New Bayview, 6/2/10

Or, as Onebrow put it to me after he scored their (and his) second, “Are we playing Stevie Crawford on his own?”

This was a good open game with both sides trying to go forward and something of a goal fest for the first quarter hour when I thought that it was going to be one of those goal-every-nine-minute fiascos.

We started off brightly with some good passing and movement but it was still something of a surprise when Ben Gordon headed in a corner unchallenged. East Fife hadn’t really threatened when they equalised. Our defence failed to clear properly and the ball was swept across the six yard line to where Crawford couldn’t miss.

Our second was a peach, a great pass from Ryan McStay hit on the half turn by Scott Chaplain. The third was pure Del Boy. He thoroughly outpaced the defence, rounded the keeper and seemed about to pass to an unmarked player in the box from near the by-line but instead thumped it into the net. A bit like one of his goals in the 6-0 against Elgin last season.

Their second was one of those great strikes you can’t do much about. I suppose Chris Smith might have got more depth on the clearing header but if it had fallen to anyone else it wouldn’t have been a goal. It was a brilliant volley, an internationalist’s goal.

With twenty minutes to go we started to fade badly. Ryan McStay in particular looked all in. Only to be expected I suppose with the lack of games recently. But we held out.

The ref had a good game, letting it flow and only reaching into his pocket in the last ten minutes, more or less when he was forced to. None of the offenders could quibble. He might have given E Fife a pen in the first half when Ben Gordon seemed all over one of their attackers but there was something similar he could have given us late on so it maybe evens out.

Scarily, we’re only seven points off top spot.

PS: I wish Dr Jan would catch the ball rather than punch it; he did this several times today and it gave me kittens every time. He’s a good shot stopper, though. He had one great tip-over in the first half.

The Rock, 23/1/10

Woo-hoo!

We haven’t played for over a month, we haven’t signed anybody in the transfer window- not even a loanee – our home form has been rubbish, yet we beat the league leaders.

I’m delighted. I was fearing three goals lost as per the early season norm.

I’d also heard the half-time on the radio and resigned myself to the defeat.

Well done the lads; and especially Roddy Hunter and Ross Clark who got the goals, though according to the BBC Derek Carcary was instrumental.

Dare we hope Ross Clark will get a regular game now and return to the form of this time last year?

To make it a better day the teams below us (except for Peterhead) lost or drew. Ground gained.

Well those who were hankering after it have certainly had their winter shutdown.

For clubs like Dumbarton it’s been like a close season this past month – only without the friendly matches.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

It seems Bolton Wanderers fans by and large want their new manager, Owen Coyle – a Sons legend, well, a fond memory – to usher in a new era of bright, expansive football to expunge memories of Gary Megson’s grafting and Sam Allardyce’s pragmatism. (We draw a veil over Sammy Lee’s tenure.)

While I’m all for bright, expansive, expressive football – Dumbarton have a tradition of being a passing side, not just lump it and run merchants – I don’t want it to be at the expense of our divisional status.

Allardyce managed to establish Bolton firmly in the Premier League and even qualified for Europe. Surely that, and the odd cup run, is the most a club of Bolton’s size and history can aspire to? It is arguably, overachieving (Nat Lofthouse and the 1950s FA Cup win notwithstanding.)

The style Coyle promoted at Burnley is by no means guaranteed to ensure their survival and might, indeed, still entail relegation.

Be careful what you wish for, my friends.

Both clubs may well be in the same division next year.

But which one?

Forthbank Stadium, 15/12/09

So we got the good result, then. And only three goals would have won it for us.

I’d have taken it before the game but going into the lead twice and losing it both times, the last with two minutes to go, is a bit of a kicker.

I couldn’t face the drive to Stirling so I started “watching” this on the BBC website when it was 1-1 and was immediately apprehensive. Our second goal was a nice bonus. Downer at the second equaliser, though.

But an away draw against the joint leaders can’t be bad. And up to fifth again.

The Rock, 12/12/09

I take the goals against predictor off for one league game and what happens?

We revert to early season type.

And it allowed Peterhead to climb above us on goal difference even though they lost.

Methinks the cup games have been too much of a distraction.

We’ve now got two difficult games against top four opponents to come. I’m not looking forward to them at all.

So: do we need to score four on Tuesday night to get a win? (A draw will be a good result.)

*Edited to add:-
Thanks to onebrow for letting me know I originally had the score wrong. (0-1. Must have been wishful thinking.)

The Rock, 8/12/09

Another welcome home win and it takes us above Peterhead to the dizzy heights of fifth.

It was a good result as they have an excellent record against us at our place; and at theirs come to that. (That link will be updated with last night’s result sometime I presume.)

It was probably a hairy second half, with only one goal as a cushion.

The club website says the penalty was dodgy. We’ll take it, though.

Scottish FA Cup 3^rd round replay. The Rock, 5/12/09.

It’s deja vu all over again.

No big, money-spinning game after all, then.

We kept them down to one goal but it’s disappointing that we couldn’t score against them in 270 minutes of football.

Back to the league survival grind on Tuesday night.

Scottish Cup 4^th round draw:-

Morton or Dumbarton v Celtic.

Big incentive to win the replay on Saturday.

That goes for Morton too, of course.

Either way I don’t hold out much hope of a long Cup run this year.

And my trip to Stirling has been rescheduled before Christmas, after all.

Once upon a time postponed matches weren’t required to be played in December or January. I suppose it helps prevent fixture build up.

December will be busy, though.

5 Dec 09 H Morton
8 Dec 09 H Peterhead
12 Dec 09 H East Fife
15 Dec 09 A Stirling Albion
19 Dec 09 H Alloa Athletic
26 Dec 09 A Clyde

Scottish FA Cup, Round 3, Cappielow Park, 28/11/09

This was a clean sheet against a team from a higher league who have scored nine goals in their past two games. A fair result, then.

But that’s 180 minutes we’ve played against Morton this season and not put the ball in the back of their net.

And there’s no Sons TV because of a ludicrous SFA contract with a certain broadcasting organisation. (Who probably haven’t and won’t broadcast any footage of the game.)

Plus my trip to Stirling next Saturday has been kiboshed by the replay.*

Looks like I’ll not be seeing the Sons again till Boxing Day.

*Time was there had to be 100 or more miles between the two clubs’ grounds before a Saturday Scottish Cup replay was sanctioned.