Bell stops abuse hell

Published 26 Aug 2010 09:30 0 Comments

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By Kristian Truelsen - Clydebank 0 Renfrew 1

RENFREW keeper Kevin Bell couldn’t hide his delight at silencing the Clydebank boo boys as he kept his old club at bay.

Bell, who played for the Bankies five seasons ago, was given a volatile reception when he took to the field and received non-stop abuse from the Holm Park faithful.

But Bell had the last laugh as the Western Park side went home with three points in their league opener after Matt McLean fired home a second-half penalty.

The stopper revealed he had been given pelters every time he has played against his former club so he was delighted to help Renfrew secure the well-deserved win.

The former Rob Roy keeper said: “I’ve had that kind of reception every time I have played here since I left so I did expect it.

“But the abuse always spurs you on to do well. They are quick to rub it into you when you make a mistake so it’s good to get one over them when you win.

“Not many teams will go to Holm Park and come away with anything so we’re delighted with the three points.”

Clydebank put the visitors under serious pressure early on and Stevie Dymock came close to opening the scoring when his cool side-foot shot rattled the post in the second minute.

Renfrew were more of a threat later on in the half and Stephen Reid had their first clear-cut chance on 22 minutes when his long-range lob nearly caught out Stephan Gonet. But the Bankies keeper got back to gather the ball on his line.

Six minutes later David Gray’s free-kick on the edge of the box looked like it would find the net but his effort flew wide after taking a deflection off the wall.

Frew’s pressure was rewarded on 64 minutes when Tommy Martin brought down Reid with a reckless challenge in the box before McLean stepped up to blast home from the spot.

Clydebank nearly produced an instant reply as Dymock had a bullet header pushed onto the bar by Bell.

Clydebank’s hopes of a comeback ended when they went down to 10 men when Martin received his second yellow late on.

Renfrew boss Dougie Mitchell said: “We deserved what we got so I’m delighted.

“It’s a great start for us and Clydebank are one of the favourites for the league. The win shows we’ve go a bit of graft about us and we can build on it.”

Renfrew play Kilwinnging Rangers on Saturday at Western Park (kick-off 2pm).

This article appeared in The Gazette 25 Aug 10

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