Preview Clyde

Betfred Cup (home) Saturday 14th November 2020, kick off 3.00pm behind closed doors at East End Park.

“No game is easy, no matter who you are playing against and what run of form they are in”. That is the view of Euan Murray who predicts Clyde will come to East End Park with a game plan that will major on feeding their target man. “David Goodwillie is a very good football player and we won’t underestimate them. We will make sure that we are up for the game, it’s no different from playing a Championship team.”

Dunfermline need one point to top the group but will have their eye on three points to top the group and become one of the four group winners who can still achieve maximum points and be seeded in the draw for the next round.

When Dunfermline and Clyde last met in the League Cup competition it was their first tie in thirty three years.  The most recent match was played in August 2010 but it wasn’t the easiest for Dunfermline who twice came back from behind to win 3-2.

Clyde`s last win at East End Park was more than 46 years ago, 23 visits back on 16th March 1974.  Their heaviest defeat was in 1964 when an Alex Ferguson hat trick sent the Bully Wee home on the end of a 7-2 drubbing. 

Milestones v Clyde (Home)

Last Victory | 24-08-2010 | W | 3-2 | League Cup
Last Defeat | 16-03-1974 | L | 2-3 | Division One
Best Victory | 19-09-2008 | W | 7-2 | Division One
Worst Defeat | 17-11-1951 | L | 3-7 | Division Two

Over the past twelve matches between Dunfermline and Clyde, the Pars have won eight, lost one with three games ending all square. 

Last Twelve Matches v Clyde

24-08-2010 | H | W | 3-2 | League Cup
09-05-2009 | H | D | 1-1 | Division One
15-03-2009 | A | W | 4-1 | Division One
10-01-2009 | H | W | 2-0 | Scottish Cup
20-12-2008 | H | D | 4-4 | Division One
04-10-2008 | A | W | 2-0 | Division One
12-04-2008 | H | W | 2-1 | Division One
23-02-2008 | A | W | 2-1 | Division One
08-12-2007 | H | D | 1-1 | Division One
22-09-2007 | A | L | 1-2 | Division One
05-09-2007 | A | W | 4-1 | Challenge Cup
24-02-2004 | A | W | 3-0 | Scottish Cup

League Cup Meetings

There have been eleven matches between Dunfermline and Clyde in the League Cup. Four have been won by Dunfermline, three by Clyde and four have been drawn.

The first encounter took place on 13th August 1955 at East End Park when newly promoted Athletic provided the shock result on the season’s opening day by totally outplaying the Scottish Cup holders. The crowd of 12,000 could hardly believe their eyes as the Pars, playing with a combination of power and speed, took Clyde to the cleaners.

Charlie Dickson scored twice as the Pars ran out 5-1 winners. Charlie missed the return fixture at Shawfield two weeks later since he had been called up for National Service. Clyde got some revenge with a 3-2 victory.

Harry Haddock, Archie Robertson and Tommy Ring were all fairly prominent Scottish internationalists and still in the Clyde team who faced Dunfermline in the 1959-1960 League Cup. A goalless draw at Shawfield was followed by a 4-1 defeat at East End Park in which another of Clyde’s Scottish caps, George Herd scored twice.

When the clubs met in 1968-1969 it was Dunfermline who were the Scottish Cup holders. On 17th August, goals from Barry Mitchell and Bert Paton ensured a 2-1 home win for the Pars but two weeks later the Bully Wee won 3-0. Stewart Kennedy stood in for the injured Bent Martin but the young goalkeeper’s one and only first-team appearance turned into a calamity as Harry Hood scored a hat-trick.

The following season Clyde were drawn in the same section as Dunfermline again but by then they had lost their top striker Harry Hood to Celtic and went on to appear in seven successive League Cup Finals. Both the 1969-1970 ties finished goalless.

Both clubs were in the Second Division when they next met on 29th August 1977. This season saw the first change in the competition’s format to a straightforward knock out although still played home and away.

The Last League Cup Meeting
Tuesday 24th August 2010, East End Park
Dunfermline 3 Clyde 2

Clyde scored with their first shot at goal.  It was Adam STRACHAN who sent the ball past Chris Smith with a well placed effort from the edge of the box with just under two minutes on the clock. The rest of the half was an extremely one sided affair but the Pars did not get back on level terms until two minutes before the break. Steven Bell headed down a Joe Cardle cross from the left and Andy KIRK finished to record his seventh goal of the season. 1-1

Everyone who expected the home team to run riot in the second half were in for a rude awakening. Certainly Dunfermline started like it was going to be just a matter of time and it was just 50 seconds until the goal but it was Clyde`s. A Cardle cross field ball for Woods was cut out by Strachan on the half way line. He raced off down the left and picked out McCUSKER who thrashed the ball beyond Smith from 15 yards.

With the match entered in its final quarter the home support were growing increasingly frustrated but that all changed when super sub Steven McDOUGALL rammed the ball home and the cup tie was back to all square.

With the threat of extra time looming there was relief when Willie Gibson`s 87th minute corner from the left was headed back from beyond the far post by Bell for KIRK to turn in at close range.

DUNFERMLINE: Chris Smith; Calum Woods, Andy Dowie, Alex Keddie, Austin McCann (c); Willie Gibson, Steven Bell, Alex Burke (Nick Phinn 75), Joe Cardle (Paul Willis 75); Andy Kirk, Pat Clarke (Steven McDougall 63)
SUBS NOT USED: Neil McGregor, Kyle Allison (GK)

CLYDE: John Charles Hutchison; Alistair Park, Ian Gray (Bryan Dingwall 87), Ross McMillan, Alan Lithgow, Murray Henderson, Kevin Finlayson, Marc McCusker (William Sawyers 75), Stuart Mills (Connor Stevenson 61), John Sweeney, Adam Strachan
SUBS NOT USED: Graham Girvan, Jordan Allan (GK)

Recent Form

The Pars are undefeated in their seven League and Betfred Cup matches this season.

DUNFERMLINE
Ayr United (A) D 0-0
Queen of the South (H) W 3-2
Alloa Athletic (A) W 4-1
Inverness Caley Thistle (H) W 3-1
Kilmarnock (A) W 3-0
Falkirk (H) W 2-0

CLYDE
Kilmarnock (H) L 0-2
Airdrieonians (A) L 0-5
Dumbarton (A) L 0-1
Peterhead (H) L 0-2
Partick Thistle (H) W 1-0
Falkirk (A) L 1-2
Dumbarton (H) W 3-2

Last Time Out

DUNFERMLINE (v Ayr United): Owain Fôn Williams: Lewis Mayo, Paul Watson, Euan Murray (c), Josh Edwards: Steven Whittaker: Fraser Murray (Ryan Dow 61), Kyle Turner (Iain Wilson 74), Kerr McInroy, Dom Thomas: Declan McManus (Kevin O’Hara 79).
SUBS NOT USED: Lewis McCann, Miller Fenton, Lucas Berry, Cammy Gill (GK)

CLYDE (v Kilmarnock): David Mitchell: Jamie Bain, Matthew Shiels, Martin McNiff, Scott Rumsby, Barry Cuddihy, Mark Lamont, David Goodwillie, Ally Love (Kristoffer Syvertsen 78), Ross Cunningham (Jay Henderson 64), Lloyd Robertson (Josh Jack 65).
SUBS NOT USED: Matej Vajs (GK)

The referee will be David Dickinson, his first time in charge of a Dunfermline match.

Other Group Match
Kilmarnock v Dumbarton

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