7th May 2019 Edinburgh City v Clyde 0-1
First leg of the League Two play-offs so decided to head to Ainslie Park to watch Edinburgh City against Clyde. It should be a good match as Clyde finished second in the league and City third. The winners of this tie will face the winners of Annan v Stenhousemuir to decide who plays in League One next season. The only downside is that Clyde go into the game on a good run of form while City have dropped away over the last couple of months after a good start to the season. Malcolm had been going to come along to this game but I got a text saying he was unwell and could not attend. As Jim was off to Ayr v Inverness and Alex is still in Germany I was on my own tonight. Left the house at 18.30 and walked down to Ainslie Park. Generally Hearts season ticket holders get half-price admission to City matches but this concession did not apply to the play-offs so I had to fork out £14 to get in. After purchasing the good value programme for £2.50 I headed to the refreshment kiosk. The guy in front of me asked for a pie but when it arrived it looked like it had been cremated so he changed his mind and asked for a birdie which looked only slightly less well done. I decided to forgo food and asked instead for just a coffee. Eventually found a seat in the stand although it was close to the Clyde fans as the Edinburgh City 'ultras' had been moved to the Pilton end of the stand.
The City line-up was far from their preferred first team. Out through injury were Andrew Black, Liam Henderson, Allan Smith, Blair Henderson and Danny Galbraith along with long-term casualties Danny Handling and John Dunn. On Saturday City had chosen five of their under 20 side and a further three players who were also eligible for under 20 football against Stirling Albion. For tonights game other than the starting eleven only Gareth Rodger on the substitutes bench could be considered a first team squad member. Blair Henderson was presented with the tartan ball trophy before the start of the match as the top goalscorer in League Two this season and with thirty-eight goals in forty-seven games he would be missed tonight. Clyde made two changes to Saturday's side. The most recognisable player on their side was former Scotland striker David Goodwillie who is also their captain.
City started the game well and almost went ahead after four minutes. A free kick from the right by Craig Thomson was deflected to City centre-half Conrad Balatoni. Unfortunately his header from around the penalty spot hit the bar and bounced out of play. Clyde then came more into the game and scored after fifteen minutes. A through ball from Ally Love found David Goodwillie on the left hand side of the penalty area. He moved into the box where he was confronted by two defenders. Goodwillie cut the ball back into the centre of the penalty box to Kristoffer Syvertsen who took a touch and shot past Callum Antell in the City goal with possibly the aid of a slight deflection. The Norwegian forward played for Vindbjart FK in his home country and then CD Almuñécar City in Spain before signing for Clyde in October 2018. Clyde were on top now and Syvertsen had another opportunity after a low cross from Martin McNiff. However the strikers effort from around fifteen yards flew over the bar. Love then tried a shot from around twenty-five yards which Antell did well to tip over the bar for a corner. Antell's next involvement was more comical as he raced from goal to clear a long ball which was being shepherded back to goal by central defender Brad Donaldson. Antell completely mis-kicked his clearance from just inside in penalty box and the ball flew out of play for a corner to Clyde.
The second half was a more cagey affair as Clyde seemed to be content to hold onto their lead while City were unable to create clear chances to get back into the game. I was disappointed to hear the Clyde fans abusive chants towards City full-back Thomson. While he was playing with Hearts in 2011 he had been convicted of indecent behaviour towards two fourteen year old girls. He was convicted and as a result his contract with Hearts was ended when he was just breaking into the first team and being talked about as a future internationalist. He has done well to rebuild his career albeit he is now playing part-time football but the Clyde fans chants harked back to these offences. The chanting was certainly against the ground rules which state that disorderly conduct includes stirring up hatred based on sexual orientation or transgender identity. I know the stewards have a difficult job but surely these fans should have been warned to stop these chants. When you consider Clyde forward Goodwillie has been in a civil action on a rape charge and ordered to pay the victim compensation I don't think Clyde fans have any moral high ground here. After that rant back to the football. The game improved in the last fifteen minutes when firstly Josh Walker had a shot at goal from outside the box. Blair Currie in the Clyde goal parried the ball and Scott Shepherd of City was first to react but hit his close range shot against the bar. Shepherd was then played in on goal by another through ball. As he shaped to shoot he was challenged by Clyde centre-half Scott Ramsey and was unable to get a clean shot at goal and ended up clipping the post. As the game moved to a close City were throwing player upfield in attempt to equalise. As the game moved into injury time a Thomson free-kick found Shepherd unmarked in the box but he pulled his attempt across the face of the goal and out of play. I don't mean the last few sentences to be critical of Shepherd. He normally plays as second striker and although he has scored eight goals this season he cannot be considered as a 'natural' goalscorer like Blair Henderson. At 1-0 down City still have a chance to move to the play-off final in the second leg on Saturday but I think Clyde must now be favourites to go through.
On the final whistle I walked up to Ferry Road but the next bus was not due for twelve minutes. I walked along to Crewe Toll and caught a 24 to Lothian Road then walked along Fountainbridge arriving home at around 10.15.
The City line-up was far from their preferred first team. Out through injury were Andrew Black, Liam Henderson, Allan Smith, Blair Henderson and Danny Galbraith along with long-term casualties Danny Handling and John Dunn. On Saturday City had chosen five of their under 20 side and a further three players who were also eligible for under 20 football against Stirling Albion. For tonights game other than the starting eleven only Gareth Rodger on the substitutes bench could be considered a first team squad member. Blair Henderson was presented with the tartan ball trophy before the start of the match as the top goalscorer in League Two this season and with thirty-eight goals in forty-seven games he would be missed tonight. Clyde made two changes to Saturday's side. The most recognisable player on their side was former Scotland striker David Goodwillie who is also their captain.
City started the game well and almost went ahead after four minutes. A free kick from the right by Craig Thomson was deflected to City centre-half Conrad Balatoni. Unfortunately his header from around the penalty spot hit the bar and bounced out of play. Clyde then came more into the game and scored after fifteen minutes. A through ball from Ally Love found David Goodwillie on the left hand side of the penalty area. He moved into the box where he was confronted by two defenders. Goodwillie cut the ball back into the centre of the penalty box to Kristoffer Syvertsen who took a touch and shot past Callum Antell in the City goal with possibly the aid of a slight deflection. The Norwegian forward played for Vindbjart FK in his home country and then CD Almuñécar City in Spain before signing for Clyde in October 2018. Clyde were on top now and Syvertsen had another opportunity after a low cross from Martin McNiff. However the strikers effort from around fifteen yards flew over the bar. Love then tried a shot from around twenty-five yards which Antell did well to tip over the bar for a corner. Antell's next involvement was more comical as he raced from goal to clear a long ball which was being shepherded back to goal by central defender Brad Donaldson. Antell completely mis-kicked his clearance from just inside in penalty box and the ball flew out of play for a corner to Clyde.
The second half was a more cagey affair as Clyde seemed to be content to hold onto their lead while City were unable to create clear chances to get back into the game. I was disappointed to hear the Clyde fans abusive chants towards City full-back Thomson. While he was playing with Hearts in 2011 he had been convicted of indecent behaviour towards two fourteen year old girls. He was convicted and as a result his contract with Hearts was ended when he was just breaking into the first team and being talked about as a future internationalist. He has done well to rebuild his career albeit he is now playing part-time football but the Clyde fans chants harked back to these offences. The chanting was certainly against the ground rules which state that disorderly conduct includes stirring up hatred based on sexual orientation or transgender identity. I know the stewards have a difficult job but surely these fans should have been warned to stop these chants. When you consider Clyde forward Goodwillie has been in a civil action on a rape charge and ordered to pay the victim compensation I don't think Clyde fans have any moral high ground here. After that rant back to the football. The game improved in the last fifteen minutes when firstly Josh Walker had a shot at goal from outside the box. Blair Currie in the Clyde goal parried the ball and Scott Shepherd of City was first to react but hit his close range shot against the bar. Shepherd was then played in on goal by another through ball. As he shaped to shoot he was challenged by Clyde centre-half Scott Ramsey and was unable to get a clean shot at goal and ended up clipping the post. As the game moved to a close City were throwing player upfield in attempt to equalise. As the game moved into injury time a Thomson free-kick found Shepherd unmarked in the box but he pulled his attempt across the face of the goal and out of play. I don't mean the last few sentences to be critical of Shepherd. He normally plays as second striker and although he has scored eight goals this season he cannot be considered as a 'natural' goalscorer like Blair Henderson. At 1-0 down City still have a chance to move to the play-off final in the second leg on Saturday but I think Clyde must now be favourites to go through.
On the final whistle I walked up to Ferry Road but the next bus was not due for twelve minutes. I walked along to Crewe Toll and caught a 24 to Lothian Road then walked along Fountainbridge arriving home at around 10.15.
Teams
Edinburgh City: Antell, Thomson, McIntyre, Donaldson, Balatoni, Laird, Breen, Walker, Shepherd, Watson, Taylor
Subs: Newman, Diver
Clyde: Currie, Duffie, McNiff, Lang, Rumsby, Grant, Lamont, McStay, Goodwillie, Syvertsen, Love
Subs: Nicoll, Banks, Stewart.
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