Scottish Cup*, Round Four, The Rock, 18/1/25.

Well; a hammering was not what we needed from this.

A win and the sponsor money for reaching the next round and the possibility of an away draw against a big team to also help the coffers was required.

Only Craig McGuffie’s goal right at the death spared us a whitewash.

The rest of the season is going to be brutal experience. (Unless the manager throws caution to the wind, which isn’t his MO.)

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup

Sons’ reward for getting past Alloa Athletic in last weekend’s Third Round of the Scottish Cup* is a home tie against Airdrieonians to be played on the weekend of 18^th January.

Not the money spinner we hoped for but even though they’re in the league above us it’s still possibly winnable as they haven’t been going too well this season.

By the time the tie gets played all that could have changed of course.

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup

Scottish Cup*, Round Three, The Rock, 29/11/24

What a good result for our first game after entering administration. And we motored into it, two-nil up after thirteen minutes, three-nil in 39. Mohammed Niang, Jinky Hilton and Michael Ruth on the score sheet.

The copy book was blotted a bit by losing a goal just before half-time and another on 65 minutes but we held out for the win which puts us into the next round and gets us a bigger tranche of prize money.

There’s also the prospect of getting a Premiership team away from home and the potential of a big gate which wouldn’t do the finances any harm.

(Knowing our luck we’ll get the team placed lowest in the pyramid, Musselburgh Athletic, away instead.)

*Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

In the Third Round of this year’s Scottish Cup Sons have been drawn at home to Alloa Athletic. To be played on the weekend of 30/11/24.

This is a bit meh as they’re a reasonably familiar opponent and we’ll be playing them three more times in the league too. In fact we’ll meet them twice in a week as we have an away game against them the previous Saturday.

Sons’ opponents in this year’s League Cup, now called the Premier Sports Cup, will be Aberdeen, Airdrieonians, Queen of the South and East Kilbride.

We have played Aberdeen a few times recently in the Scottish Cup, Airdrie most recently when in SPFL Tier 3 but they are now a level higher, and we will be renewing acquaintance with Queen of the South in next season’s Tier 3. Unless it was in a friendly I can’t remember, Sons have never faced East Kilbride before. They won this season’s Lowland League but lost out to Stranraer in the play-off for SPFL membership. Depending on how the ties turn out this might be a new ground for me to see Sons play at.

Sons reward for our 5-4 extra time win over Annan Athletic on Saturday (a topsy-turvy game where we went two up, then one down then all square at 90 minutes before going one down again but recovering to score twice) in the Scottish Cup* is a home draw against Rangers in Round Four.

We were second last out of the hat (which nowadays is a perspex bowl) with only us and Rangers left.

We won’t win the tie so I would have preferred the game to have been away so that we would have a financial boost from the much bigger crowd that would have turned up to Ibrox but we’ll have to make the mostof what we’ve got.

*The Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

Sons’ reward for scraping through the Second Round of the Scottish Cup* on Saturday (3-2 in added time after being 2-0 down against Highland League side Banks O’Dee) is an away tie at Galabank, the ground of Annan Athletic.

Galabank is of course the site of that disastrous 6-0 defeat in the first leg of last season’s play-offs.

Let’s hope the score is less lopsided this time.

*Now the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

More from Dumbarton FC’s 150th Anniversary Exhibition.

Boghead was home to the Sons for 121 years. As well as featuring Boghead this board mentioned earlier grounds:-

Boghead’s later days and new stadium at The Rock:-

Temas from the 1880s – 1920s:-

1922 Bergen trip team and others from later in the Twentieth Century:-

Townhead Park is the home of Cumnock Juniors FC.

My visit here was the reason why we were in Ayrshire last October, Sons trip to Cumnock for the Second Round Scottish Cup game.

Centenary Gates, Townhead Park, Cumnock:-

Turntiles:-

Social club. To the extreme end of this can be seen the ramp down which players go to reach the pitch from the changing rooms:-

East end goalmouth:-

East Terrace:-

Looking north:-

View of main enclosure:-

Goal at west end:-

Looking east:-

George Morton Family enclosure:-

View from west end:-

Scottish Cup, Round 4, Rugby Park, 21/1/23.

Well. We held them for 90 minutes. Not bad, away to a team three divisions above us. The BBC gave Finlay Gray a better rating than any Kilmarnock player.

That late goal must have been a sickener for the players though.

But we avoided a potentially tiring 30 minutes of extra-time.

We can concentrate on the league now. (Famous last words.)