Friday 3rd January 2020
DUMBARTON visit Falkirk tomorrow aiming to start the New Year by recording a fourth consecutive away victory.
With wins posted on all of the last three road trips, against Clyde, Forfar Athletic and Raith Rovers, hopes are high that the run can continue.
But it will be a tough exercise to start 2020 against a Falkirk side who won well on Sons’ last visit to the Falkirk Stadium.
The sides’ last meeting, at Dumbarton in November, was a much closer affair, with a share of the spoils inflicted by a controversial late penalty decision.
And it is that sort of battling performance which manager Jim Duffy wants to see from Sons as they aim to move closer to the top four.
He said: “Last Saturday’s performance (against Stranraer) was quite patchy and a draw, in truth, was a fair result.
“It wasn’t the sort of bounce we were looking for after winning our last two away from home, but we did manage to continue our unbeaten run.
“Tomorrow sees us face a real challenge against a top four side who we know will be pushing hard come the end of the season.
“We went to Raith Rovers with confidence and came away with a result, and I want the same sort of attitude and performance from that game against the Bairns.”
The gaffer, though, is not without injury problems for the trip to the Falkirk Stadium, with Adam Frizzell and PJ Crossan definitely ruled out.
Matthew Shiels and Isaac Layne are doubtful, but it is hoped that they will pass late fitness tests and be able to feature.
Referee Euan Anderson is in charge of tomorrow’s game, with assistance from Kylie Cockburn and Blair Fraser.
For anybody who cannot make the game, there will be in-play Twitter commentary on our feed @dumbartonfc, which is sponsored by S1 Autos.
The Sons Supporters Trust travel section bus is running to the match and will leave Church Street at 1pm. Prices are £7 for trust members/under-16s and £10 for non-members.
Andy Galloway