Monday 19th September 2016
SATURDAY may have been the day Andy Stirling had been planning for some time.
A goal and a man of the match award against the team who told him five years ago he was no longer needed.
The only thing missing was two points.
Andy put Dumbarton ahead against St Mirren on Saturday, but had to settle for a share of the points against his former club, who equalised late in the first half.
As well as having scored his first goal for Sons, he also left the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium with the man of the match whisky from the Sons Supporters Trust.
He knew where that was going – and despite missing out on victory, he hopes that the game can prove to be a point gained come the end of the season rather than two lost.
He said: “I enjoyed it. It’s nice to get my first goal for the club and hopefully it can get me a regular place in the starting line-up.
“It certainly can’t do any damage.
“I’d have liked it to have been a winning goal, but every point adds up at the end of the season and today’s could be an important one.
“I would say we deserved to win it, but St Mirren had their chances. It was a bit of a scrappy game but we had opportunities of our own which we could have taken.
“We will take a draw and move on.
“I’ll give the whisky to my dad – I’m sure he will finish it tonight!”
Saturday’s draw had manager Stevie Aitken commenting on how the breaks weren’t going Sons’ way, a statement Andy endorsed in an attacking sense.
The Buddies match was his first start in the league since the 1-1 draw at Morton, and he now hopes that he’s earned another one at Raith Rovers this Saturday.
With the Kirkcaldy side having lost all of their last three games, Andy is aware of the opportunity that awaits.
Neither Sons nor their opponents have scored more than once in any of the last six games.
He added: “We’ve had our chances to score, but at the other end of the pitch we’ve had some breaks. I would like to think that we’ll start getting some at the other end.
“More importantly, I need to cement my place in the team.
“Positions are up for grabs now. We have a good squad and everybody needs to show why they should be playing.
“We’ve competed against every team in the league so far. Up until recently Raith have been doing really well, but it’s a 90-minute game and we know anything can happen.
“The lack of goals in our games shows we are doing well defensively. We are only letting in one goal here and there.
“We just need to add a few at the other end, and hopefully we can start doing that at Kirkcaldy.”
Andy Galloway