Clyde 1 Saints 2
Team: Cuthbert, Dods, Forsyth, Dasovic, Weir,
McCluskey, Murray, Pope Falconer, MacDonald, Paddy
Subs Main, Kemble, Kiegan, JR, Fotheringham
At bloody last. OK so it was far, far from a classic match and both Saints goals came from penalties, and we looked pretty crap at times with a lot of improvement required before the weekend. But it's just nice to see the final whistle come and the almost forgotten feeling of seeing Saints with a goals tally which is actually bigger than their opponents.
Billy the Caretaker rang the changes although the starting line-up still contained a few surprises. First up there was no McClune or Rachid in the squad. Also posted absent were Tommy and Darren Jackson which meant a starting jersey for BigMac and Paddy whilst Kemble dropped to the bench to make way for Dods. Even better though was seeing Saints return to a 4-man defence with McCluskey at right- back - to say the least it looked a lot more solid than in recent weeks. Paddy joined Free Wullie up front whilst Pistol Pete moved to the left wing.
Unfortunately the game was a total anti-climax. A greasy surface and gusting winds do not good cup football make - the poor crowd didn't help matters either. Whilst we looked comfortable enough the opening stages saw both teams unable to string more than a couple of passes together with, more often than not the ball going to their opponent.
In fact it took until the 15th minute for the first shot on goal when Clyde hit a long-range effort wide. It served as a wake-up call to Saints and within a minute Paddy and Free Wullie combined well in a 1-2 only for Paddy to put a poor final pass into the box. The game was livening up though and 8 minutes later Pistol Pete, looking more impressive every game, threaded a neat pass to the Pope who laid it out wide right to Paddy. He ran into the box but a weak shot was blocked and when the rebound came out McBride could only blast it over the bar.
Two minutes later though we took the lead. A corner from the far side was eventually played into the box. Free Willie headed it down to MacDonald in the 6yd box only for the wee striker to be pulled down. Willie Young didn't hesitate to point to the spot. With Wacko out MacDonald took the kick himself and sent a rocket past the Clyde keeper to make it 1-0. The same striker was in trouble not long after for a reckless two-footed challenge on ex-Saint Andy Millen. It didn't seem as though any contact was made but Millen eventually dropped to the ground (after walking normally). Cue a warning from the ref and it's something MacDonald will have to watch - yer not at Ibrox now boy.
Clyde were trying to get back into the game and Saints were falling into the old trap of defending too deeply. Cuthbert was forced to make one excellent save from Hinds. He also looked a lot more confident in the box tonight, catching balls rather than punching him and showing no after effects from Sunday's debacle. Saints were struggling to piece anything together with the chief culprits being McBride and Paddy, both of whom spent an inordinate amount of time on their backsides - at least when not giving the ball away to the Cumbernauld mob.
Second-half was much the same although it started brightly enough when Pistol Pete was sent through on goal only for his shot to be well-saved. Cuthbert also had to make a couple of good saves but to be honest there wasn't too much to write about. Clyde had a chance to level the score when they beat the offside trap with the help of Darren Dods but a Cap'n Jim block saved the day. Then MacDonald and Paddy combined to send the latter along the byeline. Paddy cut into the box but his shot was too weak. A couple of minutes later an almost identical move was played with the roles reversed but the result still the same.
With 25 minutes left Kiegan came on to replace Paddy and within a minute could have extended our lead when McBride sent a defence splitting pass forward for Parker to run onto - yet again though the finishing was weak. We then won a free-kick on the edge of the D when Kiegan was brought down. MacDonald sent it well over though. Hartley came on for the knackered Pope with 15 minutes left to some effect but the game in general was very poor up until the chaos that was the last 5 minutes.
First up was a Dasovic through ball which Kiegan ran onto. He went into the box where the Clyde defender needlessly bundled him over. Even though the ref was Willie Young we got the second penalty and MacDonald sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-0 Saints and start the chants of "We're gonna win the cup". Three minutes later and it could have been a third but when Kiegan broke through 1 on 1 after getting the break of the ball his shot was blocked.
Clyde weren't giving up though and in the 90th minute, a run into the box ended with McCluskey tripping the attacker. Time for Willie Young to exercise Mr Pointy Finger for a third time but Cuthbert pulled off a great save to deflect the ball over for a corner. Unfortunately whilst we were all cheering that save the keeper stood static as the cross came over and Crawford sent a soft header into the net to pull one back.
That was it as far as the action went. Saints weren't much better than Sunday apart from the defence which looked a lot more stable. Midfield was still pretty poor and up front, MacDonald apart we don't look threatening enough (and as for the sponsor making Paddy man of the match it just shows that there are some real jokers in the insurance industry). Personally Forsyth just edges out MacDonald as my choice - he had a good solid game and looks back to his old self.
So the first win is there. Now all we need to do is get some of that form in the league.
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