Thursday 24th December 2020
ALL Dumbarton want for Christmas is a response.
There will be no over-indulgence on Christmas Day for the Sons squad, as they return home to face East Fife on Boxing Day.
With a sequence of home games coming up, an important opportunity exists to put league points on the board.
It is also key for Dumbarton to move forward after their previous outing at Montrose last Saturday.
Manager Jim Duffy said: “Nobody needs to remind us of what happened last Saturday and how much it all hurt. The result and the manner in which it came about were very disappointing.
“However, we cannot dwell on it. Our best course of action is to put it behind us and move on, and that is what we have sought to do in training this week.
“We held our Thursday training session earlier in the day than usual and the players are looking forward to the game and a chance to get back on track.
“We know the challenges East Fife will give us, but if we can restore the positive elements of our play which have got us points recently, we will stand a good chance.”
A penalty appeal when the sides met at New Bayview last month. Copyright Andy Scott Photography 2020.
The manager is boosted by the return of Ryan McGeever (thumbnail photo), who has not featured in a month since taking a knock in the league match against Falkirk.
Stuart Carswell, who took a knock at Links Park last Saturday and had to be substituted, has shaken it off and is available. However, Matthew Reilly remains injured and PJ Crossan’s illness also keeps him sidelined.
Games continue to be played behind closed doors of course, and supporters can watch the game as per the details in our previous story.
If you can’t get to a screen, then we’ll have in-play Twitter commentary on our feed @DumbartonFC and we’ll have a report here on our club website ASAP after the final whistle.
East Fife were 2-1 winners when the sides had their first meeting of the season last month on what was an eventful day.
Dumbarton left New Bayview feeling rather hard done by, having no fewer than three goals disallowed.
Last Saturday East Fife won 2-0 at home to Forfar Athletic and lined up: Long; Higgins, Murdoch, Watson, Denholm (Smith 76), Slattery, Wallace, Agnew (Newton 84), Watt, Hamilton, Davidson. Subs: Hart; Dunsmore, Dunlop, Swanson, Collins, McLaughlin.
Chris Graham is the referee for Saturday’s game and Gary Hilland and Barry Dickson will be running the lines.
Andy Galloway