Johnstone blown away by Bankies
Valiant Burgh were outclassed by experienced side
Johnstone ..........0 Clydebank..........5
Craig Ritchie
Johnstone Burgh became unstuck against top flight rivals Clydebank in their latest pre-season friendly.
Jamie McKim’s side were no match for Kieran McAnespie’s Bankies over the course of the 90 minutes but still gave a good account of themselves.
The two teams spent the opening 20 minutes attempting to suss one another out, with chances coming at both ends.
But the longer the half went on the more the visitors to Keanie Park started to come into the tie.
The deadlock was eventually broken 10 minutes before the interval as Nicky Little fired home his first goal since returning to the Bankies.
That was the way the scoreline remained heading into half-time, with Burgh pleased with the account they gave of themselves in the first half.
However, Clydebank turned it up a notch in the second half as they simply blew away their opponents to rack up the score.
The first chance of the second period fell to the visitors and they came within the woodwork of doubling their advantage on two occasions.
Half- time substitute Jordan Shelvey thought he had found the back of the Burgh net but his strike hit the bar. Captain Alan Vezza then smashed the post with the rebound in a sign of things to come.
Former Ross County striker Sean Higgins was instead the man to make it 2-0 with a sublime free kick which left the Burgh keeper with no chance.
Shelvey then made it 3-0 with a deft chip over the onrushing stopper to put the Bankies on easy street. Cammy McClair soon capitalised on a defensive mistake at the back to keep the goals coming with a cool finish, before Adam Ashgar rounded off the scoring with 15 minutes remaining as he lashed home from inside the box.
A Burgh spokesman said: “Congratulations to Clydebank on a fine victory, the 5-0 scoreline might suggest a one-sided game – but it was anything but.
“The young Burgh team matched the visitors for about an hour before their experience shone through. It was a valuable lesson for the Burgh team.”