SPFL Tier 2, Dens Park, 28/12/13.

To be expected against the league leaders, I suppose – especially when we do not have a good record at Dens. I should have gone;* it’s very travellable for me but my son who lives nearby and would have made a great excuse for a Saturday afternoon trip to Dundee is away on holiday and I couldn’t face the thought of high winds (which were howling about Kirkcaldy this morning.)

Ah well. Given Cowden and Morton both lost not much harm done – except to the goal difference. Our next two games are against those two though and are big ones for us.

*Edited to add:-
Maybe it’s as well I didn’t. We seem to have had the ball over the line at 0-0 but neither the ref nor linesman gave it, even Dundee fans thought it was in apparently. If I’d been at the game I’d have been livid.

That’s the second game against Dundee this season the officials have maybe cost us.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 20/12/13

Well a home win will do nicely. Especially because it’s the first since August, was against a team in the top two and achieved without our two best midfielders. Scott Agnew is still out and Chris Turner didn’t recover from limping off at Stark’s Park on the 13^th.

I was surprised Jordan Kirkpatrick got a start today after being carried off last week. And Colin Rhyming Slang was on the bench.

Plus we gained ground on Cowdenbeath, Queen of the South and Livingston.

Maybe my gloom and doom of last week was misplaced.

(Maybe.)

SPFL Tier 2, Stark’s Park, 14/12/13

Not a good day for a game. High wind and driving rain for most of it.

Sons held their own in the first half yielding one chance which the guy blazed against the bar and over, while at the other end ours fell to Colin Nish (two headers wide and one shot right at the keeper) and another header – by whom it was too far away to see – that flashed past the post.

Second half we were on top and they broke away while sub Mitch Megginson and Mark Gilhaney were both on one side of the park and they exploited the space to score.

The sending off might have chaned the game but we got hopelessly out of shape (again!) and got caught three on one on the counter.

Late on Andy Graham played a great forward ball (he was our most incisive player all game – from centre half) to other sub Garry Fleming who swept it across for final sub Steven McDougall to score.

We should have got a draw from this but Raith had three real chances and took two of them. Pity most of ours fell to Colin Nish – whose name would make good rhyming slang. At one point he was unchalleged going for a high ball and still missed it.

Things everywhere did not go well for us. Jordan Kirkpatrick was our best player but was carried off injured in the first half and with all subs committed Chris Turner had to go off too meaning our midfield next week is probably going to look decidedly strange. Then Cowden go and win at Dens! You can’t trust anyone these days.

I’ve now got a very bad feeling about the season. Ian Murray’s going to be tested as a manager from here on in.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 7/12/13.

Well, Iain Russell didn’t fail it seems.

I have my doubts about us playing Wed-Sat. Tue-Sat gives more recocery time. I gather Ian Murray wants Wednesdays but the team is more likely to be jaded with the shorter break.

At least Morton and Cowdenbeath didn’t make ground on us, though Livingston and Queens both did.

Three games against teams at the top of the table coming up. Could be a rough December.

Scottish Cup, Round 3, The Rock, 2/11/13

I believe this is the first Scottish Cup match we’ve won for five years! Sounds like we dominated it.

I must admit, though, I’d have preferred a win last, compared to this, week.

I suppose we may get some money out of it if we get an away draw against a club with a biggish support.

I see Jordan Kirkpatrick scored twice. Goals from midfield are always welcome.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 26/10/13

First clean sheet*, first time we’ve failed to score.

It keeps us a win ahead of Cowdenbeath and put more space between ourselves and Morton.

Pity two other teams below us won though.

*Edited to add:- apart from the Albion Rovers game in the League Cup in August.

So, Cowdenbeath at home.

Once again we don’t get an easy one. In cups – especially the Scottish – we have a tendency to draw teams above us. (I know Cowden are below us at the moment but they’re in the same Division. We could have hoped for a Div below at least – even if that’s a banana skin.)

At least it wasn’t Hamilton again. That’s another thing that seems to happen often; getting drawn against the same teams as before – more often in the League or Challenge Cups though.

And it’s at home. But our home form has stuttered recently.

We’ll be sick of the sight of Cowdenbaeth at season’s end.

SPFL Tier 2, Central Park, 31/8/13.

Three points lost.

I didn’t see it coming at half time but we had this game won and were cruising midway through the second. Then it all fell apart.

The first half was formless, not helped by a blustery wind which got worse as the game went on.

Despite not threatening at all Cowdenbeath won two corners in the first quarter. In the conditions our passing game cried out for the shout, “Too much football, Dumbarton!” It’s obviously the way Ian Murray wants us to play though.

Their goal came after Andy Graham was pushed for pace as he chased a forward out right, failing to prevent the pass to the wing. When the ball came in a Cowden player was in space for the shot.

We eventually won three corners right at the end of the half but took no advantage.

Our two goals were belters, fine strikes from Chris Turner, one with each foot. The first the keeper seemed to have covered but it went through his hands. The second was even better; hit the net like a rocket.

Then came the fall. Last man Aaron Barry tried to be too clever and was robbed of the ball. The attacker was straight in on Jamie Ewings who had no chance with the shot.

We began to push for the win then and alarming gaps appeared at the back. This wasn’t helped by the substitution of Scott Agnew by Brian Prunty denuding the midfield.

I thought we’d dodged that bullet when Jamie Ewings saved a penalty late on but the lesson wasn’t learned, we were equally open in the next Cowden attack when they got the winner.

Three points lost but we hadn’t been creative enough. Apart from an early Scott Agnew free kick, which may have been creeping past, their keeper really only had the two goals to (fail to) save. And those were from long range strikes.

Had we actually won this we’d have been equal second on points.

As it is we’re only three points off bottom.

The game at Alloa on Sep 13^th now becomes a mustn’t lose.

Edited to add: This was my first look at both Colin Nish and Hugh Murray. The fact they’re not mentioned in the above post might tell you something.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 25/8/13

Well.

We don’t normally do league wins in August.

Having said that, it was only two seasons ago we humped East Fife 6-0 at their place on the 27^th (making up for the reverse score the year before.)

But this’ll do nicely.

The two new signings last week, Colin Nish and Hugh Murray, ought to add experience and know-how.

So far the only teams we’ve dropped points against are first and second!

Let’s keep it up at Cowdenbeath and Alloa now, two potentially tricky away games.

So sad to hear of the death of a true Sons legend, Hughie Gallacher.

Despite his relative lack of height – only 5′ 7″ – his goal scoring record for Dumbarton is outstanding, 205 goals in 231 games. That 205 is the club record for goals scored.

He was part of that late 1950s team over whom grown men drooled in nostalgia in later years and I actually saw him play – maybe in his first spell with the club but certainly in his second. (I was very young then.)

Hughie scored all four of Dumbarton’s goals in an amazing game at Gayfield in season 1958-9 when Dave Easson got all five for Arbroath.

One of my earliest Sons memories is of Hughie taking over in goal one game against Cowdenbeath – no substitutes at all, never mind goalies, in those days. He was pretty good at stopping them as I recall, but we still lost that game.

Hughie Gallacher: 26/11/1930-14/06/2013. So it goes.