Montrose 3-0 Clyde

Clyde suffered defeat on the road this evening, with League One opponents Montrose possessing the cutting edge which proved to be the difference between the sides at Links Park.

Darren Young once again freshened the team up for this midweek KDM Evolution Trophy clash by making six changes to the team which comfortably beat Forfar Athletic at the weekend; Barry Cuddihy, Chris Inglis, Bruce Strachan, Bobby Kiltie and Tam Cruden all came into the starting eleven. The sixth change saw Jamie Bradley make a keenly-awaited first appearance since returning to the club on a permanent basis in the summer.

The hosts had the better of the opening exchanges without managing to test Jay Hogarth, but the Clyde goalkeeper’s first real involvement saw him picking the ball out of the back of his net. A long punt forward saw Inglis caught in two minds and a poor touch gifted possession to Kyle McClements, who drifted inside before firing a low effort inside the far post.

The remainder of the first half saw the visitors have the better of general play but, for all their probing, struggle to create much by way of clear-cut chances. Their best chance of the opening period fell to Cruden after persistent running from he and Kiltie saw the striker rob home ‘keeper Cammy Gill of possession, but Cruden saw his eventual shot blocked by a man on the line.

A double change at the interval seemed to spark some life into the hosts and they exerted pressure on the Clyde rearguard early in the second half. That pressure told before long, when Inglis compounded a sloppy initial pass with a foul on Jake Sutherland to concede a penalty. Sutherland dusted himself down and smashed the spot kick into the middle of the goal, leaving Darren Young’s charges a mountain to climb.

The Bully Wee did fashion a few half chances as they sought a route back into the game, with the best of them once again falling to Cruden. Substitute Kyle Connell’s intelligent cross into the box found his fellow forward, but his first-time shot sailed over Gill’s crossbar.

With virtually the last action of the match, The Mo added some slightly undue gloss to the final result with a third goal in injury time, when a flowing move resulted in Blair Lyons volleying home from close range.