SPFL Tier Three Play-off Final, First Leg, The Rock, 14/5/24.

We started slowly (or Spartans started fast.) Then we began to come into the game. The weather was awful. I’m glad I decided not to make the long trip and opted for BBC Alba coverage instead.

Our first had an element of luck. Gallagher Lennon was definitely trying to cross the ball but the wind took it and made it into a “shot on target.” Their keeper really messed up his attempt to deal with it though. He ought to have pushed it over. As it was he simply pushed it into the area and Tony Wallace steamed in to put it past him.

The second by contrast was superb. Michael Ruth rolled his man and sprinted down the left hand side. His cross in was perfect for Finlay Gray to score. I’m not sure about our disallowed goal for offside. The TV didn’t have a conclusive angle. It did show though their centre half deliberately stamping on Michael Ruth at halfway. The ref was only eight yards away and looking right at it!

To rub salt in the wound that was the guy who scored their equaliser three minutes in to the second half. The randomness of football. He just stuck a leg at it.

From then on it was like water torture (even if the weather had improved.)

So it’s finely balanced for the second leg on Friday night. I don’t know if my nerves will stand it.

SPFL Tier 3 Play-off, Semi-final, First leg, The Rock, 07/04/24.

A pretty nerve-racking 90+ minutes all in all.

Unlike in the past two seasons’ play-offs we came out of the blocks quickly. Kalvin Orsi and Carlo Pignatiello were all over their left hand side and it was from their combination that Orsi put over a cross for Jinky Hilton to bury. We really ought to have gone on from there.

However, an attempted clearance by their left back bounced up onto his hand and fell for him to pass it up the wing. When their forward cut in I just knew he was going to score and he did indeed put it past Jay Hogarth’s right hand at the near post. Hogarth went down like the proverbial sack of potatoes. Were we too busy waiting on the handball call? (As I undertood the rules any touching of the ball by an attacker’s hand in the lead-up to a goal counted as handball. But who knows the handball laws these days?) Whatever, Manager Stevie Farrell was booked for his protest.

The first half from then on was a slog, noticeable only for Finlay Gray twice being chopped down – once off the ball which the ref and both linos completely missed, though the other was punished by a yellow card – and Kalvin Orsi suffering a set of studs high on his leg – an incident also somehow missed by the officials.

The second was also a slog. Towards the end James Graham came on and injected a bit of pace which resulted in a penalty being awarded to us. I was too far away to tell if it was justified. Comments on Pie & Bovril suggest it was. Whatever, the ref perhaps owed us one.

Tony Wallace kept his cool through the Stirling keeper’s almost Emiliano Martinez levels of sh**housery and out it away.

So, a slender lead to take into Saturday’s second leg at Forthbank.

Another nervy 90 (or even 120) minutes no doubt.

SPFL Tier 4, New Bayview*, 9/3/24.

Well; I wouldn’t have given you odds that the game would be this close after the first five minutes. Nathan Austin had scored from a loose ball after their player had waltzed through our left hand side and Jay Hogarth only partially blocked the shot. Austin then somehow managed to hit the post when another goal looked certain and then they hit the bar with a long range effort. Another 5-0 or 6-0 shellacking as on Tuesday night loooked very much on the cards.

Our main tactic seemed to be to lump it up to the small man. Michael Ruth is a decent hold-up player but he’s not the tallest guy on a pitch.

Towards the end of the half we settled down and began to create. A great Michael Ruth turn allowed him to get a shot away from among a few bodies but it was straight at the keeper. Then Finlay Gray worked himself into a one-on-one but his shot went past the post.

The first ten minutes of the second half were a total turn round. We were all over them. A nice interchange between Ryan Blair (on as a sub for a harshly booked but not very effective at left back Blair Malcolm) and Tony Wallace got the ball to Finlay Gray just outside the box. He killed the pass then blasted the ball into the het in almost the same movement.

Our next goal was entirely down to Michael Ruth’s selfless running. He chased down a ball he had no right to get, made the defender play it and then nicked the ball before sending it across the edge of the area.  Finlay Gray gave it a nice dummy (he probably got a call)  and Jinky Hilton stroked it past the keeper. Delirium in the away end.

It didn’t last; we conceded poorly from a corner. (Why we didn’t leave at least one man up on opposition corners I have no idea. If we had, the penalty area would have been less crowded with more chance to clear a ball and someone to play it to.)

East Fife were more into it late on and I got increasingly annoyed that our assistant manager, Frank McKeown, kept telling our players to slow the game down. We might have won the game if we’d gone for it. (We might not have but I’ll never know now.)

Late on Jay Hogarth pushed a swerving shot somewhat uncomfortably onto the bar. A stronger hand would have pushed it out for a corner and subsequent events might have taken a different turn. East Fife reworked the situation and the ball got crossed to Nathan Austin whose header looked savable but was only deflected into the net by Jay Hogarth’s hand, not pushed away. Another late goal lost. I don’t suppose any Dumbarton fan was surprised. We make a habit of it. As we do of no-one moving to create space at our throw-ins (but on that one we always have.)

It was my first look at Hogarth, Gallagher Lennon, Cian Newbury and Aaron Healy. They all seem to be a bit raw yet for the hurly-burly of our division. Marc Kelly and James Graham came on for the last few minutes. On that evidence Kelly is no Michael Ruth.

*Apparently now the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. Please yourselves.

SPFL Tier 4, the Rock, 23/12/23.

I was at this but haven’t got round to writing about it since I had a big birthday at the weekend and there was of course Christmas.

Clyde must have won the toss as they chose to change ends – no doubt to utilise the wind. It and the driving rain were atrocious throughout.

We started OK but soon fell out of it as Clyde were aided by the conditions. Harry Broun, in goal due to Brett Long’s long-term injury, had to face a one-on-one early on and manged to put the attacker off enough for the shot to go past the post.  Then we were awarded a penalty though no-one near where I was sitting had a clue what for. Handball most likely. Tony Wallace converted.

Harry Broun stood up to another one-on-one, blocking the shot. Our goal was leading a charmed life through a series of corners where the ball was being driven towards the goal by the wind but the equaliser came from an attacked cutting inside and hitting a shot from outside the box. Maybe Broun was unsighted but it looked potentially savable; but the shot shild never have been allowed.

We took the lead again when an Aron Lynas cross was deflected and looped over the keeper. But it didn’t last. Once again an attacker was allowed to cut towards goal and the despairing lunge caught his leg. Penalty to Clyde. 2-2.

I was having kittens every time they went up the park and especially at corners. The ball was somehow scrambled away several times. I was glad to get to half-time still level.

The second half was different. We basically controlled it without ever threatening their goal much. Sub Ryan Wallace livened things up a bit though and scored with a header from a cross.

A stramash from a corner led to Aron Lynas hitting the bar and then heading in our fourth.

That ought to have been it. 4-2 up and with the wind in our favour there ought to have been no way back for Clyde. But one of our party’s number then fatally said, “I wonder when was the last time we won 4-2 two games in  a row.” I pointed out there was still time, but that was because I was hoping for a fifth.

That didn’t happen. Their subs up front made a difference. Had we not had a scratch defence (a regular centre half plus a right back out and our usual left back shuffled to centre back for the game meant we missed our normal drive from the full back positions) then we might have coped. As it was their lad got free and fairly blasted the ball through Harry Broun. The strike was so ferocious and the conditions so poor but it was still a surprise he could have scored from the angle he had.

Clyde then sensed the draw and threw everything forward. Again our normal defence might have stopped their third equaliser. By that time it seemed almost inevitable they would score but it was still a poor one to lose.

That was a chance to catch Peterhead, who lost at home, and keep pace with Stenhousemuir spurned. The league is most likely gone now, even with just over half the season to go.

SPFL Tier 4, New Bayview, 11/11/23.

This is only the second time this season I have watched the mighty Sons of the Rock in action. But East Fife’s ground is only 7 or so miles away from where I live so it seemed only right to turn up.

We survived an early scare when Tony Wallace headed the ball but straight to an East Fife attacker for a one-on-one only for Brett Long in our goal to bail him out.

A minute or so later we took the lead a ball into the box reached Kalvin Orsi who poked it home for his first goal in 784 days.

Thereafter we kind of fell out of it for a while with East Fife knocking the ball about quite well but never really threatening. Then we had a spell where we had four great chances in about three minutes but East Fife’s keeper made one good and one magnificent save and there was a great last minute block to prevent us scoring again. We did get the ball in the net once more but it was chalked off for offside.

The second half was fairly uneventful. Our final balls were just a bit off. East Fife barely looked like scoring except for when Brett Long misjudged a situation, coming for a ball he was never going to get, and was left stranded. Enough defenders got back though to prevent a goal.

The fact that their keeper got their man of the match award kind of sums things up.

I must say Michael Ruth’s centre forward play was superb. He held up the ball and played others in. Sadly he didn’t get enough of the ball in the box to be able to score.We also had players actually showing for the ball at throw-ins. That is not the Dumbarton way.

The ref made some odd decisions. Par for the course these days.

Up front for East Fife Nathan Austin was a shadow of the player he used to be.

SFL Div 1 Play-off Final, Second leg. Excelsior Stadium, 20/5/12

Where was the anguish? Where was the angst? In a way this was even more unreal than watching us live on TV. 2-0 up after about twenty minutes, scoring just before half-time, cake icing and tiki-taka in the second half? It doesn’t get better than this. Except I was tense up till the Airdrie lad’s sending-off. At the time I didn’t think it was more than a robust challenge but the TV replays showed he took James Creaney’s leg and both his boots’ studs were showing so the ref got it right.

Next season might be a struggle but I’m not thinking about that right now. I’m basking in this.

I actually first took a photo of the scoreboard at 1-3 but this superseded it.

Craig Dargo may have been official man of the match (and he did give us the platform to win the game with his two strikes) but I’d like to mention Tony Wallace. From coming into the team as essentially Kevin Nicoll’s understudy he has grown into the season and his performance yesterday boded well, even if once again Airdrie’s Paul Lovering may have conned the ref into getting him booked. The TV replay was inconclusive as to whether there had even been a foul in that incident – which looked innocuous to me at the time. But it was Tony who beautifully set up the third goal for Mark Gilhaney and so gave Airdrie an almost impossible task in the second half and Tony again who waltzed through their defence for the fourth after good work from Brian Prunty.

Stephen Grindlay had a couple of excellent saves and actually commanded his box a few times but still had two moments which revealed his bomb scare capabilities.

We could have punished them further but that would maybe have been unkind. Certainly we tried to score “cute” goals when 4-1 up but the efforts didn’t come off.

Airdrie looked plodding. Maybe their efforts against Ayr United and at The Rock had taken it out of them. But our lads put in a tough shift at Arbroath in the semi-final and were still fit and really up for this. Credit to the backroom staff as well then.

Finally, a curiosity. We have been promoted without a positive goal difference in the league. Has that ever happened to anyone before?

SFL Div 1 Play-off Final, First Leg, The Rock, 16/5/12

This was weird. It was totally unreal to watch my team – my diddy team – on live television, with the full treatment, build up – though that was short – replays, half time study on the manager etc. It was also unreal not to be shouting encouragement (or otherwise) during the game.

Anyway, Airdrie had most of the possession but didn’t really do much with it. The shots Stephen Grindlay had to save were mostly comfortable for him, their other efforts went high or wide. We did not play well, our passes too often went astray. Nerves, perhaps. We took the lead out of nothing, Brian Prunty finished it well, though. Then – total unreality – we scored with a free header from a free kick. Unlikely hero, Tony Wallace and a great delivery from Scott Agnew.

Airdrie’s Paul Lovering then conned the ref into booking Tony Wallace, who was perhaps still affected by that a few minutes later when he made the challenge the ref gave as a penalty. Even with the replays I was struggling to see a foul there.

I knew Grindlay would save it, unfortunately he didn’t block the rebound shot.

Second half not much happened, except Pat Walker was brought down by the keeper after he’d flicked the ball past him in the box but the ref wasn’t interested then near the death Prunty had a one-on-one which the keeper saved with his legs before Paul Nugent made the needless challenge that led to his second booking.

So we have it all to go through again on Sunday. I don’t think I could stand another 90 minutes of 0-0. It’s on a plastic pitch too, which you’d think would favour them.

SFL Div 2, Ochilview Park, 11/2/12.

Incident packed – in the first half at least, when Stenny committed collective suicide. The first was when their centre half tackled Pat Walker just outside the box and the ref blew. I was too far away to be sure and when he reached in his pocket I thought he might be booking Pat for diving but it was a red for the defender for “preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity.” Fair enough, if it was a foul there was no other defender in a position to cover. Stenny’s manager was sent “to the stands” for his complaints here. (He spent the rest of the game running down to the wall surrounding the pitch to relay instructions to his players – and the officials paid not the slightest bit of attention to him. Being sent to the stands at Stenny is clearly not a punishment.)

A few minutes later, in what I thought was an accidental collision of heads the Stenny player fell to the ground hurt. Cue hordes of home players demanding a card for Martin Mcniff apparently believing an elbow had been used. I was directly in line with this and it hadn’t even looked a foul to me! The ref was well placed on the other side and he obviously didn’t see an elbow but as a result of the Stenny protests he showed McNiff a yellow. Former Son Andy Rodgers was booked for his protests and was lucky it wasn’t a red as he kept on complaining way after his yellow.

Stenny have previous in this regard, in the 1-1 game in our last promotion season they got Gary Wilson sent off in similar circumstances.

After that incident Stenny players were throwing themselves to the ground at the slightest pretext obviously hoping to even things up card-wise. Sadly the ref fell for more than a few of these efforts. Stenny’s no. 9 could have a great future from the 10 metre board in the swimming pool.

Tony Wallace then had a great chance but side footed it over.

The second act of Stenny madness came when Pat Walker won a corner off a defender who then made his dissent clear by throwing the ball away. There is absolutely no chance that it was a goal kick instead. The defender though, who had already been booked, threw the ball to the ground in disgust. The ref held his arms out wide as he gave the second yellow, followed by red, as if to say, “You haven’t given me a choice.”

The first goal was from a corner when we stopped fannying about with short ones and put in a cross which Alan Lithgow powered in. Not long after, Brian Prunty’s shot took a deflection and went past the keeper.

2-0 at half time and easy street? This is Dumbarton. You should know better.

Stenny made three chances in the second half more or less from nothing each time, two from Andy Rodgers, both well saved by Stephen Grindlay (who seems to have improved on crosses by the way and was otherwise untroubled except by the goal which was a great strike from the substitute – look out for it on Sons TV.)

We had a barrowload of chances and didn’t score any of them. The most prominent was when Prunty had a free header at a virtually open goal but somehow managed to head it back towards the keeper.

This was my first look at loanee Ross Finnie* – some nice touches but wrong decisions at times – and Ally Graham, who didn’t do much. As a result of the sendings-off we didn’t really need a midfield enforcer so it was a good game for Kevin Nicoll to miss through suspension.

But a game we should have put to bed quite easily ended up being a bit of a worry at the end due to the slim margin. And the possibility of improving our goal difference vis-á-vis Stenny was lost.

We’ll need to be sharper on Tuesday night at Forfar.

*Edited to add:- make that Ryan Finnie.