McCormack's enthusiasm inspires Clyde to victory

Published on Sunday 6 December 2009 23:27

RECENTLY appointed Clyde manager John McCormack oversaw a second win of the season for the Bully Wee over Arbroath in his first full game in charge with his legendary enthusiasm seeing him kick every ball and cover every blade of grass as he darted about his technical area.

It was a vital triumph as the gap at the foot of the table was reduced to just one point in favour of the Gayfield men and came about in the dying seconds of the first half. Willie McLachlan curled in a freekick from the left wing that had strikers and defenders stretching to head the ball, only for it to creep in at the back post of its own accord with Darren Hill stranded on his line.

Former Dundee, Queen's Park and Morton manager McCormack said: "The most important thing was to get the points and I thought for long spells of the game the players went about their business really well. A bit of naivety crept in towards the end and that put us under a bit of pressure. It will take time to teach them how to consolidate in a game but the players are willing to learn."

Alloa jumped to third place thanks to a 2-0 win at East Fife, where home goalkeeper Mark Ridgers was at fault on the half-hour mark when he helped Gary Carroll's cross into his own net.

The on-loan Hearts man made amends, however, shortly afterwards when he kept out an Andy Scott spot kick.

Another loanee, Morton striker Iain Russell, secured the win with a smart finish just seven minutes before the end to leave manager Allan Maitland saying: "We deserved the win and whilst the first goal came from a mistake we had created loads of chances by then."

New Bayview manager Steve Crawford said: "Our lack of experience is hindering us as we lost our shape after losing a bad first goal. The better team won."