Friday 20th November 2015
FOOTBALL is back at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium this weekend, as Sons host Raith Rovers in match 14 of the Ladbrokes SPFL Championship.
It’s ninth versus versus fifth, and the game is an important one according to boss Stevie Aitken.
He commented ahead of the match: “Raith are going well in the division and are 11 points ahead of us, however there really isn’t that much between the teams in the league once Rangers are out of the equation.
“We have shown that we can compete and while the league table is not pretty to look at from our point of view, we are confident that we can start to move away from the bottom.
“The break last week actually came at the wrong time for us as I felt we could have kicked on from the good performance at Palmerston.
“It really is fine lines at the moment, and against a good Raith team we are looking to push on.
Both teams have been in a form slump of late. Sons have lost five of the last six SPFL matches, and Rovers come to the Rock on the back of three straight defeats.
Scott Taggart (pictured) will be the only player unavailable to manager Aitken, with every other squad member fit and ready for selection.
Looking at past precedent – in the last five meetings between the clubs, Rovers have the upper hand with three wins. Sons recorded a 2-1 victory against the Fife team in December last year, thanks to a Scott Agnew double.
The Dumbarton team that day was: Rogers, van Zanten, Graham, Taggart, MacDonald, Gilhaney (McDougall 29), Kirkpatrick (Nish 8), Agnew, Megginson (Campbell 86), Fleming, Kane. Subs Not Used: Linton, Mair, Ewings (gk).
David Ramsay of shirt sponsors Baxter Ramsay will present Grant Gallagher with the October player of the month award on Saturday.
Alan Findlay & Simon Barrow