Monday 4th December 2017
THE only things in black and white that mattered to Dumbarton on Saturday night were authentic pints of Guinness.
But whatever Tom Walsh was drinking on the team’s festive bash in Dublin, it tasted just a bit sweeter.
The forward scored the only goal of Saturday’s game with St Mirren with 10 minutes remaining, ensuring a fantastic result.
The Buddies had been unbeaten at home in the league since January, only to be defeated by a goal from their former player.
And afterwards, it was all across the St James Interchange for the Sons squad to catch a late flight to the Irish capital.
Speaking to www.dumbartonfootballclub.com, Tom said: “The win ensured we were in high spirits for the weekend.
“It was a good weekend break for the team, and it was made a bit nicer by having earned the victory.
“There’s a great spirit in the team and everybody is fighting for each other.
“We’re delighted with the result, but it’s always nice to go back to your old team and score. It was a good moment for me, but a massive three points for the club.
“I treat every game the same and didn’t try any more or less than I usually would, but it did have a bit extra edge with it being St Mirren.
“A few of us have played for them before and it was nice for all of us the way the game worked out.
“I think we definitely deserved it. Even before the sending off, people could see we were the better team. I was surprised, but we dominated.
“It was just about being patient as we did have a few opportunities which wouldn’t go in, but when the goal came it was a great feeling.”
With the festive celebrations now at an end, Dumbarton will return to training tomorrow (Tuesday) night to prepare for Saturday’s game with Livingston.
And having scored on the last two Saturdays, Tom is now going to be facing the other team he has found the net against this season.
Sons now have a nine-point survival cushion in the Championship table, but he insists that there is more to come.
He also told the club website: “After we went to East End Park and got a draw with Dunfermline, we felt we could do that away from home again.
“It was a decent performance where we could have nicked the victory, but we know we can do that.
“We’ve been to Dundee United and Falkirk and taken a point this season, so we were confident we could turn one of these games into a victory.
“There’s no reason for us not to be confident, and that includes the Livingston game. They are a good side who are up there at the top, and they will be in contention.
“When we played them away from home, we lost 2-1, but we dominated, especially in the second half. It was a game we were gutted to lose. We want to put that right and it’s just a case of continuing what we’re doing.
“Our fitness levels for a part-time team are great and we are sometimes going into games fitter than our opponents.
“We’ll just take it one game at a time. We have players who have played at a higher level, and who want to play at a higher level, and the manager has been quite open about that.
“We are all pulling in the same direction. We should be competing with the players we have, and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Andy Galloway