SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 28/3/26.

In the first half this was just like earlier in the season. We were awful.

Plus we were totally unable to cope with the wind being against us. We were also utterly disorganised at the back. That can be attributed to Ali Omar being away on international duty with Somalia and general lack of familiarity with playing in a back three. Alexander Smith was missed in midfield too – he was away with Scotland’s Under 17s.

The officials were woeful. The stand side linesman’s first contribution was to flag for a Forfar offside from a throw-in. Do they not even know the rules these days. The ref had to give a dropped ball when they finally twigged. Yet again we had a ref continually being conned by our opposition’s players making a meal of any challenges.

Their first goal was a penalty given when the ball hit Mark Durnan’s arm – which to my mind was in a natural position.* Their second was the result of a poor defensive mix-up.

The second half was a different proposition. Jack Duncan had come up front on for Kai Kirkpatrick in midfield. (Kai was apparently showing signs of concussion at half-time.) The switch meant a change in shape but what the new one was  – apart from Kristian Webster being pushed into midfield – was difficult to discern. However we were certainly more comfortable with the wind than against it.

After a few missed opportunities we finally got on the score sheet when Leighton McIntosh surged onto a through ball with the Forfar defence waitng for an offside against someone else. Leighton squeezed the ball past the keeper but it felt like it took an age to cross the line.

Our tails were up now though and after good work by Jack Duncan the ball was channelled to Adam Livingstone whose cross/shot was diverted into the net by Scott Honeyman.

What had looked to be a deflating afternoon turned out to be not much damage done.

We’re now ten points ahead of Edinburgh City with only fifteen left up for grabs.

But no chickens are being counted at Son of the Rock Acres.

*Having seen the highlights his arm may have been a bit extended but the ball was played from very close to him.

This follows on from Dumbarton P-P Stirling Albion on Tuesday night – a completely farcical call-off made only when the game referee turned up and had a look at the pitch.

Every Dumbarton fan knows that a strip of pitch on the stand side doesn’t get the sun, so how come the groundsman didn’t make efforts to alleviate this or call for an earlier inspection? (There’s history with the present groundsman, too complicated to go into here.)

At least today’s call-off was after a 10 am inspection and no fans, local or travelling, were inconvenienced by it.

However it does mean that the rearranged Stirling game (now due on Tuesday) – if it goes ahead – has become a must-not-lose since they managed to reduce the gap to two points after gaining a win in added time today. And they still have a game in hand.

SPFL Tier 4, Station Park, 14/1/23.

Well, this is a disappointment.

Mind you, you can’t expect to win a game when one of your centre-halves is sent off after 12 minutes. It also doesn’t help that he’s barely had a game in almost two years due to injury and the form of our other choices.

Plus Forfar have been our bogey team of late.

It would have been nice to extend our lead to seven points. As it is it could be down to one after the postponements get played. (Or worse if we lose to Stirling Albion.)

Free hit next week with our cup game against Kilmarnock.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 19/11/22.

It’s a funny old game, as Jimmy Greaves used to say.

We thumped the team that’s now third last week away but today at home we could only draw 2-2 with the team at the bottom.

We’ve played Forfar twice now and not managed to beat them.

It was a chance missed though as they had a man sent off early in the second half. Even so they still managed to go ahead for the second time but we quickly equalised – again for the second time. Gregg Wylde was our first scorer – his third in four games – with David Wilson getting our second.

But we’re still three points ahead of second place – and will be for a fortnight as it’s the Cup next week.

SPFL Tier 4, Station Park, 1/10/22.

Well; it wasn’t a defeat.

But it wasn’t a win either.

It seems we weren’t much in it early on but dominated the later stages.

Slightly worryingly it’s the first time we haven’t scored in the league this season.

The lead is now cut to five points.

But 22 points after 9 games is amazing. It’s 6 more than we’ve ever achieved in a ten team league before.

We’re at second-placed Stirling next Saturday and they’re on a good run.

I’d take the draw now.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 4/5/21.

Never underestimate the ability of a football club to put its fans through the wringer. 1-0 up, drawn back level, then 2-1 down and into despair, before 2-2 and then an injury time winner. The lead in this changed hands twice. That doesn’t happen often.

But where did this effort come from? We looked good early on, scored when we were on top, Jaime Wilson on the shoulder of the last defender (but in our own half!) running onto the through ball and putting it past the keeper with an early shot.

Then we fell out of it. Perhaps there was thought of holding onto the lead but the way we had been playing up to then we could and should have scored again.

Instead we were our own worst enemies failing to clear the ball properly before losing it and our defensive organisation. Admittedly Sam Ramsbottom had anotehr very good save just before that.)

The second half was mostly woeful, though, the tin lid being put on it when we lost the ball at our penalty area level and a looped hanging cross lured out Ramsbottom who couldn’t claim it and it was headed in.

There then seemed to be a grinding inevitablity to things and a limp surrender to relegation (okay, to the play-offs,) was unfolding. Then a Ross Forbes corner was hammered into the net by Morgyn Neill’s head (why had Forbes played all those short free-kicks earlier?) and the unlikeliest of comebacks was on.

Urgency had become the order of the day. As in the Forfar game last week the manager threw the kitchen sink at it with two late substitutions.

Fulfilled in fairy-tale fashion in the first minute of injury time when Ross Forbes hooked the ball into the area almost without looking. Jaime Wilson did not look favourite but he threw his head at the ball and buried it.

That’s the first time in the league this season we’ve scored more than twice and also the first time we’ve come from behind to score. It’s the first time we’ve gone behind and not lost.

I suppose that supplies some reason for hope if we do end up in the play-offs.

But that fate depends on how Clyde get on on Thursday.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 27/4/21.

Who would be a football fan?

This was excruciating.

We had a couple of bright moments in the first half but their keeper was never really troubled by them. And we had Sam Ramsbottom to thank for keeping it level with a very good save from a header from a corner.

The second half was totally forgettable till the last two minutes. Over the piece it’s up there with so many others this season as being the worst football match I’ve ever seen. Misplaced passes, miscontrols – I know the pitch is bumpy and needs a lot of rain to improve it but still.

We created nothing.

The subs didn’t help as we ended up with almost no midfield and five or six front men. This felt like a recipe for Forfar breaking upfield to score and indeed they could have tested Ramsbottom a few times but their final touch was missing.

It was easy to see why both teams were in trouble at the bottom of the table.

The game had 0-0 written all over it and was a dispiriting watch.

Ninety seconds of the ninety minutes were left when P J Crossan neatly got past his full back and crossed the ball. It ran behind a despairing lunge by a defender and fell to fellow-sub Conner Duthie who buried it. This was totally at odds with the rest of the game. A “get out of jail free” card.

The agony is now prolonged to Saturday and Tuesday.*

Why do they do it to us?

Why do we fans do it to ourselves?

*(Covid permitting, Clyde’s postponement tonight for one of their squad having a positive test puts the cat among the pigeons.

SPFL Tier 3, New Bayview, 24/4/21.

Well, not Dumbarton nil, but still no points.

At least Clyde also lost, which keeps us in touch with them.

Tuesday’s home game against Forfar really is a must win, though.

SPFL Tier 3, Broadwood Stadium, 15/4/21.

Well, I didn’t watch it (I had something else on last night) but this is a welcome win. A Nat Wedderburn header from a Ross Forbes free-kick was enough to give us the three points.

It takes us above Clyde before the last of the 18 home and away games on Tuesday.

Ours is a daunting prospect against Partick Thistle (who thumped Montrose 5-0 yesterday) while Clyde play bottom team Forfar.

Then it’s into the four games of the split. I suppose there’s more likelihood of us gaining some points from those since they will be versus the other teams in the bottom five but this is Dumbarton nil we’re talking about. One goal is usually enough to beat us.

SPFL Tier 3, Balmoral Stadium, 10/4/21.

Back to business as usual then. Dumbarton nil.

I wasn’t expecting anything from this game though.

Tuesday’s a big day for us even though we’re not playing as both Forfar and Clyde have a game then.

Then the big one on Thursday night, when we play Clyde at their place.

(But we could be four points behind them by then.)

Edited to add: It seems from a photo on Twitter (click to enlarge picture) that the ball didn’t cross the line for their goal.

Also from Pie and Bovril that we were as woeful as usual so we didn’t deserve to take anything from the game anyway.