Monday 22nd January 2018
SONS take a break from league action tomorrow night with a long trip to Balmoor Stadium to play League 2 side Peterhead in round four of the William Hill Scottish Cup.
The Blue Toon are currently in impressive goalscoring form. Starting on 23rd December, over five matches, Jim McInally’s team have scored 24 goals, including a 7-0 demolition of Elgin City and a 6-2 win against league leaders Montrose. The winners of the game face a trip to Cappielow to play Greenock Morton in the fifth round.
Tomorrow’s referee Gavin Ross has been in charge one Dumbarton game already this season and that was our 2-1 win against Rangers Under-20s in the Irn Bru Cup. Kylie Cockburn and Chris Philips will be assistants.
There have been 22 games played between the clubs across all competitions with honours even at 10 wins each and 2 draws. The last time both clubs met in the Scottish Cup was in February 1948 with Sons winning 2-1. In recent matches, Peterhead came out top in 2016 in a Betfred Cup sectional match at the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium, winning on penalties after a 3-3 draw in normal time. In 2011, Dumbarton recorded a 5-2 win against the Blue Toon in the old SFL second division. Goals from Jon McShane, Pat Walker, Jordan Halsman, a Mark Gilhaney penalty plus a Craig McLeish strike helped Sons to the points.
One man that stands out in the Peterhead squad is of course striker Rory McAllister. Rory has scored 27 goals this season already, including going nap (5) against Colville Park in a previous round of the Scottish Cup. Sons fans too will be aware of the ability of Willie Gibson, who had a short but successful spell at the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium.
With the re-scheduling of the game to tomorrow night, Sons boss Stevie Aitken’s player selection problems intensify. Mark Stewart, Chris Mclaughlin and Grant Gallagher will miss out but there is better news on Dimitris Froxylias (pictured) who is getting closer to fitness. There will be a late check on full-back Sam Wardrop to assess his recent injury.
Alan Findlay