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.)

Today is the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Dumbarton FC, first football Champions of Scotland and one of only seven teams whose names can be found on the Scottish Cup (as opposed to plinths below it.)

I obviously haven’t supported the Sons for that length of time. (It just feels like it.)

I wasn’t around for the glory days of those two League Championships in 1891 and 1892, nor the Scottish Cup (1883) and Festival of Britain St Mungo Quaich (1951) wins but I have witnessed seven promotions including three divisional championships, a Scottish Cup semi-final and a Challenge Cup final. Not bad for a diddy team.

Tomorrow’s home game against East Fife will be a special celebration day.

Congratulations to DFC on its anniversary.

The reward for Sons win at Clyde in Round 3 of the Scottish Cup on Saturday is an away draw against Kilmarnock.

Not a tie likely to see us progress I fear, but there should be a fairly decent share of gate money to be had.

Scottish Cup, Round 3, New Douglas Park, 26/11/22.

Not bad. An away win against a team in the league above is never shabby. (Even if Clyde fans are despondent about their side this season.)

From the sounds of it (on Pie and Bovril) we played really well in the first half and ought to have been out of sight. Two – nil at half time due to David Wilson and Ryan Wallace. Losing a goal midway through the second probably caused a bit of nerves but one in injury time by Ross MacLean makes the scoreline look comfortable.

We should be aproaching every game with confidence at the moment.

But this is Sons we’re talking about.

I wonder who we’ll get in Round 4.

Sons reward(?) for beating Cumnock on Friday is an away tie against Clyde in Round 3 of the Scottish Cup.

The 3rd round is scheduled to take place on the weekend of November 26^th but since Clyde are renting New Douglas Park, the home of Hamilton Accies, who have also been drawn at home, the date of the game has yet to be confirmed.

Scottish Cup, Round 2, Townhead Park, 21/10/22.

So to deepest, darkest (and wet) Ayrshire.

At least it was a win. Potential banana skin avoided.

But we made hard work of it.

We were on top for most of the first half with some neat approach play but only a Finlay Gray strike just off target to show for it before a leading arm challenge in the box resulted in a penalty. Carsy duly netted past the keeper. Not much else of note occurred before the break.

In the second half they came out more strongly (as was only to be expected) but we made the mistake of letting them back into it. From where I was up the other end – about three or four yards from their keeper at times – it looked to be a mistimed clearance gave them the ball and the equaliser was inevitable from then on.

I was now getting flashbacks to the play-off game at Ainslie Park last May. Not that Brett Long in our goal had too much to do, but still.

We started to press them in the latter stages, had several efforts just off target, but got a reward when Gregor Buchanan headed in after a corner was returned back across goal. He couldn’t really miss. I felt relief more than anything and reflected to myself that we stil hadn’t scored in open play since that one at Methil.

Then almost at the death we did, thanks to them giving the ball away to Finlay Gray. He rounded the keeper beautifully and slotted in.

In the hat for the next round.

Thankfully.

The draw for round two of the Scottish Cup was made earlier today.

In it we have been drawn to play Cumnock of the West of Scotland League Premier Division away on the weekend of Saturday 22^nd October.

We have never played Cumnock before.

This post’s title is the perennial cry of the lesser spotted Scottish football fan.

However, Saturday’s Scottish Cup game against Dundee largely hinged on a red card being shown to Ross MacLean for violent conduct as a frsult of which we played the whole second half with only ten men.

This red card has now been rescinded.

How we might have fared with a full complement on the park is of course unknowable. But given we pushed Dundee fairly hard with only ten men it’s a reasonable assumption that we could have done even better with eleven on the pitch.

The ref has perhaps cost us a place in the next round – and the revenue that would bring – and a possibly lucrative draw in that round (though Dundee got Peterhead away – a tie which could have been negotiated by us into a quarter-final.) We were punished for an offence that in effect never happened. He was seemingly due to be fourth official at a Tier 1 game tonight and is due to do the same at another on Saturday. It doesn’t seem equable.