SFL Div 1 Play-off Final, Second leg. Excelsior Stadium, 20/5/12

Where was the anguish? Where was the angst? In a way this was even more unreal than watching us live on TV. 2-0 up after about twenty minutes, scoring just before half-time, cake icing and tiki-taka in the second half? It doesn’t get better than this. Except I was tense up till the Airdrie lad’s sending-off. At the time I didn’t think it was more than a robust challenge but the TV replays showed he took James Creaney’s leg and both his boots’ studs were showing so the ref got it right.

Next season might be a struggle but I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m basking in this.

I actually first took a photo of the scoreboard at 1-3 but this superseded it.

Craig Dargo may have been official man of the match (and he did give us the platform to win the game with his two strikes) but I’d like to mention Tony Wallace. From coming into the team as essentially Kevin Nicoll’s understudy he has grown into the season and his performance yesterday boded well, even if once again Airdrie’s Paul Lovering may have conned the ref into getting him booked. The TV replay was inconclusive as to whether there had even been a foul in that incident – which looked innocuous to me at the time. But it was Tony who beautifully set up the third goal for Mark Gilhaney and so gave Airdrie an almost impossible task in the second half and Tony again who waltzed through their defence for the fourth after good work from Brian Prunty.

Stephen Grindlay had a couple of excellent saves and actually commanded his box a few times but still had two moments which revealed his bomb scare capabilities.

We could have punished them further but that would maybe have been unkind. Certainly we tried to score “cute” goals when 4-1 up but the efforts didn’t come off.

Airdrie looked plodding. Maybe their efforts against Ayr United and at The Rock had taken it out of them. But our lads put in a tough shift at Arbroath in the semi-final and were still fit and really up for this. Credit to the backroom staff as well then.

Finally, a curiosity. We have been promoted without a positive goal difference in the league. Has that ever happened to anyone before?

This is Sons promotion winning team of 1971-2 (photo shamelessly copied from Big Rab):-

See the final Scottish Second Division 1971/1972 league table here.

We somehow missed out in 1982 but made it up to the Premier out of sequence in 1984 before two relegations saw us in Div 2.

But in 1991-2 the Final Scottish Division Two 1991/1992 league table shows us promoted again.

League reconstruction demoted us soon enough but there was 1994-5 in consolation.

We then plummeted down the leagues until 2001-2.

We lasted four seasons before demotion again.

After the aberration of a championship in 2009 I didn’t dare to hope that this season ending in 2 we would be promoted again.

Today at New Broomfield the dream came true.

I’m just off to watch the (highlights? re-run?) on BBC Alba.

Edited to add:- Magic!

SFL Div 1 Play-off Final, First Leg, The Rock, 16/5/12

This was weird. It was totally unreal to watch my team – my diddy team – on live television, with the full treatment, build up – though that was short – replays, half time study on the manager etc. It was also unreal not to be shouting encouragement (or otherwise) during the game.

Anyway, Airdrie had most of the possession but didn’t really do much with it. The shots Stephen Grindlay had to save were mostly comfortable for him, their other efforts went high or wide. We did not play well, our passes too often went astray. Nerves, perhaps. We took the lead out of nothing, Brian Prunty finished it well, though. Then – total unreality – we scored with a free header from a free kick. Unlikely hero, Tony Wallace and a great delivery from Scott Agnew.

Airdrie’s Paul Lovering then conned the ref into booking Tony Wallace, who was perhaps still affected by that a few minutes later when he made the challenge the ref gave as a penalty. Even with the replays I was struggling to see a foul there.

I knew Grindlay would save it, unfortunately he didn’t block the rebound shot.

Second half not much happened, except Pat Walker was brought down by the keeper after he’d flicked the ball past him in the box but the ref wasn’t interested then near the death Prunty had a one-on-one which the keeper saved with his legs before Paul Nugent made the needless challenge that led to his second booking.

So we have it all to go through again on Sunday. I don’t think I could stand another 90 minutes of 0-0. It’s on a plastic pitch too, which you’d think would favour them.

The tension is mounting for tonight’s game.

It’ll be strange to watch the Sons on live TV instead of in the flesh.

These are a few photos I took at the last away game of the season proper at Forthbank Stadium, Stirling.

It’s traditional for the Sons fans, aka the Apache Army, to dress up for the last journey of the season. You can spot a few in fancy dress here.

This is the fans celebrating clinching third spot and a play-off place.

The players returned the tribute.

Not only will Wednesday night’s game be our first play-off final it will also be our first ever appearance on live TV.

Brush up your Gaelic, though. It’s on BBC Alba. See here for its availability.

To get through to Dumbarton on a midweek night and back again in a decent time would be pushing it for me. This news eases that dilemma. This week I won’t have the Europa League (sic) final to take my mind off things, I’ll have the Sons game itself.

SFL Div 1 play-off, second leg, Gayfield Stadium, 12/5/12. (Aggregate 1-2.)

Why do we do this to ourselves?

This was torture. As Onebrow said to me at the end, “That was the best and the worst 0-0 draw I’ve ever seen.”

Arbroath are the best footballing side I’ve seen this season (in the game at Gayfield on 10^thMar; Cowdenbeath, though, were the most effective.) In the first half here however they abandoned their measured approach and were much more direct.

The omens were clear inside five minutes. Alan Lithgow made a mistake allowing an attacker in on Stephen Grindlay, who forced him wide, but he still got his shot in. Lithgow had recovered to head it off the line. A goal then might have sunk us.

We were barely in it for twenty minutes, Arbroath having several shots/headers on goal – a one-on-one save by Stephen Grindlay and other efforts put wide, but gradually we managed to foray upfield. Craig Dargo was through on their keeper but took it just too far past him and had to turn it back from the bye-line but his cross in was poor. Prunty was then right through but the keeper deflected it for a corner.

Arbroath came out for the second half much more settled and started to stroke the ball about. There followed a succession of chances for them. It didn’t feel like backs to the wall stuff, though, we just couldn’t seem to pass the ball to our own players. Stephen Grindlay had a very good save from a free kick and then an unbelievable one from a close range header. He without doubt saved the jerseys, Dumbarton’s man of the match, no question. He rode his luck a few times, though, when coming for the ball.

The second half was excruciating, with us mostly not able to get out of our own half and unable to keep it for long when we did.

Edited to add:- I forgot to say Lithgow had one magnificent tackle when an Arbroath forward seemed right through.

Late on, in one of our few flurries, sub Pat Walker nutmegged a defender by the bye-line, crossed it in and Mark Gilhaney forced the keeper into a save.

There was still time after that for Arbroath to force a couple of corners. The final whistle was a relief and a release.

Given our defensive record this season it’s a minor miracle we managed to keep a clean sheet. This was a magnificent and remarkably disciplined effort (Kevin Nicoll’s booking apart) by the lads.

We have to do it all again on Wednesday and Sunday, though.

Edited to add:- I was drained at the end of this. I hope I’ll be as drained (in a good way) next Sunday!

Sons players celebrate:-

Sons fans celebrate.

Just to show what an unusual day it was here’s a man in his shirt sleeves at Gayfield. The sun was out for most of the game. Normally you have to be well wrapped up. The wind got up as usual, naturally. It’s a vintage Palermo shirt apparently.

Europa League* Final, Arena Națională, Bucharest, 9/5/12.

The difference here was in a striker who could fashion goals for himself from very unpromising situations (Madrid’s Falcao) and one who may have been carrying an injury (Bilbao’s Llorente) though Madrid’s defending contributed to the latter’s ineffectiveness. Bilbao laboured in the first half and, apart from Falcao, so did Madrid.

In the second, Bilbao had to chase the game and swarmed all over the Madrid half but weren’t able to create a clear cut opportunity – except once when Courtois made a great block. Bilbao also seemed unable to get enough width into their play.

Vulnerable to the break, Bilbao fell to the sucker punch from Madrid’s Diego, another goal created from an unpromising situation. It might have been better defended just the same.

Bilbao’s players are mostly young so may come again. Muniain, with his scurrying run and combative attitude, reminded me of ex-Son Andy Geggan (but an Andy Geggan who can play.)

Speaking of the Sons, a narrow 2-1 win over Arbroath last night makes Saturday’s second leg (with our rank record up there) very iffy.

*So-called.

Nerves are beginning to jangle as our play-off semi-final looms.

I’ll not be at the Rock tonight – the logistics were against me – but I hope that, at the very least, we haven’t already lost it before Saturday.

It’s 12-9 to Arbroath in our games so far this season (6-6 at the Rock) so a 0-0 draw is unlikely.

I’ll have the Europa League* final on the TV to take my mind off things, though.

*So-called.

SFL Div 2, The Rock, 5/5/12

Again I wasn’t at the game but this was a good win considering a lot of first team regulars were rested with the play-offs in mind.

Congratulations to Craig Dargo on his hat-trick and to Glen Thomson on his debut goal.

I note that the two goal margin means we didn’t finish the season on a negative goal difference. To do so while in third place would have been bizarre.

As it is it’s on to new territory. I doubt I’ll make Wednesday’s game but I have Gayfield pencilled in for Saturday. We don’t have a good record up there so we’ll need to get something midweek or we’re probably stuffed.