Annan XI vs Annan Athletic

[Bully Wee Charlie]

Come on Clyde. Let's get the season started with 3 points. 

[Adolfo Rios]

Team I'd start with tomorrow:
Think we need a better right back for the season but for tomorrow I'd go with burbridge he offers a decent amount going forward and has good pace to recover. Ramsay 100% straight back in. In the games we've saw he offers a lot going forward as well. Defensively we just have to pray.

No space for Osadalor? Interested in how this other guy gets on [emoji6]

[Bully Wee Charlie]

1 hour ago, Adolfo Rios said:

 

No space for Osadalor? Interested in how this other guy gets on

 

Hope Chapman's dropped him as a punishment for his selfishness last week. Won't do him any harm.

[Replays]

Clyde have been pretty poor so far. Annan not much better but at least their players know how to pass the ball on the ground sometimes.

[marco44]

Hope Chapman's dropped him as a punishment for his selfishness last week. Won't do him any harm.

He will spend most of season on the bench

[Replays]

In saying that, we're now 1-0 up. Cuddihy.

[cfcuk]

Winning one nil the game is utterly dire

[David W]

We've played well since about five minutes before the goal. Plenty of good chances and for all Annan dominated the first part of the game they didn't look like scoring during that period.

[Replays]

HT 1-0. We've been quite poor (and were dreadful until we scored) but have been improved since the goal. Nicoll taken off injured after, I think, tweaking hamstring. Ramsay has missed a sitter and Cuddihy, either side of his goal, brought a good save from Atkinson and also headed just wide.

We still need another goal, at least.

[cfcuk]

Half time probably should be further ahead being honest Annan probably playing better football but our long ball is the best tactic
Pretty awful to watch but at the moment effective

[Replays]

2-0, Smarticus.

[Replays]

2-1 now. Omar could have had the same goal about three times. Rotten defending.

[maxruby]

Oh good.

[Replays]

Pleasing. Good to get three points ahead of a long away trip next week.

[Bully Wee Charlie]

1 hour ago, marco44 said:

He will spend most of season on the bench

Smart done well coming off the bench. He scored the winner. 

[Harry Haddock]

Welcome 3 points.Thought Ramsay looked good.

[Snakebite]

Scrappy as f**k game. Ramsay was the best player for me, worked tirelessly and showed a lot of energy on the ball. Clyde have some threat up front with Osadolor and Goodwillie, although not much really happened for the latter today. Need a couple of players though. Center mid. Miller is wasteful as f**k and Flynn is bloody slow. Cliched at well, but a big solid centre half who does the basics of the position well - heads, tackles and holds his position, square peg in a round hole with Nicol there and the other lads are youngsters/midgets. Thought Annan were rubbish to be honest. Game should have been dead and buried at 2-0 and a shitey set piece, exposing Clyde's lack of height gave them a sniff.

[Sao Paulo]

This was an ugly match in which Clyde's surplus of attacking quality won-out. And that's exactly what anyone who watched the same fixture last month ought to have expected.

The first-half contained the bulk of the ugliness. Clyde's 3-5-2 had enough stuffiness about it to leave Blair Currie undisturbed. At the other end, Annan's goalie wasn't all that much busier; parrying a rifled shot by Cuddihy was the highlight of his half. Then, of course, Clyde took the lead. Quality told as Goodwillie, Ramsay and others bustled to make a nuisance of themselves in Annan's box, with Cuddihy eventually letting-go a shot for the goal. Thereafter, smelling blood, Clyde rallied and could've doubled their lead before half-time; Osadolor, who came on for the injured Nicoll, had introduced a new menace for a spell before the whistle.

The second-half wasn't all that different. Osadolor's menace persisted and he grabbed a great second for Clyde; a goal largely made off the back of his own work. Nicoll's loss meant Clyde were now playing a 4-4-2. I had worried that this would make us more vulnerable. And I'd argue that it did. However, by fact of allowing Ramsay, Goodwillie and Osadolor on the field at once, you could just as easily argue it won us the match. I mentioned on the Clyde 17/18 season thread that Home would be the only player benefitted by a flat-four. And I think I was about right. He dealt much more easily with threats on his side as a full-back, albeit Annan might've put one decent ball in from that side over the half. McNiff and Breslin done alright together; some last-gasp stuff from both players was necessary but, other than the goal, you wouldn't want to be too harsh on them. Of course, saying all that, they're clearly not two lads you want paired-up in the middle of your defence for reasons which we're all already familiar with.

As Snakebite says above, we'd be a right decent team if we'd a dominator at the back. And, perhaps even more importantly, a real general in the midfield. I'd have given MOTM to Stewart for a faultless shift on the left. Of course, Ramsay, Goodie and Smart could all have got it.

If I was to pick faults, I'd say the same sort of thing I said after Dumbarton. Miller, other than his second-half dig, performed an unnecessary role in virtually splitting the defenders to pick-up the ball. He, Flynn and Cuddihy stand no chance of bossing a midfield. They're all either too slow, slight or timid. Or some combination of those things.

[Sao Paulo]

Another thing: Billy Reid approached his Championship - or old first division - season with Clyde in the same way Chapman is: isolate a useful forward(s) and prey off-of their quality. For Jones and Harty, read Goodwillie, Smart and/or Ramsay. Reid knew that Potter, Balmer, Bollan and Mensing had the combined pace of a Robin Reliant. He strategised around that. You can call it hoof-ball if you like. It wins games if it's done right. Obviously, I hasten to add, I wouldn't say that Reid's side echoes Chapman's. His defence and midfield was considerably stronger than Chapman's equivalents.

[David W]

What I'd take from that is that we're probably not going to finish bottom. Annan may well try to pass the ball about but it's totally pointless. They barely created a thing in the cup game, and today apart from Stevenson's shot which hit the post, they only threatened the goal at set pieces (the same set piece three times!). You look through that side and they've got very little about them, Omar apart.

I thought we started poorly, the system not appropriate for the game at all. Nicoll's injury was a blessing in disguise (not that he was playing well). Back three who can't step out with the ball, turning into a back four as Miller dropped deep to try and play-make. Two wing-backs offering very little in advanced positions (Home in particular). Neither Flynn nor Ramsay able to get involved as they chased the ball from one end to an other. Not pretty. Good substitution though, as we looked far more comfortable with the 442.

Still, we created all of the chances. Goodwillie left-footed shot well saved after a terrific turn. Cuddihy superbly hit volley that was also well saved. Then, not as convincing a strike from the same player which trundled into the corner of the net. He also had a header just past the post, whilst a good move involving himself and Goodwillie ended with a cross that Ramsay couldn't head into the net from 6 yards. Tougher chance than it looked I think but he should have scored.

Second half we played some decent football at times and you can see why Chapman's teams score plenty of goals. We're always looking to get in shots, there's always players bursting into the box. It looked like a penalty when Stewart went down after a quick turn in the box but ended in a booking for a dive. Decent finish from Osalodor after some poor defending and the game should have been dead. However, Annan discovered that they had a potential source of joy from free kicks near the halfway line. Send forward the big centre halves and put them wide in the area along with our big guys, then drill the ball straight down the middle for Omar to attack our weaker headers of the ball. One great save from Currie from one of the set pieces, but on the third occasion, the header found the net and we were unnecessarily under pressure. It's poor defending/on field leadership not to adapt. 

Still, in-game changes were afoot. We moved Home inside to centre half which dealt with the fact Omar was winning headers with Annan's new more direct approach. We pushed ourselves higher up the pitch and in truth looked more likely to get the next goal than the away side did, Max Wright in particular missing a great chance from a set piece.

Currie didn't have much to do bar one great save. Great distribution as usual though. Home much better in a back four, Stewart is just a solid left-back and a good addition. McNiff played well. Breslin was Breslin; read some stuff well but couldn't deal with the high ball at any point. Miller was rubbish, Flynn was better but needs to improve further, Cuddihy was my man of the match. Ramsay has great feet and the front two were much better than Annan's defence.