Berwick vs Clyde

[Sao Paulo]

This was a woeful game, in which play scarcely left the densely populated middle third of the pitch. And you couldn't, with a straight face, say we deserved to win it. Nonetheless, it's a terrific three points and keeps us moving in the direction which the talent we now have in our squad justifies. So help me, any week now, we'll start to put it to its fullest use, I swear...

Both Berwick and Clyde had five man midfields. Clyde's had more pace; Berwick's more bite. Kevin Nicoll was Clyde's only counterweight on that front. He played like Davy Crockett today. Absolutely in his element: up like a salmon, in with a crunch, composed in a tight space. Brilliant. Of course, the packed midfield and rough conditions underfoot meant this match was made for him, and that mustn't be forgotten. It's sad to reflect that, whatever we do with the midfield, it'll be vulnerable without him. We just don't have the stature, the grit and the experience in any of our other midfielders unfortunately.

Our defenders and their defenders had an easy time of fending off threats; being, as it was, that there was usually only one, isolated man to compete with. For the rest of the match's detail just read: hit-and-hope. A really, really hopeless pattern of smacking it up the pitch characterised most of the match. We made a laudable attempt to remedy this, in bringing Duffie on for Lang at Right Back but it wasn't for much. We could've had Dani Alves in there but with one, diminutive forward running across the defence and a colour-mixed wall of jerseys everywhere else you looked after halfway, you know we'd still have gotten nowhere.

It all struck me as an ideal situation in which to bring on another forward; be about the only way we could enjoy any solid possession in the Berwick half and perhaps get behind them. Kipre, if he's the hustle-bustle-and-muscle we hope he is, would've been a good solvent. Then again, Berwick may've reacted by sticking another man up too, in which case we'd have to fret about the sluggish pairing of McNiff and Home on halfway.

In short: Berwick set-out to be stuffy and so did we. The result was what you'd expect if two League 2 teams done that to one another: first-class keech.

Positives? Four, for me. One: a superb three points to take. Two: Nicoll's performance. Three: the tacit admission that Lang is a destructive, not constructive player at right-back; Duffie the opposite. Four: Christopher McStay. We didn't see a whole lot of him. He played out of position. And had a baptism of fire. But that there? That's a good player. Like Grant, the pace of things he'll have to acclimatise to, but if he did? We'd be onto a winner. I'd quite like to see him in the engine room with Nicoll or Grant. He's very composed, picks a good pass, and obviously has a mind for possession. Add-in to that that he isn't, as I feared, a twig. He's actually quite a sturdily-built player, albeit not particularly tall.

Bring on Cowden. Let's dish out a doing here. And for god sake get Cogill in beside Home or Lang. And drop Millar! Phh. Deary me.

[Bully Wee Charlie]

What an ending to a poor game. To do it with the last kick of the ball. About 70 Clyde fans going mental at the end was magical. Drive up the road was great. Go on the Bully Wee.

[Redcar]

Berwick Rangers are sure inventive when it comes to finding new ways to screw up the trip home but I'm very proud of our Rookie defence today. 

Think we ain't heard the last about how Goodwillie took the penalty. 

[Replays]

I didn’t think it was a penalty and I did wonder if it should have been retaken but it was probably the most I’ve ever laughed at a Clyde goal.

[haufdaft]

To be honest, I thought at the time that Goodwillie stopped his run up as the ground gave way slightly under his foot.

Anyway it was an exciting finish to 90 minutes of complete tedium, bad passing and aimless punts.

Also Duffie showed in the second half why he shouldn't be playing as first choice right back.

 

 

 

[Adolfo Rios]

Whilst I’m not saying it shouldn’t be a retake(you shouldn’t be allowed to stop In the run I’m at all IMO), the rules I think state as long as he hasn’t feigned to shoot its fine. He stops at the ball then strokes it home. I’d be livid if it happened against us so can understand why Berwick would be angry.

We forced more saves from their keeper than Blair had to deal with but hard pushed to say we definitely deserved to win. We’re on a roll and next week we really should be looking at 5 out of 5.

[clyde_darren]

I didn’t think it was a penalty and I did wonder if it should have been retaken but it was probably the most I’ve ever laughed at a Clyde goal.

Great scenes at the end although I did think it was a penalty. Looked like the defender stuck his leg in and just missed the ball completely, weather Goody over exaggerated it or not I do think it was a pen.

[Sao Paulo]

26 minutes ago, haufdaft said:

Duffie showed in the second half why he shouldn't be playing as first choice right back.

Haha. Absolutely raging that we got a tiny bit more joy down that side in the form of corners and free-kicks when he and Boyle came on. Admit it.

The two hee-haw moments he had came from bad bounces off a rough pitch; happened right in front of me. If you want to hold him to that, fair enough. But I won't hold Lang to every needless concession of possession he made. I know he's a good defender. Nor Goodwillie to every ball that bounced right off him. I know he's a good forward.

You'll need to speak to Danny. Apparently he's seen something you didn't...

[haufdaft]

Haha. Absolutely raging that we got a tiny bit more joy down that side in the form of corners and free-kicks when he and Boyle came on. Admit it.
The two hee-haw moments he had came from bad bounces off a rough pitch; happened right in front of me. If you want to hold him to that, fair enough. But I won't hold Lang to every needless concession of possession he made. I know he's a good defender. Nor Goodwillie to every ball that bounced right off him. I know he's a good forward.
You'll need to speak to Danny. Apparently he's seen something you didn't...

Add Currie to the list for flapping at a cross and losing a challenge in the air after allowing the ball to bounce from a Berwick punt.

Add Nicoll for multiple bad passes and being so slow on the ball.

Add McNiff for resorting (again) to aimless long balls to imaginary team mates.

Add multiple other players that couldn't pass, tackle or stay calm on the ball.

Duffie was poor and his crossing abysmal but I do admit he wasn't the only one today. It was a poor team performance in general.

Best shout of the match summed it up "C'mon Clyde. Someone do some skill".

[Harry Haddock]

Really strange game.We could have been 3 up after 15 minutes  but for the Berwick goalie.After that it became a boring midfield slog on a pitch that both sides struggled to keep on their feet.Have no idea why Lang went off as Duffie is certainly no improvement.

Was on my way out of the ground so didn't really see the penalty incident and it certainly looked odd the way Goodwillie took it.For a few seconds after it appeared as if everyone was looking at the referee to see if he had allowed it or not.

There were certainly plusses today.McStay looks as if he will a good addition when fully match fit,MCNiff defended well but his distribution leaves a bit to be desired.Currie had some shaky moments but the improvement in the last few weeks is remarkable.Last but not least,Goodwillie had a stinker but there is always a goal in there.

All in all an enjoyable trip back to Edinburgh and nice to hear some discussion about us on On the Ball.

 

[Yellow Feet]

Just saw someone’s FB clip of the penalty and he definitely stops before hitting it. 

Is there a link?

[sydney]

20 minutes ago, Yellow Feet said:

 

Is there a link?

 

It's on a 'members only' FB site Yellow so won't work for you. Noticed that he also slipped while running up which probably didn't help. 

[Replays]

Lang came off injured.

[Adolfo Rios]

Is there a link?

[Adolfo Rios]

The other video shows the slip better

[sydney]

4 minutes ago, Adolfo Rios said:

The other video shows the slip better

You're clearly better with this technology shit than me ! 

[Adolfo Rios]

You're clearly better with this technology shit than me ! 

Wouldn’t go that far. Spent the last two hours figuring how to post it on here then remembered I had YouTube.

[David W]

Negatives; obviously some atrocious passing from both sides. I really do think the pitch didn't help matters; as improved as some of the players are on the ball, to do that when facing a deep back six/seven, and the ball bobbling up every second touch, I can understand some of the poor passing. Again, some of what Home/McNiff/Cogill produced when under no pressure can't really be excused (especially when the goalkeeper behind them in far more accurate in lumping it forward) but it's always more likely when the opposition are sitting deep.

I didn't think Duffie was any sort of an upgrade on Lang (who I'd assume was injured rather than replaced). His attacking output seemed to be two crosses lumped straight out of play. He wasn't tested defensively but had a horrendous defensive header at one point when under no pressure, heading the ball straight back across the penalty area. I'd love him to join the improved-by-Lennon bandwagon but I'm not seeing it yet. 

I'd also maybe say again that it looked like Goodwillie dived to win the spot-kick (he definitely stuck out his left leg to make contact with the defender) but then again, McNiff nearly had his shirt pulled off his back at a corner in the first half. Amazing how you seem to get more luck when winning games. The spot-kick doesn't look illegal now that I've looked at the rules; he's not deliberately feinted as he's slipped. An absolutely bizarre feeling to win a game and not even have to face defending a kick-off.

The biggest negative today was absolutely the referee though. He seemed to think he'd let the game flow by ignoring absolutely everything for about 75 minutes. No idea how Wilson got away with a two-footed lunge on Cogill.  

Positives; Lennon and Moore. Four games ago we looked like we'd at best be in a slog with Cowdenbeath and going into the three games with them under huge pressure. Today (unlike their opponents) they tried plenty to change the game in our favour. We started in a similar vein to the last three games (with Millar out wide) but after our initial burst of chances and good football ended, we put Millar through the middle and kept rotating the three midfielders behind them. Bringing on Boyle mixed it up further, then likewise with Grant coming on. An absolute wealth of experience between the two guys and their additions demonstrate that. 

Did we deserve to win? Well, the Berwick goalkeeper made four terrific saves; statistically you'd expect to get a goal from what amounted to five or six efforts on target. The last ten minutes were spent almost entirely in their half. Any good football (and there wasn't much) came from Clyde. All things considered, we probably did deserve it.

The new players can all play at this level. I'd be lying if I said I prefer Cogill to Stewart at left-back but he didn't do anything wrong today. He'll probably have benefited from playing a proper 90 minutes. Is he good enough in the air to play centre-half in this division?

McStay on the other hand stood out a mile in the first half. Technically good, clearly very well coached growing up. Played a great quick pass to Cuddihy for our first chance which was well saved, and had a terrific volley that was also well kept out. No doubt he tired and died out of the game after the break but I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the games coming up on better pitches. 

Boyle will get in the team at some point and not probably fall out of it but he does strike me as someone we'll need to play exclusively off a main striker, so it'll be interesting to see what we do if Kipre is any good. Grant again looks a decent player but you'd say he's more likely to be gunning for Nicoll's spot as the deepest midfielder. We know Gourlay will stick as first choice if he gets in and that Martin looked like a real threat in his brief cameo v Peterhead. Yet Currie, Cuddihy, Lamont, Nicoll, Goodwillie and others all deserve to stay in the team. Brilliant news for the manager and we should be able to circumnavigate the heavy run of fixtures with a bit of rotation.

As I said earlier, Nicoll was my best performer today. Two or three awful passes yes but Berwick didn't get past him. In fairness, today is exactly the sort of game where he should be man of the match; scrappy game in the mud, not a huge amount of quality in the centre of Berwick's midfield, plenty of direct passes.  McStay probably next best. Cuddihy did some good stuff , probably the only one with McStay who retained the ball well in tight spaces. Lamont who struggled to get involved. McNiff was great defensively, albeit against a striker who clearly is very raw.

I'm not really sure why Berwick were so uninterested in winning. Yes, they missed two/three players with injuries/suspensions but they're not really in any danger of going down, and  despite being at home they didn't ever really commit players forward. They got away with it at Broadwood, but didn't today.

[Sao Paulo]

Be surprised if Lang was injured. Showed no signs of it. Perfectly easy substitution to understand, for me. Forget how good each player is for a moment. Just recognise that when Lang sees that halfway mark, he looks inside or for a diagonal. His job, to him, is done. That's a player without an instinct to attack. When Duffie sees the halfway mark, he looks for a forward pass first and then looks to see if he can beat a man. I'm not going say he's good at it; I don't think he's very fit to be honest. But we've seen him do it and, given how desperately wasteful Lang was in the first-half, and how desperately in need of good-feed Goodie was, like I say, it was an easy substitution to understand.

As for Cogill, I'll just predict that if does get moved into the centre, nobody will long wonder whether he's good enough in the air to play there. Blatantly out of his comfort zone at left-back, and any follies followed from that. Whatever the case is, anyone who's resolved to think McNiff is good enough in the air to play there should be committed. Two games: Stranraer where he played out of skin and today, where he was barely challenged, stick in the memory as games in which he's won maybe 80% - 90% headers he should've. Otherwise? Probably looking at 50-60%. Used to be that you'd call that a bad centre-half. Don't know, maybe it passes muster now. 

[Only one David Marsh]

Lang did pick up an injury that's why he was subbed