Clyde 2-2 Stenhousemuir
Clyde remain a point adrift of safety with two matches remaining after a share of the spoils in a four-goal thriller against cinch League 2 champions Stenhousemuir.
Robbie Leitch and Chris McGinn replaced Logan Dunachie and Ross Lyon as Ian McCall opted for a double change to the starting lineup that lost to Dumbarton last weekend.
Clyde had the first opportunity of the match in the fifth minute when Jaze Kabia spun the ball to Jordan Allan at the edge of the box, but his effort was calmly collected by Lyle.
However, it was second time lucky for The Bully Wee when Leitch slotted home the opener with seven minutes on the clock. The midfielder caught the end of Kabia’s backheel to charge into the box and fire a powerful low drive beyond the ‘keeper and into the bottom left corner.
The hosts were enjoying the vast majority of possession in the opening quarter with Kabia creating an attempt of his own from outside the box, only for it to bounce narrowly wide.
At the other end, Stenhousemuir were struggling to pose any danger in the hosts’ half, apart from a free-kick from Brown which Kinnear held.
Chris McGinn then spurned his effort in the 21st minute as he found possession of the ball from the far edge of the box, but his shot flew wide off target.
As the end of the first half neared, the visitors were starting to make their presence felt in the home half with Taylor sending a dangerous cross into the goalmouth, but Craig Howie is quick to intercept and clear the danger.
However, The Bully Wee’s resilience broke seconds before the interval as the league champions hauled the game level. A corner-kick was flung into the vicinity of the near post, where Lynch was on hand to poke the ball into the net.
It was a subdued start to the second period with neither side creating meaningful chances until two opportunities were spurned for both teams on the verge of the hour. Gregor Buchanan rifled a header wide from the centre of the box for the visitors, while at the other end, Barry Cuddihy squared the ball to Allan, but his header from close range landed on the wrong side of the post.
Clyde found themselves behind in the 66th minute when a misplaced pass from Howie was snatched by Kirkpatrick snatched possession from Howie and crashed a shot from distance high into the net, which left Kinnear with no chance.
However, the visitors’ lead would not last long as the hosts responded four minutes later with an immediate contribution from substitute Kian Leslie. The winger dinked the ball into the centre of the box where Cuddihy rose above Gregor Buchanan to guide a header past Lyle.
As the match reached the final quarter, Leslie knocked the ball to Rennie from the by-line, but his header is swiftly blocked by Lyle, while Kinnear was also on alert to deny O’Reilly’s effort from the centre of the box.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Connor Young fired a free-kick which flew narrowly off target, while mere seconds later the ball landed at the feet of Cameron Ballantyne whose effort was expertly denied with a reflex save from Lyle, as Clyde had to settle for a point.
Picture by Craig Black