Sunday 23rd January 2022
FOR four seasons, Stephen Bronsky was making 360-mile round trips every other Saturday and enjoying it.
But journeys a quarter of that distance didn’t work out. Now he hopes that Saturdays travelling less than 50 miles in total can be more fruitful.
The defender is now a signed Dumbarton player, having played as a trialist in last week’s 2-0 win over East Fife.
Over the four seasons prior to this one, Saturdays meant regular journeys from his home in Baillieston to play for Elgin City.
A switch to Edinburgh City followed, but didn’t work out and his contract was terminated to allow him to play as a trialist against East Fife.
Stephen couldn’t play against Dundee yesterday due to being cup tied, but will be raring to when Dumbarton return to league football against Cove Rangers next week.
Speaking to www.dumbartonfootballclub.com, Stephen said: “It’s a good step up into League One. It’s something I’m not familiar with, but I don’t think the jump is as high as some people think.
“However, the strikers are a lot better in this league, and I’m hoping I can make my mark here and push on.
“I couldn’t have asked for much more than I got on my debut – a 2-0 win and a clean sheet. But in the last 20 minutes or so I felt I was cramping up a bit, as it was the first time I’d played 90 minutes in about a month.
“I’d been playing for Edinburgh, but things didn’t work out there. It just wasn’t the right fit for me, but I wish them all the best and hope they do what they’re hoping to do.
“Before that I was at Elgin for four seasons. There was a group of us who travelled from Glasgow.
“The first season up there was a bit of a struggle, but after some time the journeys felt like nothing.”
Preparation to face Cove should certainly be a lot more straightforward for Stephen than it was for his debut against East Fife.
He added: “The first time I met the players was 1.30pm before the East Fife game and I was told I was starting the game.
“It was a bit of a baptism of fire, but the win made it a good afternoon for me and the rest of the players.”
Speaking before the Dundee game, Stephen added: “I’ll be kicking every ball that day, and in the meantime I’ll be working to get myself fit.
“I had Covid over Christmas, so I had my 10 days’ isolation which didn’t help, but I’ll get back to the same fitness levels again.”