Sunday 13 July 2014

East Kilbride FC (1) v Clyde (4) (Pre-Season Friendly - 12/07/2014)


Tactics

(First-Half)



Ferguson’s eleven filled out a changeable formation the likes of which we’ve saw The Netherlands use at this year’s World Cup. At a glance it can resemble a 3-5-2, 4-3-3 or even a 3-4-3. Call it what you will. Having versatile players and being able to outnumber your opponents is crucial to the success of the formation and Clyde checked both of those boxes yesterday. There were signs of rehearsal, too.

Fitness

East Kilbride matched Clyde’s intensity for the opening twenty minutes or so but thereafter struggled to retain possession. As the cliché goes, the ball done a lot of the work for Clyde. Anchoring midfielder David Gray moved it around cleverly and allowed his team-mates to invest their energy in attacking East Kilbride.

Movement

Some looked for the ball more than others. Frances was Clyde’s most frequent exporter of possession from defence and showed up well. Ferguson took the baton from him frequently and more frequently still Kevin Watt disorganised East Kilbride’s backline by making runs across it. Scullion’s contribution to the match was negligible and easily bested by that of Daly and Graham in the second half.

Improvement?

(Team which finished the match).




Experience tells you not to read too much into a friendly match and so everything under this heading is qualified. The space through the middle of the pitch wasn’t heavily exploited by Sinclair or Sweeney. Very few runs up to or beyond the strikers were made and the burden of creativity rested heavily with Clyde’s forwards and wide-men. Hardly an undue burden against a side like East Kilbride but against stronger opponents some might ask why a side with three central midfielders leaves it to their forwards and wide-men to really turn the screw.


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