Annan Athletic will take an advantage into the second leg of their Scottish League One playoff final against Clyde on Friday night.
Peter Murphy's side recorded a 3-1 win when the two sides locked horns for the first leg on Tuesday evening, putting them in a strong position to secure promotion to the third tier of Scottish football.
Match preview
Clyde are aiming to keep hold of their position in Scottish League One, with a disappointing campaign seeing them finish in ninth spot in the table, picking up only 24 points from 26 matches.
James Duffy's side beat East Fife in the semi-finals of the playoffs to advance to the final, but they are in a tough position in the tie following their 3-1 loss in the first leg on Tuesday.
Clyde fell behind in the 18th minute of the match to Max Kilsby's goal before levelling in the 33rd minute through Euan Cameron, but the hosts then scored twice more through Kilsby and an own goal from Erik Sula.
The Glasgow outfit, who last featured in the top tier of Scottish football in 1975, are looking to avoid being relegated to Scottish League Two for the first time since the 2018-19 season, but they have a lot of work to do.
Annan, meanwhile, finished third in Scottish League Two this term, picking up 51 points from their 36 matches courtesy of a record of 14 wins, nine draws and 13 defeats.
Murphy's side faced second-placed Dumbarton in the semi-finals, recording a 6-0 aggregate success to ease their way into the final.
The Black and Golds are the favourites to secure promotion due to their result in the first leg, but they have found it difficult to show consistency on their travels in the league this season.
Indeed, Annan only won six of their 18 away league games during the 2022-23 campaign. That said, Clyde also found it tough on their own patch this term, winning only three of their 17 games, suffering eight losses in the process.
Team News
Martin Rennie came into the Clyde XI for the first leg after his extra-time winner against East Fife in the semi-finals, and the attacker should retain his spot in the side for this match.
Head coach Duffy is unlikely to alter his 4-5-1 formation, at least not from the start, so Conner Duthie and Cameron should continue in the wide areas for the home side.
Oliver McDonald is arguably the player pushing the hardest to break into the team following the first leg, although it would not be a surprise to see the 23-year-old on the bench once again.
Annan boss Murphy made wholesale changes for the second leg of the semi-final due to his side's comfortable position in the tie, but their key players were back for the first leg of the final.
Indeed, Steven Swinglehurst, Chris Johnston and William Gibson all returned to the side, with Thomas Goss and Aidan Smith again featuring as the front two, which will remain the case here.
Murphy is expected to name an unchanged side from Tuesday unless there are any fitness setbacks, with Kilsby starting fresh from his two-goal showing in the first leg.
Clyde possible starting lineup:
Mullen; Cuddihy, McLean, Sula, Craig; Cameron, Scullion, Roberts, Hynes, Duthie; Rennie
Annan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Fleming; Gibson, Muir, Swinglehurst, Kilsby; Johnston, Lyon, Docherty, Wallace; Goss, Smith
We say: Clyde 2-2 Annan Athletic
Clyde have given themselves a lot to do in the second leg, and we are finding it difficult to back them to turn the tie around. Annan were impressive on Tuesday evening and should have enough quality to finish the job in the second leg to advance to Scottish League One for the 2023-24 campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
