Clyde look set for the drop

ANY thoughts of Clyde escaping relegation must surely be gone as another abject display saw them slip 13 points behind Arbroath.

Despite having secured their first win of 2010 against East Fife followed by a good point away to Peterhead the Bully Wee looked a beaten side almost from the off.

With full backs Ally Park and Neil McGowan filling in at centre-half for the suspended Alan Lithgow and injured Willie Kinniburgh the defence has looked stronger but it was cruel fate that gave Arbroath the lead in just nine minutes.

Callum Booth crossed from the left and Bryan Scott's tame shot looked to be heading straight at Callum Reidford but took a horrible deflection off McGowan and spun in off the post.

His luck would run out soon after as his hamstring went chasing a loose ball and was replaced by Steven Rennie.

Steven Doris's through ball to Kenny McLean should have been the catalyst for a second but the midfielder go the ball caught up in his feet and his eventual toe poke was saved by Reidford.

At the other end only a could of speculative efforts by Alexandrs Gramovics kept Darren Hill interested, if untroubled.

On 32 minutes it was 2-0 and Clyde were the architects of their own downfall as Mitch Megginson grabbed a debut goal.

Marc McCulloch sliced a high ball forward, the bounce deceived Park and his weak back header allowed Megginson to nip in and the on-loan Aberdeen teenager slotted the ball past the despairing Reidford.

At half time Gramovics was replaced by his Latvian counterpart Dmitrijs Borisovs but it was Arbroath who still looked the more likely with only Reidford standing between Megginson and a second with a point blank shot.

John Stewart replaced Willie Sawyers and almost made an instant impact as he was the fulcrum in a nice move started by Adam Strachan to lay the ball into the path of Borisovs but his shot came off the post.

Arbroath dropped deeper and deeper as they protected their lead which invited Strachan to have a couple of efforts but a clever chip that just evaded the top corner is as close as he came.

Clyde host Alloa tonight (Wednesday) is a rearranged fixture before travelling to Stenhousemuir on Saturday. Defeats in both games will see them relegated if Arbroath win.

CLYDE: Reidford, Park, Cassidy, Wilson, McGowan, Stevenson, White (Higgins 73), McLachlan, Sawyers (Stewart 63), Gramovics (Borisovs 46), Strachan.

ARBROATH: Hill, McLean, McCulloch, Moyes, Rattray, McLaughlin, Doris, Redman, Megginson (Ross 83), Scott (Rennie 23).

Referee: Craig Charleston.

Attendance: 635.

News and Chronicle man of the match: Callum Reidford.