Clydebank
Last updated : 17 January 2007 By Honestman
Ayr United's first ever match away to Clydebank was on 29th September 1917 at Clydeholm Park, the clubs home at the time and the result was a disappointing 3-1 defeat for Ayr.A Scottish Cup supplemental first round tie 2nd leg match on 6th September 1967 heralded Ayr's first match at Kilbowie Park, the home of Clydebank Football Club and a 4-2 win was attained by the Honest Men to take them through to the next round.
The first league match at Kilbowie against Clydebank happened a few months later on 23rd February 1968 when a 2-2 draw was the result. The Bankies were still trying to record their first home win against Ayr on 28th April 1969 but a 1-0 Ayr win in Ayr's promotion year ended that hope. That first win came in a Scottish League Cup match on 16th August 1972 when the second division Clydebank won 1-0 against their higher placed opponents.
The clubs lined up at Kilbowie Park on 9th August 1976 for a secon leg Anglo-Scottish Cup match which Ayr won 1-0 but it was not until the following season that a league match was again fought out between then. Having moved from the second division to the new Premier league in consecutive seasons, Clydebank lined up against Ayr on 17th December 1977 and were soundly beaten 2-0 by the Honest Men. The second match of that season at Kilbowie on 29th April 1978 ended with the same result.
Both clubs were relegated from the Premier league and the first division match for season 1978/79 ended with a 3-1 win for Bankies on 23rd December 1978 although Ayr won the match of 21st April 1979 by 1-0. Winning was more frequent for Bankies and a 1-0 win on 15th September 1979 was followed by a further 1-0 win by them on 12th January 1980. The following season a 2-1 win for Ayr on 20th September 1980 cheered up the away supporters.
Bankies had two wins in 1981/82 by 2-1 on 31st October 1981 and by 2-0 on 15th May 1982. The following season Ayr had a 1-0 win on 4th December 1982.
In season 1983/84 the home team beat Ayr 1-0 in a Scottish League Cup match on 27th August 1983 and won the league match of 8th October 1982 by 4-1 before going down 2-1 to Ayr on 11th February 1984. The next few seasons saw a combination of division changes and wins by Clydebank in the 5-1 and 4-1 order and it was not until 3rd March 1990 that Ayr next recorded a win - by 1-0. Season 1990/91 saw league and cup wins for Ayr and the following season league wins for Bankies. Ironically, to keep things all square, the two matches for season 1992/93 ended in 1-1 draws. Both clubs managed a win each the following season with a Bankies win and a draw in the matches at Kilbowie in season 1994/95. Relegation for Ayr ended the run of matches. First division matches resumed in 1998/99 and a Ferguson goal gave Ayr a single goal victory on 12th September 1998 although Bankies evened the score with a 2-1 win 27th April 1999 on what proved to be Ayr's last ever trip to Kilbowie Park.
Clydebank resigned from the league due to financial problems in the close season of 2002.
