This has shamelessly been nicked from 'Fourfourtwo' magazine but I thought it would be a decent way to take up a Thursday evening. Better than the Europa league anyway.... 1. Are you happy with your manager? Yes quite possibly the best manager we have ever had. 4th in the league and in the Scottish Cup quarter finals. A hero of a man who is doing an incredible job. 2) Advice you'd give your Manager Stick with the suits and perhaps break out the 'Dracula-esque' jacket again. Apart from that there is nothing I can think of. 3) One change you'd make at your club... Get rid of the majority of home fans,their moaning is unbearable. This is the greatest Sons side in recent years,enjoy it while it lasts! Some standing room behind the goals would be fantastic as well. 4) Terrace favourite: Bryan Prunty for his passion and desire,Chris Kane because he scores when he wants,Chris Turner is the best midfielder in the division or Andy (he was on 'The Chase' you know!) Graham. 5) Keep an eye out for...: Chris Kane will be playing for Scotland in the next few years if he continues scoring at his current rate. 6) Player you'd happily drive to another club... For the sake of his career Scott Smith,he was a cracking player last year but the form of Scott Linton and injuries have prevented him playing this year. 7) Opposition player you despise: Iain Russell because he always scores against us,Joe Cardle because he has a strange habit of falling over when nobody touches him or Iain Davidson at Dundee; jumps with his elbows and commits rash fouls but always seems to get away with it. 8 ) Opposition player you secretly admire...: Iain Russell,I would love to see him in a sons' shirt again. Mark Millar and Rory Loy at Falkirk always impress me as well. Cracking players. 9) Best away fans: The majority are silent at 'The Rock' but Queen of the South made a bit of noise despite it being December and a horrifically dull game so probably them. 10) Best away ground: Recreation Park, Alloa. Nice and close to the action, plenty of standing room and a KFC in the car park....oh and we always win! What is there not to like? 11) Tip for away fans: Prepare to go home disappointed. Also just park in the car park, it's a pound but you get a 50/50 draw ticket for that price. 12) Where will you finish? Who knows,I'll be happy with 7th but currently anywhere is possible. I'll go for 5th.
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This is widely recognised as the greatest Sons squad in recent memory so i thought i'd take the time to create a post in their honour. Firstly thanks to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to change the club from relegation certainties to play off challengers. When Ian Murray came in most fans were resigned to the idea of relegation now many grumble when we are only drawing at home! Secondly thanks must go to every single player who has pulled on a Sons shirt over this period of time,i thought about how best to do this and decided that a list of honour would be the best idea. So here it is,the complete list of players who have given us some of our best memories in recent history. The Dumbarton FC first division roll of honour:
Thank you to everyone above for the memories and here's hoping that there will be many more to come in the future! If we can keep the current squad together then maybe,just maybe next season a realistic tilt at the playoffs could be in order. The last 6 years have seen a magical turnaround at the club,we have gone from the bottom half of the old 3rd division to being in the top 20 teams in the country. The change in the club is remarkable however unlike teams like Gretna it has been built up slowly,over time without spending ludicrous amounts of money on players. Over the time we have been lucky enough to witness some terrific players,goals and games.games. Stevie Murray's wing wizardry and lob of the keeper from the half way line against Berwick, Denis McLaughlins 35 yarder against East Stirling in front of 359 people on the way to the division 3 title,Derek Carcary scoring 4 in the one game against Elgin,Bryan Prunty doing the same in a 0-6 win at East Fife,the playoff victory live on TV and last seasons great escape - arguably the greatest achievement out of them all. Here's to the next 6 years. At this rate Europe and a run at the SPL title must be approaching! That would be the only word to describe todays performance against Alloa at recreation park.
It was billed as a typical 'Six pointer' win and sons could find themselves in promotion play off contention,lose and they could find themselves at the wrong end of the table. The result couldn't have been more resounding or more comfortable. Ian Murray went with an unchanged team from the one that defeated Cowden at Central park last week. Sons started well and Chris 'Goal a game,scores when he wants' Kane was unlucky when his header from a Jordan Kirkpatrick corner clipped the bar before flying over. We didn't have to wait long for the opener however. Scott Lintons monstrous throw in was dealt with by the wasps defence allowing Mark McLaughlin to score his first goal for the club. The centre half was brave to knock the ball home in the crowded penalty area,the sons domination continued and a second goal arrived soon after in similar circumstances. Lintons throw a crowded penalty box,poor defending and Turner knocks the ball home,it was no more than we deserved. Alloa briefly threatned to mount a comeback with Caldwell turning well before shooting horrifically wide and Cawley forcing a terrific stop from Grindlay. This hope was extinguished just before half time,Kane sprinted into the box before being upended by Bain,referee Barry 'Booked the wrong player' Cook pointed straight to the spot. Kane stepped up and confidently knocked the ball into the net,it was never in doubt. Half Time- Alloa 0-3 Dumbarton Paul Hartley made a bold half time sub removing ex son and centre half Ben Gordon and replacing him with attacking midfielder Ryan McCord,it was a statement of intent from Hartley but one that had little effect on the game. On 68 minutes it looked destined to be four nil,Mark Gilhaney picked up Kanes ball and went round Bain before skying well over the bar with the net gaping. Moments later Alloa had hope Kevin Cawley slotting home beyond Grindlay from inside the penalty box. Five minutes later sons sealed the victory,Kane improving his goalscoring record to better than one a game by reacting quickest inside the box to stab home,the result was sealed late on through a Marco Van Basten esque wonderstrike from Jordan Kirkpatrick. It could've been more when Garry Fleming beat his man but shot just wide. Full time Alloa 1-5 Dumbarton A tremendous game and sons best result on the road since a 0-6 win against East Fife in 2011....we all know what happened that season,surely that couldn't happen this season....could it? Man of the Match- Chris Turner,it is hard to pick and individual but 'CT' was a cut above the rest faultless all game. Outstanding performance. Best post match strop- Paul Hartley,the toys well and truly left the pram of the ex Celtic midfield who resigned after the game. Special mention to- Colin Nish. I'm not his greatest fan but he is beginning to win me round,dominant in the air and rolled back the years. Shame he didn't get a goal to top things off. Game Queens Park v Dumbarton July 2013
First impressions: Lesser Hampden is a bizarre ground. Really strange. The famous white farmhouse which was up until recently the oldest used football building in the world still stands but it is dwarfed by Queens Parks new social club. This impressive building looks somewhat out of place especially when you notice the players emerge from a row of pretty shoddy looking beige portacabins. If you had images of Lesser Hampden being just like a mini version of the main stadium (like Barca Bs arena) then erase them now. It couldn't be further from the truth. View: Slightly obstructed. There are no seats in lesser Hampden,there's only a small bit of terracing next to the farmhouse or the grassy verge where i stood. Luckily it was an extremely warm July night and so i could sit on the grass but i noticed that other fans had brought fold away chairs with them and positioned them on the very summit of the verge,it looked as if they had came to partake in a spot of bird watching or maybe plane spotting. All that was missing was a plastic table and a glass of Pimms. The floodlights resemble scaffolding and there is also a massive green box both of which can obstruct your view (see photo) still you get what you pay for and i had paid nothing.....its still better view than Cappielow where i had to pay to stare at a wooden pole. (This rant is coming soon!) Programme: Non existent,this was after all a closed door friendly. Queens normal programme is excellent however,it loses marks on the lack of a glossy finish but more than makes up for it with colour throughout and plenty to read. Score :Queens Park 5 Dumbarton 4 (Agnew (3),Kirkpatrick). What a game. A total of four penalties (2 for each side),3 were dispatched Scott Agnews was saved before Agnew curled in a trademark free kick from 25 yards,Jordan Kirkpatrick,playing as a trialist made the scoreline more respectable. It was a strange game in which the defenders seemingly forgot how to defend. Still entertaining for a friendly and great value for money as well!. Is it a good away day?- It is unlikely that lesser Hampden will ever come up as an away day but should you be in Glasgow of sunny summer night then i can honestly think of no better way to spend it than watching a game at one of Scotland's most historic footballing venues. Game Stranraer v Dumbarton July 2013 First impressions: Stair park is a lovely ground. This is apparent as soon as it comes into sight,the ground is set in a well looked after public park containing a bandstand in the car park. This is the only time i can ever remember seeing a bandstand anywhere near a football stadium and certainly the first time i have seen one which isn't tarnished in graffiti. It appears the Stranraer 'mad squad' clearly respect and appreciate a good bandstand.....or maybe Stranraer don't have a 'Mad Squad',it doesn't seem like the sort of place which would. View: Perfect. It is hard to complain about the view,on entering the ground the fan has 5 options,Stand at the side of the pitch,sit in the large modern grandstand (not bandstand which is a shame),Stand in the shed behind the goal,or on the open terracing behind the other goal or sit in the old fashioned stand. It was July and following a 3hr car journey the last thing i wanted to do was sit down so i stood at the side of the pitch. Perfect view,a sunny day and a cup game against a lower league team. What could possibly go wrong? Programme: Again the bandstand theme re-emerges. The blues programme is called "Beyond the bandstand",nice touch. It is all paper with no glossy finish (something which always disappoints me!). However the content is excellent with a number of informative and well written articles. Its a good read.....as it has to be when you have a 3hr journey home to contend with. Score :Stranraer 4(Winter,Grehan,Aitken(pen),Aitken)-Dumbarton 2 (Fleming,K.Smith) Ok maybe the result could go slightly wrong... Is it a decent away day?: Yes,very. Stranraer has all the marks of a great away day,its far away and nice old fashioned ground and the home fans are all very decent people. Thoroughly recommended. My video of Stair Park is below. Thanks for reading this and more away days pages will be on soon! Following today's trip to Dens i will have visited every stadium in the championship this year,from later on this week i will start to write up a series of guides to the grounds (with photos and everything!). This will also include the cup games stadiums (Stair Park & Sheilfield) aswell as the friendly with Queens Park at lesser Hampden. As always thanks for visiting.
Its been a roller coaster. Season 2012/13 started with Dumbarton strong favourites for relegation. Pre season had not gone well with playoff stars Craig Dargo and Tony Wallace leaving and combative (hardman) midfielder Kevin Nicol picking up an injury that would leave him out until October. People sniggered at the signings Brechin City flop Jim Lister,junior(!) striker Garry Fleming and of course an inexperienced manager with a poor record of defending set pieces. It was no wonder we looked destined to the drop. Many predictors had us down before a ball was even kicked. It was going to be a long season.The season started as predicted by many a 4-1 humbling by Airdrie (only promoted due to the Rangers saga). The following weeks results didn't do much to help the cause,three successive 3-0 defeats to Cowden,Patrick Thistle and Morton. Then an improvement a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Dunfermline. Then something incredible happened a goal!,an own goal but a goal nonetheless!. Sons first goal in 360 hours of football. Lee Kilday the unlucky man. Then something even more incredible happened 2 GOALS!! IN THE SAME GAME. Surely this was it now,Dumbartons first victory of the season. Nope 89th and 96th minute goals from James Keatings rescued a point for Hamilton. This was tragic,small children left the ground in tears,so did most grown men. Next up was a visit to Livingston which ended in a spineless 5-0 defeat,(as if this wasn't bad enough debutant Chris Turner also missed a penalty!). A week later and Dumbarton had another away game in the east at Raith and injury time Bryan Prunty equaliser sealed a well deserved 2-2 draw. A week later and sons lost 2-0 at home to Falkirk. Adamson was dismissed having failed to win a game in the first division.And so the Jack Ross era began,and it began in devastating circumstances 2-0 up at home to Airdrie and seemingly cruising the diamonds pulled it back to 2-2. Steven McDougalls first sons goal put the home side 3-2 up and it stayed that way until the 90th minute. Disaster. We lost 3-4. Next up was a tricky away trip to Central park to face Cowdenbeath,Mark Gilhaney scored the only goal to win the game,despite Bryan Prunty having a penalty saved. It had taken until November but we finally had a win!. Unfortunately what goes up must come down and Dumbarton did with a bump....and then a thump. A 1-5 home defeat to Morton then a 4-0 loss to Dunfermline meant that newly appointed rookie boss Ian Murray had it all to prove.It took until December the 29th for the ex hibs captains first game but it was certainly worth waiting for. Seven goals,2 sendings off,a scored penalty at the third attempt and most importantly another victory!. Incredibly the new year started with a 3-0 thumping of top of the league Morton at Cappielow,a 0-1 defeat to Dunfermline failed to dampen the feeling of possible survival. Three wins in a row over Partick,Airdrie and Hamilton had the club off the bottom of the table. A 3-4 home defeat to Livingston followed ,however nothing could prepare the 1170 people for what they would witness the next week at Almondvale(or whatever its called now the Broadwood motor franchise company stadium or something). Four Minutes on the clock, Paul Mcginn swung in a ball from the right which was overhead bicycled in by Prunty. A 3-2 victory was marred by a horrific injury to number 1 Jamie Ewings who was stretchered off. Without their first choice keeper sons then went 5 games without a win slipping back into relegation trouble. The arrival into form of Paul McGinn seemed to spark sons back into life,an excellent comeback win from 3-1 down to Dunfermline,was followed by victories over Raith and Hamilton. With Jim Lister bagging a memorable hat-trick against the Starks park club. Fatigue began to kick in and 3 poor defeats saw the club drop back into the relegation trouble. A result against Scottish cup semi finalists Falkirk was badly needed. A Garry Fleming brace and a wonderful strike from Mark Gilhaney gave sons a well deserved victory. This began a 4 game unbeaten run which guaranteed safety. A comfortable 4-1 victory over Airdrie was followed up with a win over Cowden at Central Park. Scott Agnew scoring a memorable 40 yard lob. Finally the season ended with a 0-0 draw with champions Patrick Thistle.It had been a season that began with many monumental downs and ended with a huge number of memorable highs. One thing is for sure, the 2012/13 Dumbarton Football Club squad along with manager Ian Murray,assistant Jack Ross and coach Craig Gordon will go down as the best since the club moved to the Bet Butler stadium. Next season will be a challenge but a challenge which Scotland's best part time club will be ready and waiting to accomplish.
After an unbelievable rollercoaster of a season sons secured their first division status with a superb win over struggling Cowdenbeath. The game began scrappily with neither side really threatening ,however somewhat against the run of possession (if that counts) Cowden took the lead. Garry Flemings loose pass was picked up and the ball was played to CRAIG MOORE who sprinted in on goal and nutmegged Grindlay to send the small band of home fans wild. Sons didn't look disheartened however and forced a series of corner kicks but nothing came of them. Then after 31 minutes a moment of magic from SCOTT AGNEW levelled things. The ex Ayr united man picked up possession 35 yards out and somehow managed to lob keeper Thomas Flynn. Dumbarton looked a different team,as did cowden whose heads seem to go down.Steven McDougall fired in a pin point ball to the head of JIM LISTER whose looping header flew into the net for his 12 league goal of the season. From this moment on it only looked like one team was interested and it was of no surprise when the excellent McDougall drew a foul from the blue Brazil's player manager Colin Cameron . SCOTT AGNEW again stepped up and stroked the ball down the middle of the goal, for his 11th of the season. It was no more than the sons deserved and as half time came the many away fans were in a great mood. The second half went the same way as the first with sons dominating, Gilhaney,Agnew,Turner and McDougall all went close,before Ian Murray turned to Bryan Prunty. Dumbarton continued to dominate but could not extend their lead. Prunty and Andy Graham both missing good chances. Cowden gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 89th minute when Kyle Miller glanced home but they couldn't find an equaliser.Ref: Stephen Finnie frustrated the players and fans with a series of inconsistent calls,no huge mistakes however and got the penalty spot on 5\10Man of the Match: Its hard to look further than Scott Agnew,was at the heart of everything good for sons and scored a wondergoal,an almost flawless performance.Next up: Champions Patrick Thistle at what should be an excitable Bet Butler Stadium!
After a wee period of down time (due to a new phone where no app was available) the website will back and be getting updated for this weekend huge game at Cowdenbeath!
In what can only be described as the greatest comeback of the season Dumbarton overcame a struggling Dunfermline side who they hadn't beaten at East End Park in over 20 years. The game started slowly with neither teams really threatening in appalling footballing conditions. Sons had the ball in the net after 34 minutes however after Scott Agnew played in Nicky Phinn but much to the annoyance of the away fans the linesman had raised his flag. Only 6 minutes later and the fife side were in the lead, former East Fife striker Ryan Wallace burst through the centre of the sons defence before turning Paul McGinn twice and dispatching past the motionless Stephen Grindlay. Sons could have equalised immediately when McGinn crossed but Bryan Prunty headed just wide,and that's how it stayed until half time. The second half started quickly and,after 48 minutes Andy barrowman ran through before sliding a bobbling effort beyond the slow to react Grindlay. Dumbarton pulled a goal back immediately after that with Steven Mcdougall doing well to squeeze his shot over the crowded goal line. However only 5 minutes after that a (very) offside looking Ryan Wallace squared for Barrowman to notch his second. Game over thought most of the 3000 people inside the old stadium,they couldn't of been more wrong. Four minutes after te former Inverness strikers second sons pulled a goal back,and what a goal it was. Chris Turner smacking a wonderful volley from 25yards beyond the disparing dive of Gallacher. Then a further 4 minutes after that sons drew level. Great work down the right by Jim Lister set up Scott Agnew and the ex Hamilton man made no mistake with an accurate firm shot that flew beyond Gallacher. The game had in a 10 minute spell been turned completely on its head and more was to follow when,in the 84th minute a slick counter attack found its way to McDougall and the ex pars winger made no mistake,capping what will surely be called in the papers a 'Bittersweet double'. Sons saw out the remainder of the game and rode their luck slightly at times but were good value for the result.
Ref: Alan Muir had a very decent game,not booking too many player and letting the game flow,the same cannot be said for the main stand side linesman who gave what can only be described as some 'curious calls' 9/10. Man of the match: Chris Turner was exceptional throughout yesterday,a great goal and a tough tackle on Josh Falkingham what more could you ask for! Next up Raith (home) Wednesday kick off 7:45 |
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April 2020
CategoriesAuthorI'm Fraser, 22, Sons fan who is now living the dream of reporting on Dumbarton for the Lennox Herald. |