Montrose 1 Clyde 1: Clyde safe from losing place in senior football

A David Goodwillie goal gave the Bully Wee a first-half lead and, although the home side levelled near the end, the visitors held on.

In the end, Cowdenbeath’s 0-0 draw at Elgin meant Clyde would have stayed up anyway, at the end of a nerve-wracking afternoon.

Chances were few and far between in the early stages.

A defensive mistake from Montrose gave Goodwillie a chance but he only managed to loft the ball over from inside the six-yard box.

At the other end, Paul Watson sent a low effort wide of the far post and keeper Kyle Gourlay had to get down to keep out Chris Templeman’s strike.

But it was Clyde who broke through on 26 minutes, with Goodwillie netting from a Jon Paul McGovern assist. The goal was allowed to stand, despite vociferous home claims for handball.

Clyde continued to use the wind to their advantage before the break. Goodwillie curled wide from the edge of the box and Sean Higgins sent a volley over the top.

Montrose, chasing a promotion play-off, saw efforts from Gary Fraser, Graham Webster and Watson all saved by Gourlay.

But, with eight minutes to go they got the goal they needed as a scramable saw Templeman and Watson have shots blocked and Matty Smith smack the ball against a post before Templeman finally smashed home.

Goodwillie almost silenced the home support with an overhead kick which flashed past the far post but, in the end, as news filtered through from Elgin just before the final whistle, both teams achieved their objectives for the day.