Ticket Store.
BULLY WEE FUND – DRAW WINNER: 132. ANDY WILLIAMSON – £750