SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 18/4/18.

Well the game made no material difference since Tuesday night’s result at St Mirren meant we couldn’t avoid ninth but it’s still disappointing that Dumbarton nil struck again.

Not encouraging for the last two league games and the play-offs.

And we started with a few players who have mostly been on the bench in the recent past and so shouldn’t have been too tired.

Gloom abounds.

Even if by some miracle we manage to stay up, next season is going to be a bigger struggle.

(I suspect that it’ll also be a struggle if we go down.)

SPFL Tier 2, Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, 14/4/18.

We started the game well enough, scored the opener – Andy Stirling skinning his man and cutting the ball back beautifully for Grant Gallacher to thump it into the net – but we didn’t hold on to it long enough. The equaliser was a great strike, but the guy took the ball up in midfield with no-one near him and no-one closing him down.

If we’d held on till half-time maybe things might have been different, but just before the break Craig Barr inexplicably switched off and didn’t chase the ball allowing Nathan Austin in to round Scott Gallacher and roll it into the net.

In the second half we fell right out of it and they started to walk through us. We looked tired. I suppose, as I always suspected they would, games have caught up with us. It’s not really a surprise to me that our first bad winter in this division has coincided with our worst performance in it. And the postponements due to the Challenge Cup run haven’t helped.

The introduction of Liam Burt and Mark Stewart improved us – why wasn’t Burt on from the start? He always looked capable of fashioning something and Mark Stewart was a bigger threat than Calum Gallagher had been – but we were three and four down by the time the subs were made.

At least we looked a bit of a goal threat for the early part of the game. The play-offs might be a stretch too far though.

Scottish Challenge Cup (Irn Bru Cup) Final, McDiarmid Park, 24/3/18.

I’m a bit deflated at the moment as I’m sure you can imagine. Football can be such a cruel game.

I made the fatal mistake of beginning to hope when Scott Gallacher made the penalty save with about seven minutes to go. But to lose it in the last gasp of injury time was harsh; especially on the players who’d worked so hard.

We had the better of the early exchanges, ranking up several corners (I can’t remember them getting even one in the whole game) and having a shot on target without really troubling the keeper. More worryingly they came into it towards half-time by which time the on target count had become 2-2.

They had more of the second half and did make Scott Gallacher handle the ball a few times. The nearest we came was with a Danny Handling shot which the keeper held. I noticed today that Handling has a terrible habit of turning back with the ball. Who was it back in the day who did that all the time. Paul Quinn? Robert Russell? Not Russell I think, much further back than him.

After his debut for Cyprus yesterday (the Sons’ first full international player since 1932) Froxy came on as a late sub but it was too late for him to affect the game much. The only free-kick he could attempt was from way too far out even for him.

Here’s a photo of my match ticket:-

Before entering the stand I took a few photos of the ground as it’s the first time I’ve been there. Through a frosted glass window I caught Sons’ manager Stevie Aitken in the dressing room probably trying to get a signal on his phone:-

I’m proud of the lads, they did well. But I’m gutted – for them and for me.

They’ll need to raise themselves for Tuesday night’s game now. At least most of the players who were unavailable for today should be in the squad.

This cup run has probably ruined our league season what with all the postponements. We don’t have a midweek free now until the last week of the season.

But when will be the next time Sons are in a national Cup Final?

SPFL Tier 2, Falkirk Football Stadium, 24/2/18.

Well it wasn’t a defeat, but it wasn’t a win and realistically, while for them it was a mustn’t lose, for us it was a must win.

And it could have been a lot worse. They hit the woodwork four times.

I’ve been resigned to the playoffs for weeks now. We’re not going to make up nine points, not to mention sixteen goals, in the twelve remaining games.

What’s really killed us though is that Brechin haven’t been taking points off the teams above us. The tenth placed side in our previous seasons in this division all managed that sometimes. Without that it’s a hard grind for a team like us.

Given the almost inevitability of us finishing ninth I’d have liked to see us play with a bit more ambition. When we did get forward in the last ten minutes or so we looked like we could have troubled them at the back. Still, I have to admire they way we defended. We might have ridden our luck a little but it was dogged.

Loanee Liam Burt certainly made a difference when he came on – as he did in Oswestry – and we looked sharper with Mark Stewart up front or in wide midfield. Sam Wardrop at right back also makes an enormous contribution. We badly missed him when he was out through injury.

Froxy didn’t make it on. I suppose Stevie Aitken thought that in a tight game his lack of defensive ability could have hurt us. I know he won the semi-final for us but he had a very poor clearance thereafter which almost gave them an equaliser. In a sense he’s a luxury player for us.

I still hope we have a more positive attitude on Tuesday night against Inverness though.

SPFL Tier 2, Caledonian Stadium, 16/12/17

Ah well. Good run over.

I wasn’t expecting much from this game. We’ve never so much as drawn up there, and only scored once. Mind you we’ve only ever been to the Caledonian Stadium twice before, both times on League Cup duty.

Still we could have done without losing to a team that leapfrogged us as a result.

Big game now next Saturday against Falkirk, who now have two games in hand over us.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 28/11/17.

I suppose a point against a team above us is not to be sniffed at but that’s two games in a row now we’ve failed to see the game out from a winning position. Then again we’re part-time and they’re full-time and we ussually don’t do as well in midweek fixtures.

It was good to see Greg Morrison get his name on the score sheet. He’s looked a bit lacking in confidence recently. A goal should help with that.

Pity Inverness C T thumped Brechin though. A draw there wouldn’t have been a calamity.

Since they’re top of the league I’m not expecting anything from Saturday’s game at St Mirren.

SPFL Tier 2, The Rock, 23/9/17.

A historic day at The Rock.

Sons’ first ever game against ICT at home – and our first ever win against them.

Our Dimitris (though he seems to have been dubbed Froxy) came up trumps again for the equaliser and Sam Wardrop chipped in with the winner.

So that’s nine points from seven games – only two shy of Morton. Two difficult ones against teams above us now though before the first quarter finishes.