Report

MURRAYS MATCH REPORT

Talbot almost paid the penalty for some woeful officating but showed character to bounce back from losing a two goal lead to secure a 3-2 win away to Clydebank.
The travelling support had plenty to cheer early on as Talbot dominated the 1st half. With only 2 mins gone Talbot tested the home defence. Graham Wilson gathered at the edge of the box & laid it out to Pope whose dangerous low cross was cleared by Duncanson.
The opener came after 12 mins and was worth the admission money alone. Hyslop squared the ball to MARK SHANKLAND and from 30 yards he hammered a shot that flew past Waters to his right to put Talbot 1-0 ahead.
Two minutes later Talbot were back on the attack. Hyslop passed it inside to Graham Wilson who burst forward toward the penalty area. He had Shankland spare to his left but opted to go for goal & his drive was blocked by Vezza.
With quarter of an hour gone Talbot doubled their lead. McIlroy won a corner down the left which Shankland lifted beyond the far post where GORDON POPE met it to head it back down & across and into the opposite corner.
At this stage it looked to be a question of how many Talbot were going to score & the Bot came close again in the 17th minute when McDowall cut in off the right & fired a left foot drive just over the bar.
Two minutes later Talbot were denied by the woodwork. Shankland lifted a corner in from the left to the near post where McIlroy glanced a header off the crossbar with Waters beaten.
The chances kept coming and Shankland had an opportunity to grab his 2nd on 21st minute. Pope lifted a ball down the left where McIlroy held off Duncanson before rolling it back into the path of Shankland who burst into the area but curled his shot over the bar.
The game settled down with Talbot still well in control & the Bankies unable to muster anything resembling a chance.
In the 34th minute Talbot tested Waters again. Graham Wilson met a shy from the left & chested it down into the path of Shankland whose low drive was held by the keeper to his right.
Waters came to the Bankies rescue in the 39th minute when a good Bot move ended with Graham Wilson slinging a cross over that looked to be drifting in until the keeper clawed it away to safety.
Talbot were back on the front foot two mins later. Stephen Wilson pinged a ball over the defence to find Graham Wilson speeding free on the left & he hit the bye line before cutting it across the face of goal but unfortunately it went just behind McIlroy in front of goal.
Up til now it had been a fairly routine evening but the officials took centre stage in the final minute of the half. Clydebank won a free kick 20 yards out when McCracken collided with Shelvey.
McClair took the free kick & drove it straight into the wall. The ball spun out to Hyslop who was blatantly barged over. The only 3 people in the park who didn’t see it were the match officials but to rub salt into the wounds play went on with the Bankies down the left of the penalty area & the referee then awarded them a soft penalty when he penalised Lyle for the ball hitting off him.
LITTLE took full advantage of the referee’s generosity sending Leishman the wrong way from the spot to pull a goal back for the Bankies.
The 2nd half was only 3 minutes old when the referee pointed to the spot for the 2nd time. Alexander found McClair out on the right & when his ball came across Shelvey looked certain to score. Leishman raced out to make it difficult & Shelvey scooped his shot way over but Leishman collided with the Bankies man after he’d shot. The ball was lost in the shrubbery behind the goal long before Leishman collided with him but once again the ref pointed to the spot & once again LITTLE gave Leishman no chance to level the score.
Talbot reacted positively to the setback and threatened to regain the lead in the 50th minute. Stephen Wilson’s ball up the right found McIlroy inside the box & he hit it on the half-volley back across goal where Waters tipped it over the bar.
Shortly after Talbot had another opportunity. A cross from the right broke to Shankland inside the penalty area but his low drive flew straight at the keeper.
The Bot support could have been forgiven for thinking it wasn’t their night when the ref awarded the Bankies their 3rd penalty on the hour mark. McClair raced down the left & into the box where he went sprawling to the deck and the ref again pointed to the spot. Little was again on penalty duties but this time Leishman made the stop.
Tucker made a change with 62 mins gone bringing on Kemp in place of Graham Wilson.
The sub was involved 5 mins later when he raced down the left before lifting a cross into the centre where McDowall headed just over the bar from 6 yards out.
This was to be McDowall’s last contribution of the evening as Tucker made a double switch with Shankland & McDowall making way for Samson & Glasgow.
It was now Talbot back in control with the Bot pressing for the winner.
Lyle forced a corner down the right in the 71st minute which Glasgow delivered low into the near post. Kemp tried to force it home but it was scrambled behind for a 2nd corner which the defence cleared.
A few minutes later Talbot won another corner down the right. This time Glasgow played it back to Lyle who crossed it toward the back post. The defence failed to clear their lines & it came to McIlroy 12 yards out but he couldn’t get any purchase behind his shot & Waters saved easily.
With quarter of an hour remaining Talbot had another chance. A ball over the top found Kemp in behind the defence. He beat the keeper to the ball 30 yards from goal but was unable to knock it round him & Waters cleared.
Having awarded the home side 3 pens the referee shocked the visiting fans by awarding one to Talbot with 11 minutes remaining. Samson met a cross from the right & side-footed it wide of the left post before being clattered to the ground by the onrushing keeper. The ref booked the keeper and awarded the spot kick which GORDON POPE dispatched low inside the left post to restore Talbot’s lead.
The closing 10 minutes were surprisingly tame with Talbot able to see the game out without any further alarms to earn a deserved victory.
Talbot are back on their travels this Saturday when they travel through to Valefield to face Kilbirnie Ladeside in the league.

Clydebank – Waters, Duncanson, Paterson, McLean, Darroch, Vezza, C McClair, Alexander, Shelvey, Little, Black

Subs – Morrison, J McClair, McHugh, Higgins, Rowan

Talbot – Leishman, Lyle, Pope, McPherson, McCracken, Stephen Wilson, Hyslop, McDowall, Graham Wilson, McIlroy, Shankland

Subs – Samson, White, Glasgow, Kemp, Waite