SPFL Tier 4, K Park Community Stadium, 20/9/25.

A game of two halves.

But first, the K Park Community Stadium is a seriously awful place to watch a football match if you’re an away fan. We were confined to one end of the pitch in a small enclosure which had at most three steps up from pitch level and there was a net strung along the back of the pitch – presumably to prevent injury to spectators. Not an ideal view by any means.

Sons were awful in the first half. The home team seemed to have loads of room to play, with two wide men on their left getting two on one with Kristian Webster at right back far too often and also able to get down their right too easily.

Still, they didn’t force Shay Kelly into any kind of serious save. Then, on the stroke of half time they were given a penalty. This was up the other end from us Sons fans so whether it was justified or not I couldn’t say. Shay Kelly nearly got down to it but it had been struck too firmly.

The second half started much as the first had progressed then suddenly we came into it. This may have been because we had showed more urgency but seemed to coincide with Scott Tomlinson and Kai Kirkpatrick switching wings. Tomlinson began to interpret this as a licence to roam and was soon popping up all over the place in the attacking third. He missed a glorious chance to score, though by not hitting his shot early enough, then Kirkpatrick set up Dom Docherty beautifully but he opted for power rather than placement and blazed it over.

Then a fine move saw Tomlinson moving down the inside right channel before his shot beat the keeper.

It was nip and tuck from then on but East Kilbride ought to have scored at the death but somehow their attacker with only a touch required to put it in the net somehow managed to hit the ball backwards.

It was a much relieved set of Sons fans who greeted the final whistle as for all of the first half  a draw had seemed utterly unlikely.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock,* 30/8/25.

Like a fortnight ago against Elgin this was a display of the footballing black arts. They were diving and falling over at the slightest hint of contact and the referee was conned by it nearly every time. It’s the sort of thing we need to get wise to and maybe develop ourselves.

Nevertheless this was a result we deserved. We didn’t create anything like enough and I can barely remember an effort on goal barring Ally Roy’s header (straight at the keeper) from a Scott Tomlinson cross. Our goal came from a corner and seems to have been put into his own net by ex-Son Edin Lynch.

Their goals were too easily won, though given the ref’s performance I suppose our players were thinking any sort of tackle would be given as a foul, which indeed their penalty was given as. It didn’t look like much to me but in the box perhaps best avoided.

Despite some signs of Ally Roy and Leighton McIntosh forming a partnership up front, they were living off scraps. We need a creative midfield fast.

*Marbill Coaches Stadium

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock,* 16/08/25.

This was a brutal watch. From the start we were more or less on the back foot. Elgin hit the bar with almost their first foray upfield.

They took the lead half an hour in, the scorer given too much space and rifling it past Shay Kelly. I think their keeper only had to field one ball the whole half, a cross cum shot from Scott Tomlinson.

They were much more streetwise, falling over at any contact – and the ref didn’t see through them. Indeed he gave some baffling decisions all through the game, not least only a yellow card for what was in effect an assault on Dom Docherty who had to leave the pitch after lengthy treatment, nursing his shoulder. They were also time wasting from when they scored until we got the equaliser.

That came after about the only decent move we had all game, Leighton McIntosh getting down the right and crossing for Scott Honeyman to bundle it in. He fell over in the effort, I think it went in off his chest.

They had a succession of corners towards the end and I feared the worst. We also gave away a couple of silly free-kicks (well one of them was the ref being conned again.) The last was just outside the box. Their stepping over routine opened up the wall but Shay Kelly got down magnificently to touch it round the post.

Whatever else this game showed how difficult this season is going to be.

Edited to add: I meant to say it was the first time I’ve seen a goalkeeper penalised under the new eight second rule. Not Shay, the Elgin keeper.

*Marbill Coaches Stadium

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock,* 2/8/25.

So after the phoney war of the League Cup group stage (see Group E) comes the start of the league season.

It somehow seemed right that after the tribulations of last season this should begin with a win but it wasn’t easy. After they scored just before half-time – and then missed a sitter – it was always going to be a tense second half. But we saw it through.

We had only three players in our starting line-up who’d  been with us last season (and one of them, goalie Shay Kelly, only for a couple of months  at that) with one other on the bench. It’s going to take a while for the new ones to gel and we looked that way.

Clyde started brighter but we began to come into it. The turning point came with us getting a corner. Ryan Blair dropped it right onto Clyde keeper (and former Son, Jay Hogarth) who didn’t deal with it and Ally Roy headed it in.

The second was almost a carbon copy. Again Hogarth didn’t deal with the corner and Mark Durnan was credited with putting it in at the far post. On Clyde’s highlights though it looks as if he made no contact as the ball seems to hit the post and go in so it would be Ryan Blair’s goal.

In the second half we sat back too much and so Clyde had a lot of possession. Shay Kelly had two very good saves but apart from that they didn’t really threaten our goal. We had a couple of breakaways where a run of the green would have seen us score but generally we didn’t link up as well as is necessary. That may come.

Morgyn Neill at centre half seemed to really enjoy himself. Big-hearted, throwing himself to get the ball, rousing the crowd.

There were signs of there being a team in us. I hope they come to fruition. I don’t think I can be doing with many games where we’re hanging on like we were here.

*Edited to add: the Rock is now officially the Marbill Coaches Stadium.

Dumbarton Football Club yesterday announced that the takeover of the club by Canadian businessman Mario Lapointe has been confirmed by the administrators.

The club is therefore out of administration, much to the relief of Sons fans everywhere, who can now look forward to the new season with a degree of optimism.

There is still the matter of the five point deduction in the second season following administration to be overcome, though.

Sons’ games in the League Cup (Premier Sports Cup) have been scheduled for:-

Tuesday July 15 – Stirling Albion (H) 19:45

Saturday 19 July – Dunfermline Athletic (H) 15:00

Wednesday 23 July – Hearts (A) – 19:45

Saturday 26 July – Hamilton (A) – 15:00

According to the club’s website we have been drawn against Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical and Stirling Albion in this year’s League Cup (aka the Premier Sports Cup.)

Ties are to be played during July starting on July 12/13^th and finishing on July 26/27^th.

The administrators of Dumbarton FC have announced they have agreed terms of a deal to sell the club to a “Canadian entrepeneur and business owner,” Mario Lapointe, who “has a passion for sport, particularly football.”

From comments on Pie and Bovril on this page it seems the club’s history and iconic location played a large part in Mr Lapointe’s decision to invest in the club.

He also seems to have no illusions  about the club’s present place in the Scottish football landscape and its likely future one.

His main saving grace though is that he doesn’t appear to be interested in selling the ground for housing.

SPFL Tier 3, Ochilview, 3/5/25.

And so an utter car crash of a season comes to an end.

They were the better team, shifted the ball about well and scored early on. We didn’t start to come into it till later in the first half.

We got back into it from a corner nodded on by Mark Durnan to Matthew Shiels whose shot wasn’t cleared by their defence and ended up in the net. It was difficult to tell exactly what happened as we Sons fans were in the enclosure at the opposite end of the pitch.

Their second was hard luck on Shay Kelly in goal as he made a great point-blank save from the first effort but the rebound was put in off the post. (The guy almost put it past which would have been a shocking miss.)

So who knows how many of these players we will see again in a Sons shirt? Not Michael Ruth I would wager. He would provbably deserve a place in a Tier 2 team. Player of the year Mouhamed Niang might also be off. So might they all to be fair.

The deal for the Sons to be taken out of administration has fallen through “due to ill health.” (The article in the link is behind a pay wall.)

The administrators will now be talking to other possible buyers but presumably these won’t be proposing to pay the creditors in full, which makes resolving things more difficult.

We can only hope that there will be a successful bidder and that they will have the interests of the club at heart rather than building houses.

Edited to add:- The club website says the other bidders are understood to be football orientated which sounds promising. (The link also has a great pic of the stadium.)