Dumbarton 2-1 The Spartans
Posted in Dumbarton FC at 12:00 on 15 May 2024
SPFL Tier Three Play-off Final, First Leg, The Rock, 14/5/24.
We started slowly (or Spartans started fast.) Then we began to come into the game. The weather was awful. I’m glad I decided not to make the long trip and opted for BBC Alba coverage instead.
Our first had an element of luck. Gallagher Lennon was definitely trying to cross the ball but the wind took it and made it into a “shot on target.” Their keeper really messed up his attempt to deal with it though. He ought to have pushed it over. As it was he simply pushed it into the area and Tony Wallace steamed in to put it past him.
The second by contrast was superb. Michael Ruth rolled his man and sprinted down the left hand side. His cross in was perfect for Finlay Gray to score. I’m not sure about our disallowed goal for offside. The TV didn’t have a conclusive angle. It did show though their centre half deliberately stamping on Michael Ruth at halfway. The ref was only eight yards away and looking right at it!
To rub salt in the wound that was the guy who scored their equaliser three minutes in to the second half. The randomness of football. He just stuck a leg at it.
From then on it was like water torture (even if the weather had improved.)
So it’s finely balanced for the second leg on Friday night. I don’t know if my nerves will stand it.
Tags: Finlay Gray, Gallagher Lennon, Michael Ruth, The Spartans, Tony Wallace
Janusz
16 May 2024 at 01:39
I took a look at the game on BBC Alba, the first time I’ve accessed that channel. The commentator switching from Gaelic to English for the benefit of interviewees was a surprise, and led me to wonder about the status of Gaelic education in Scotland. I’ll look into when I have time. Language switching among polyglots is something that interests me. Some polyglots are unable do it; others switch seamlessly in mid-sentence.
The blurred TV images were also a surprise, until I caught a glimpse of an unfortunate cameramen sitting exposed on a makeshift platform. The techie part of me wondered why they don’t use water-repellant glass. Or even old-fashioned wiper blades.
The coverage did answer one of the questions I’ve been meaning to ask you, which is whether Dumbarton FC has some kind of signature fanfare that’s played when the team takes the field.
jackdeighton
16 May 2024 at 19:18
Janusz,
BBC Alba is a dedicated Gaelic language channel with Gaelic speaking presenters. However most Scots – certainly most Lowland Scots – don’t speak it. I don’t. The average Scottish footballer turned pundit won’t do so either, hence the switching. There is no Gaelic language teaching in most Scottish schools except for those in Gaelic speaking areas – mostly the North-west and the Western Isles – but there still may be a school in Glasgow that does so for the children of Gaelic speakers who have moved for jobs.
I’ve never seen such a rain-spattered camera lens before. As to the glass itself, for most purposes water-repellence wouldn’t be required but sometimes the West of Scotland gets quite heavy rain.
Janusz
19 May 2024 at 11:24
The top two teams get promoted to League 1 and presumably the bottom two are relegated?
I lost touch with football and most other sports in the mid-60s. Rules have changed, names of positions have changed, and these days I need subtitles and a glossary to understand what the commentators are saying.
Before watching the first half of the Dumbarton vs Spartans game, the only games I’ve followed in recent years (= in recent decades) were those in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
jackdeighton
19 May 2024 at 14:57
Janusz,
Only the top team is promoted – and the bottom in the league above relegated – automatically. Second, third and fourth, and second bottom in the league above go into a four-team play-off system, with home and away games in two semi-finals and then the final.