It was a dreadful day at the office for Kevin Kelly’s side as they fell to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Vale of Clyde after putting in a very lacklustre performance that lacked quality all over. A McPherson screamer was all that could separate the teams on the day, putting an end to Buffs’ lengthy league unbeaten run.
Vale of Clyde were quicker out of the blocks and won the ball back straight from kick-off when they pressed Cammy Kerr and intercepted the midfielder’s pass. A series of Vale of Clyde throw-ins followed before a shot was unleashed from the edge of the box towards Brown’s goal, which was blocked by The Buffs rear-guard. There was a big Vale of Clyde appeal for a penalty as they thought the ball had struck the arm of Farrel, but the referee waved play on.
Soon after, The Buffs had their first chance of the game when Bryan Boylan ran down the left wing before crossing low into the box from the byline. Boylan’s cross ricocheted between McMahon and a Vale of Clyde defender before eventually falling to the feet of McMahon, who dragged his shot wide of the left post, missing one of Buffs’ biggest chances of the game.
Next it was Buffs’ turn for a penalty appeal when Dylan Duncan received the ball in the box before turning past his defender when he was seemingly tripped by opposition captain, McDevitt. Referee, Thomas Denholm took a few seconds to make his decision but eventually decided that no penalty would be given.
Duncan was amongst the action again when he drove in from the right wing past 2 players before he was brought down on the edge of the box for a free kick. Lamont stepped up to take the free kick, but his effort was fairly comfortably tipped over the bar by, goalkeeper, Gordon.
Action was few and far between in the first half, with neither side really being able to create any decent chances. The Buffs did probe the Vale of Clyde box with crosses, but Gordon was often able to come out and collect, denying the likes of Duncan and McMahon big chances. The biggest talking points of the half were probably the 2 penalty claims, with many failing to imagine the quality of the second half could be any worse than the first.
Jack McMahon had a great chance to open the scoring early in the second half when he got on the end of a lobbed through ball over the top of the Vale of Clyde defence. Jack tried to just lift the ball over Gordon, but the goalkeeper stood tall and tipped the ball over the bar.
Vale of Clyde were gifted their first chance of the half when Maccalman failed to deal with a loose ball on the halfway line, which allowed “The Tin Pail” to break forward. Some scrappy play eventually delivered the ball to the edge of the box, where it was powerfully volleyed towards goal, forcing Dylan Brown to pull off a great save as he tipped the ball over.
Finally, with under 10 minutes left on the clock, some quality was shown when Ciaran McPherson brilliantly bent a free kick into the top left corner, giving Brown absolutely no chance and his side the lead.
The Buffs did have a last chance to rescue a point when Hendry flicked on a Lamont free kick into the path of Boylan. An outstretched Boylan got a toe to the ball, deflecting it onto the bar. The ball then fell the way of Maccalman, whose strike struck the post before bouncing off the head of Gordon and harmlessly out for a corner.
It was a moment of brilliance from McPherson that won the game, with neither side probably feeling they had done enough to take all 3 points from the game. Kevin Kelly will need to ensure his side don’t put on another performance like that if he and his team have any aspirations of promotion this season. Next up for The Buffs is a journey on the road to face Rob Roy in another pivotal match in both clubs’ league campaigns.
