SPFL tier 3, The Rock, 7/8/21.

We got away with this one.

After a brief early flurry where Edin Lynch ought perhaps to have hit the target on a rebound we mostly fell out of this, but when in possession we did look like we wanted to play football. (A blessed relief after the last two seasons.)

Nevertheless their first goal came a bit out of the blue when their forward looped a header back over Callum Erskine (deputising for an isolating Sam Ramsbottom.) For the rest of the first half we weren’t in it and Airdrie ought perhaps to have scored again, Connor Duthie cleared a shot off the line.

It seemed all over when the ref awarded them a penalty with the second half barely started. I’ve seen them given – and not given – but the guy slotted it.

The game changer came when Sam Wardrop was yellow-carded for the second time giving us a man advantage. Fron then on we had the majority of possession but didn’t really trouble their keeper till Ryan McGeever powered in a header from a corner to provide hope.

A few minutes after that Andy Geggan pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the box to drive it low into the corner and secure us a point.

There were some good signs here but if not for the sending-off we would most likely not have got back into this. Then again we didn’t quite have our full team out due to injuries.

Amazingly we’re still joint top of the table. Away to fellow four pointers Queen’s Park next week will be a tough one.

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, New Bayview, 1/2/20.

Well we threw this one away.

We had dominated the first few minutes and then they scored in their first attack, a clearance falling to former Son Scott Agnew whose shot took two deflections on its way past Conor Brennan who nevertheles looked slow to get down to it.

Their second was a joke. Instead of dealing with a loose ball at the edgeof the box, we stood off it and allowed their player to volley it home. They could have made it three when for the only time in the game they got a man in on goal but Brennan’s spread legs deflected the shot.

The lifeline came at the very end of the first half Morgyn Neill heading home a Joe McKee free-kick.

About fifteen minutes into the second half Stefan McCluskey chased down an East Fife defender forcing him into a mistake. McCluskey then set up new signing Robert Jones to finish neatly. We were all over them for the next ten minutes and then all that hard work was undone as we gave away a free-kick. Scott Agnew’s delivery was headed home too easily. All those tall guys in our side and we lose a goal like that. Again I thought Brennan might have positioned himself better.

It was all over when we conceded another free-kick not far outside the box. Just about everybody in the ground knew where Scott Agnew was going to place it – and he duly did.

Our defence in this one was a complete bomb-scare, totally unlike the display at Pittodrie two weeks ago. Misplaced passes in midfield didn’t help either.

Sam Wardrop at right back didn’t look like the player he was in his first spell at the club, Ross Forbes – back for a third or fourth time with us depending on what you count – didn’t, or couldn’t, impose himself. Robert Jones up front though was a success, despite his height very good with the ball at his feet and composed for his goal. Jai Quitongo came on when the game was lost but showed some nice close control and a few neat touches.

The most frustrating aspect of the game though was that East Fife didn’t have to work hard for their win and didn’t look much above us, if any at all.

Going forward we’ll need to hope the useless defending is eradicated and the new boys gel together. OtherWise it’s going to be a nervous few months.

Scottish League Cup* Group E, Galabank, 13/7/19.

A win! A win I wasn’t expecting – certainly not after only signing five of the players on show within the previous forty-eight hours.

But this ought to be tempered with caution. Annan were far from impressive even if they are only one tier below us. But compare last season’s equivalent game at Spartans – two tiers below us – where we only got a draw.

With nine new players starting I had no idea who was who to begin with – apart from Kyle Hutton and Stuart Carswell, the latter now Sons captain and the stand-out player on the park.

We had the better of the early stuff, several efforts on goal (Annan’s first did not arrive till 40 mins in – their second was only a couple of minutes later but both were wide of the mark; indeed, crosses aside, Jordan Pettigrew in Sons’ goal did not have a save to make in the entire game) and a lot of corners in our favour but I still never felt our defence was comfortable. Too many years watching Sons does that to you.

New right back Lewis Crawford – a local lad – was solid and got forward well, he had our first shot on goal but it was blocked and not long after a header which unfortunately was straight at the keeper. He’s no Sam Wardrop though. Rico Quitongo on the other flank seemed defensively sound and got forward too.

Paul Crossan (P J Crossan on the club’s squad list) looked effective on the wing, reminiscent of Andy Stirling in build. He cut inside well and looks to be an upgrade on Bobby Barr.
Ryan Tierney up front held the ball up impressively but whether he’ll be able to do it against better defenders remains to be seen. He took his goal well though. Neither of our front two is on the tall side but Tierney still managed to win quite a few balls in the air. Mati Zata in midfield, though, looked like a fish out of water, not really getting into the game at all.

An Annan fan sitting near me said to his mate sometime during the second half that Dumbarton looked organised. How that’s so is a miracle given our lack of time together or maybe it’s just a reflection of Annan’s lack in that regard. Or (at the risk of getting ahead of myself and despite Sons fans less than enthusiastic embrace of the signings so far) do we simply have better players than them?

Three games against teams in higher divisions now before the league starts. Make the most of the win.

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, 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.

SPFL Tier 2, Falkirk Stadium, 12/8/17.

Now this was a good point.

Falkirk may be below us at the moment but will undoubtedly finish much higher than we do. Plus they were astonishingly profligate in front of goal in the last few minutes. And given Morton’s result today it looks as if last week’s was a good point too.

Falkirk had most of the ball early on but didn’t do much with it. When we got it we weren’t particularly threatening either but all that changed when Craig Barr muscled onto a ball in midfield and fed David Wilson who played a great ball behind the middle last defender which Alistair Roy collected and proceeded to thump past the goalkeeper.

We do score some belters at this ground, Lewis Vaughan and Andy Stirling last season, Mitch Megginson in one of Ian Murray’s seasons. (And a few scramblers, Chris Kane and Archie Campbell among those.)

The eqauliser came when Sam Wardrop* got done out wide. The ensuing cross wasn’t picked up by our defence and Nathan Austin was trying to make space in the area when Mark Stewart made contact with his back. Silly. It gives the forward the chance to go over and the ref the chance to make the decision. Miles Hippolyte put it away.

Dougie Hill hit the bar from a corner but we spent the rest of the first half and most of the second standing off and allowing them the ball. A few close shaves and a couple of saves from Scott Gallacher – one with his face – meant we were still in with the chance of a point, though. The biggest cheer of the second half was ironic, when the referee finally gave a foul for Christian Nade who had been getting clambered over all afternoon without reward – at one point clattered into with malice aforethought but the challenge was deemed legal.

One point almost became three when a Nade flick-on fell to Stewart in the area but his shot was tipped over by the keeper.

There was still time for Falkirk to waste two good opportunities by screwing the ball wide, though.

My main thought during and after this game was what is the point of Mark Stewart? For the most part his positioning is decidedly odd. He huffs and puffs but that’s about all. His use of the ball was woeful at times.

We didn’t help ourselves at times with some poor passing but that may have been tired legs. We’ve got a midweek game in the Cup we never win in during the week. I hope the manager puts out a team composed of players who haven’t been getting a game; especially as its against a Colts team – who should never be near a senior competition.

*Edited to add. I see from SonsTV it was David Wilson who got done.