I see from the club website that ex-player and manager Bertie Auld has died.

He played for us in the ‘C’ division days of 1954-55 scoring three times and again in Division 2 in 1956-57 (eight goals.) His spell as manager came in 1988 – not the most successful in our history but by no means the worst.

Bertie’s time with the Sons was not his most famous nor long-lasting football achievement. He is among that select band of immortals known as the Lisbon Lions who won the European Cup in 1967 in that annus mirabilis for Glasgow Celtic. For that alone he will be remembered in Scotland as a giant of the game.

In all as a player he won that European Cup (and had another appearance in the final in 1970,) 5 Scottish League Championships, 3 Scottish Cups and 4 Scottish League Cups. With Birmingham City he was in an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final and won the football League Cup in 1962-3. Despite that pedigree he only ever gained three caps for Scotland (plus two more for the Scottish League.) As a manager he won the Scottish First Division twice; with Partick Thistle in 1975-6 and Hibernian in 1980-1.

His is a sad loss to Scottish football.

Robert (Bertie) Auld: 23/3/1938 – 14/11/2021. So it goes.

Scottish League Cup,* Group H, Firhill Stadium, 20/7/21.

I was away for the past two days (family business) so did not post on the result from Tuesday night. Not as big a gubbing as on Saturday but we had nearer to a full team out.

It seems we played quite well but lacked a cutting edge. (The first part of that sentence makes a welcome change.)

I suppose though we’ll need to wait for a week on Saturday and the league starting to see how things really are.

*Premier Sports Cup.

Scottish League Cup,* Group H, East End Park, 17/7/21.

Barring miracles it’s never going to be a good day when you lose a goal inside two minutes and then another after four. (That one came courtesy of former Son Dom Thomas.)

Needless to say miracles were not forthcoming. They were unlikely given our Covid and injury ravaged squad. The scoreline says it all.

At least we scored one, Ross MacLean getting his second of the season already.

Partick Thistle away on Tuesday night and then we can concentrate on the league. Maybe we’ll have a full complement of players to choose from by then.

*Premier Sports Cup

I was profoundly sad to read from the club’s website that the midfield inspiration of the Sons Second Division title winning team of 1971-72, the side which ended a fifty year absence from top flight football, Charlie Gallagher, has died. It is safe to say that without his promptings from midfield Sons may not have won promotion that year.

He was probably past his best when he joined the Sons from Celtic, with whom he’d been in the Lisbon Lions squad, mainly as an understudy to Bertie Auld, but was, according to the grey sage Bob Crampsey, much underrated. Nevertheless he gave that Sons team a creative midfield presence essential to its eventual success.

His displays included a magnificent performance in a 3-3 draw away at Partick Thistle in the League Cup quarter-final of 1970. We won the second leg 3-2. In the semi-final we drew 0-0 with Celtic (a team which had reached the European Cup final less than six months before) after extra time before losing the replay 4-3 in extra time after being 2-0 down in the 90 minutes. (In that extra time, at 2-2, one of their goals ought to have been disallowed for a crossed ball going out before coming back in. The linesman raised his flag but put it down again when the ball went in the net. After that goal they scored again and started to try to play keep ball. Once we got it back we did the same but then launched a counter attack up the left which ended with us scoring in a supreme get-it-up-ye moment.) Charlie played so well that it is said during the game Celtic’s manager Jock Stein told his team to “break that bastard’s legs.”

From that 71-72 promotion season I remember in particular Charlie’s free-kick against Alloa at Recreation Park – my first ever visit to the Recs. The goalie had lined up his wall and the ref was striding away towards his vantage point when Charlie carefully moved the ball aside about six inches. He then blasted it past the wall and the keeper for the only goal in a 1-0 win. (Vital at the end of the seaon, but all those wins were.)

This photo (taken from Pie and Bovril) shows Charlie about to score from a free-kick against Celtic in the Drybrough Cup (remember that?) Sons players also in frame are Johnny Graham and Kenny Wilson. Great days.

His skill from free kicks meant they were almost as good as penalties. In all Charlie scored 29 goals for the club.

He will forever be remembered as a club legend.

Charles Gallagher: 3/11/1940 – 11/7/2021. So it goes.

I forgot to post them here when the club put them up but Dumbarton’s Scottish League Cup* 2021/22 group stage fixtures are:

Saturday, July 10 – St Mirren (H, 3pm)
Tuesday, July 13 – Stenhousemuir (H, 7.45pm)
Saturday, July 17 – Dunfermline Athletic (A, 3pm)
Tuesday, July 20 – Partick Thistle (A, 7.45pm)

Four games in ten days – it’s a bit like the hectic end to last season.

The first is just over a month away!

*Now known as the Premier Sports Cup.

Gosh. This came round fast.

Sons have been drawn in a group with St Mirren, Dunfermline Athletic, Stenhousemuir and Partick Thistle in next season’s League Cup, now officially the Premier Sports Cup.

Thr group starts on Saturday July 10^th. That doesn’t leave much time for our new manager – whoever he may be (I assume it’ll be a he – to get players in. Four of last year’s squad have left as it is – twoof them for group opponents Stenhousemuir.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 20/4/21.

Dumbarton nil again.

But we looked fairly lively in the first half.

Unfortunately we lost Nat Wedderburn and Sam Wardrop* to injury before half time and the team’s balance was upset.

Couple that with Thistle upping the tempo in the second half and we were under the cosh for most of it.

We had Sam Ramsbottom to thank for not losing by more. He had two very good saves and another where Thistle claimed the ball had gone over the line but he scrambled it clear.

Their first came immediately after our best chance of the game when Adam Frizzell wriggled past three of their players on the edge of the box, shot hard but their keeper was very well positioned. From his clearance they scored and it was game over.

I thought Ross Forbes was poor on the set pieces tonight.

Four games to save the season.

Unless we can score that won’t happen.

*Sam took an elbow to the face but their guy only got a yellow card. If he’d been sent off we’d have had a man advantage for the second half. (Water; bridge.)

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, Falkirk Stadium, 30/3/21.

Well I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t see it at all. After Saturday I just wanted to crawl away into a darkened room so didn’t avail myself of Falkirk’s live stream. (It was £13.99 a pop too, A bit steep.)

From the comments on Pie and Bovril the Falkirk fans seem to think it’s their managers’ fault. (Yes they have two.)

They also said Sam Ramsbottom was man of the match. He apparently made four good saves. (Though one Falkirk fan disagrees, saying he only had one.)

The other surprising thing is that we scored. New boy Rabin Omar after a route one kick up the park according to the club website.

An unexpected and welcome point but we need three in every game at the minute.

Unfortunately Clyde won away at Peterhead so we’ve gone down a place, and they’ve got a game in hand on us too. Forfar got themselves a similarly unexpected point to ourselves at Partick.

Those losses at home in the past two league games are really hurting now.

Airdrieonians tomorrow night at home is the latest must win.

If we did it would put serious pressure on them.

So we most likely won’t.

The amended fixtures that will suposedly allow Tier 3 SPFL clubs to complete 18 games for this season have been published.

(After a top five/bottom five split a further four fixtures are proposed to make up a 22 game season – but only if every side has managed to fit the 18 game total in.)

Sons’ games are scheduled as follows:-

Saturday, March 20 – Forfar Athletic (H, 3pm)
Saturday, March 27 – Peterhead (H, 3pm)
Tuesday, March 30 – Falkirk (A, 7.45pm)
Thursday, April 1 – Airdrieonians (H, 7.45pm)
Tuesday, April 6 – Montrose (H, 7pm)
Thursday, April 8 – East Fife (H, 7pm)
Saturday, April 10 – Cove Rangers (A, 3pm)
Saturday, April 17 – Clyde (A, 3pm)
Tuesday, April 20 – Partick Thistle (H, 7.45pm)

To those has to be added the game against Huntly in the Scottish Cup on March 23 (ko 7.45 pm) and a possible tie beyond that if we win.

It’s some schedule, In fact it’s an insane schedule given that we have a less than threadbare squad and no hint of imminent signings.

The players will be dead on their feet by Apr 1 (5 games in 12 days.) There’s also 4 in the seven days Apr 3-10 if we’re in the next round of the Cup. That’s due on Sat Apr 3.