Arbroath lost ground on League Two leaders Forfar as this defeat saw them slump to fourth.
Despite twice coming from behind, the Gayfield men were undone by Peter MacDonald’s second-half winner, which saw the Bully Wee leapfrog their visitors.
Arbroath gaffer Dick Campbell may have taken some heart from his side’s spirit but had no doubt about the cause of this loss.
“You can’t defend like that and expect to win games,” he said.
“We played some decent football but we feel as if we’ve been mugged because we lost very poor goals.”
The Bully Wee went ahead through Scott Linton in six minutes, but a well-taken effort from Josh Skelly levelled matters.
The defending that upset Campbell saw them fall behind a second time. Dylan Easton’s corner found the visiting defenders static and Martin McNiff headed home.
Bobby Linn fired an unstoppable equaliser beyond home keeper John Gibson just before the break.
Play continued to flow from end to end on the restart but Clyde gradually claimed the initiative and looked the more likely to go on and find the winner.
Almost inevitably they needed a bit of help from the Arbroath defenders, who were marked absent as MacDonald raced clear on 71 minutes. The veteran striker made no mistake as he picked his spot from inside the area.
Campbell added: “We were in the game for long periods but poor defending has cost us.”
