Having captured second place in the league with two cup finals still to play Lowland Development League U20’s head coach Jordan Woodford said he is “absolutely delighted” with his teams’ progress this season.
A commanding performance in their final league game of the season saw them beat Stirling Albion 6-0 at Forthbank Astro on Friday past (May 8), with goals coming from Man of Match Aeden Gilfedder (3), Archie Stone (2) and Max McArthur (1).
The result made it eleven games unbeaten in all competitions for the U20s as the curtain came down on their first season in the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland Development League.
Jordan said: “Overall this season I’ve been absolutely delighted with the players, it’s been a great achievement for them in their debut season in the Lowland.
“The thing that I find most impressive about it is, every single one of the players right up until the final game were disappointed with being in second.
“They had actually overachieved in terms of our objectives at the beginning of the season; we were looking at roughly a mid-table finish.”
Despite their exploits in the league there is no time for rest just yet, the young guns will have to raise their performance levels again over the coming weeks to complete their journeys in the Lowland league knockout cup and challenge cup respectively.
Jordan continued: “In terms of the cup competitions, that’s been sensational for us. I mean to take it to 2 finals is obviously huge and it shows the levels we’ve achieved.”
A good measure of just how far the U20’s have come over the course of this season, can be found in their performances against eventual League winners University of Stirling.
Earlier in the season Dumbarton experienced heavy defeats in Stirling in the league (1-4) and league cup (0-6).
After those games it would have been easy for Jordan and his players to fear them, but the belief that has been instilled in this team came to the fore in the following games (at Budhill), firstly in the league (1-1) then finally getting the win in the Challenge Cup semi-final (5-1).
So, what has been the catalyst for the team to go eleven games unbeaten this season?
Jordan answered: “These players have not just a want, but a need to win, they push themselves at every opportunity, they love to go and get one over on any team.
“They excel under pressure and when you have this level of players, if the mentality is right, they can go on these runs.”
The development pathway from the U20s to the first team squad is always open at Dumbarton, with first team manager Frank McKeown showing previously that he’s more than willing to give the youngsters a chance if they are good enough.
U20s players with first team appearances during the 2025/26 season were Aeden Gilfedder, Max McArthur and Derin Marshall, with Murray Nicol also featuring during the previous campaign.
Jordan continued: “The first team involvement is a massive benefit for us, the players get a major buzz off it.
“The exposure to seasoned pros and players that have been in the game a long time is naturally going to help bring levels up. You can see the difference when players go up, it does feed onto the players that haven’t had that opportunity yet.”
“The first of the Cup finals (Knockout Cup), will take place against Edinburgh City at Newtown Park, Bo’ness, this Friday coming (May 15, 7.45pm KO).
The second (Challenge Cup) will be held a week later (May 22, 7.45pm KO) at Ochilview Park, against Stirling Albion.
Winning any or both cups would give the U20s a massive confidence boost going into next season when they will be back playing in Dumbarton at The Rock sponsored by Marbill Coaches.
It would also mean the management and players can build on the amazing team spirit that’s already been created with some silverware in the cabinet.
Jordan isn’t taking anything for granted and he finished by saying: “If you had asked me at the beginning of the season, if we had the opportunity to win one trophy, I’d be absolutely delighted.
“It’ll be two very tough games and we’re going to have to be at our very best if we want to win either of the trophies, never mind both.”