Clyde 1-0 Stranraer
A 92nd minute Jordan Allan header hauled Clyde of the league basement for the first time since October at the expense of Stranraer at New Douglas Park.
Ross Lyon and Raymond Grant returned to the starting lineup in place of Erik Sula and Chris McGinn as Ian McCall made two changes from the defeat to Peterhead last time out.
There was little in the way of opportunities for either side during the opening quarter as both teams battled against the blustery conditions. However, Clyde were demonstrating intent in working their way up the pitch. In the 12th minute, Jordan Allan caught the end of Barry Cuddihy’s cross to wade into the box, only for his effort from a tight angle to ripple the side netting.
As the match progressed, Stranraer, who were struggling to meaningfully attack the hosts’ half, spurned a chance to open the scoring with Robertson’s shot from the centre of the box flying over the bar.
With proceedings at the half hour mark, Martin Rennie retrieved the ball from 20 yards out and sent a shot goalwards, but it was calmly collected by Budinauckas.
In the concluding minutes of the first period, the majority of play was confined to the middle of the park as both sides were unable to bypass defensive barriers. The Bully Wee were seeking to break the deadlock, but with the unfortunate disadvantage of playing through gusts of wind. Cuddihy fired the ball across from the edge of the box to square to Liam Scullion, but the ball was too high for him to intercept.
Kinnear was called into action minutes after the restart after Dolan blasted an effort at goal from close range, only for the ‘keeper to collect.
The Bully Wee were agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 53rd minute. The ball was squared to Allan in the middle of a cramped box, but his low drive was blocked on the line and subsequently cleared. Meanwhile, after being tackled four minutes later, Allan poked the ball in the path of Ray Grant just inside the box, who attempted to send his effort into the bottom right corner, only for it to bobble past the post.
As the clock edged past the hour, Clyde were enjoying more possession and were also limiting the visitors at the other end as they seeked a way through with two attempts in quick succession. Scullion connected onto Allan’s pass, only for his first-time shot to be denied by the ‘keeper, while Grant then paved the way for Allan to muscle into the box, but his effort careered wide.
With less than 20 minutes remaining, Rennie pounced on a poor clearance to send the ball into the vicinity of Robbie Leitch, however, the midfielder’s effort from a tight angle was blocked by Budinauckas. Allan then sent a shot straight across the goalmouth, which evaded every home player as the hosts’ continued to press in hunt of the breakthrough.
In the final ten minutes of normal time, Clyde were inflicting constant attacks on the Blues’ defence, but to no avail. Grant’s effort from a few yards made a beeline straight for the ‘keeper, while Leitch and Scullion both had their respective attempts blocked and saved.
However, the stadium erupted in the second minute of stoppage time when the Bully Wee eventually prised open the deadlock. The ball was flung into the box and Howie hooked it into the reach of Jordan Allan with the striker leaping up high to send a powerful header into the net, leading to a rapturous applause at the full-time whistle.
BULLY WEE FUND DRAW WINNER: 32. WILLIAM SUTHERLAND – £630
Picture by Craig Black