By Graeme McGill
Clyde were able to see out a 3-2 victory over Montrose in a thrilling clash at Broadwood.
The Bully Wee went into this game looking to stop a worrying trend of five consecutive defeats which had them second bottom in League One. Montrose meanwhile have had mixed luck this season. Seven points from the last 15 isn’t by any means a bad return considering the competitive nature of the league Stewart Petrie’s men find themselves in.
Petrie’s men are an exciting watch. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Clyde kicked off the afternoon and quickly went about making their presence felt with David Goodwillie latching onto a long ball on the left wing. His cross found Mark Lamont just outside of the box but he was hustled out of possession and Montrose cleared the danger.
Clyde had an early wake-up call with on-loan left back Matthew Shiels falling to meet the height requirements of making a headed clearance following a simple cross. The ball fell to the feet of Lewis Milne who had his shot smuggled out for a corner.
It was Clyde who drew first blood in the ninth minute with talisman Goodwillie picking the pocket of the Montrose right back Cammy Ballantyne, dribbling into the box, taking a touch to tee himself up before stroking the ball beyond the keeper and into the net.
The Clyde leader scored. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group via Getty Images)
Ballantyne looked to atone for his error after showing a good burst of pace to get into the Clyde box. His cutback however was snuffed out and cleared with relative ease.
As the game went on Montrose grew in stature and began to assert their dominance. Their pressure paid dividends in the 17th minute after Ballantyne struck the post and the resulting rebound was crossed into the box for Russell McLean to nod in at the far post.
Montrose seemed to have the wind back in their sails following their equaliser and forced a number of saves from Clyde stopper David Mitchell. Clyde would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle and have a chance to catch their breath as they spent the majority of the first half chasing Montrose.
Chasing shadows. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
The visitors started the second half the same way as they ended the first. Petrie’s men shelled the Clyde penalty box with cross after cross. It was one-way traffic as Montrose looked likely to score.
Completely against the run of play though, Goodwillie defied the laws of gravity to rise above everybody in the Montrose box and glance a header past a helpless Aaron Lennox following an easy cross from the left wing in the 59th minute.
Petrie responded by making a trio of substitutions following Clyde’s second goal. Liam Callaghan, Russel McLean and Harry Cochrane were taken off to make way for Sean Dillon, Craig Johnston and Paul Watson.
Montrose made changes. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
After going in front, Clyde committed themselves to keeping the door shut, absorbing pressure from the visitors who were growing increasingly frustrated at their inability to take the chances they were creating for themselves.
In the 69th minute half-time substitute Kristoffer Syvertsen played a cute ball in to Chris Mochrie who took his time at the edge of the box before uncorking a howitzer of an effort which left David Mitchell with no chance.
Following Montrose’s equaliser Clyde seemed to unwind a little and began playing out of their own half in search of taking the lead again. The spell following Mochrie’s goal saw the game go end to end.
The Tannadice youngster played his part. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group via Getty Images)
In the 80th minute Goodwillie had his hat-trick. A sensational solo run from Tom Lang took the ball to the edge of the penalty area. Lang elected to tee up Goodwillie who made no mistake in side footing the ball past the flailing Lennox and into the top right corner.
Montrose desperately chased an equaliser but Clyde managed to hold in with Mitchell making a plethora of top saves to ensure his team took all three points.