Wednesday 16th October 2019
DUMBARTON’S supporters are in a position to help their team win more games, the club’s vice-chairman has said.
Colin Hosie has been full of praise for the recently-launched manager’s fund, managed by the Sons Supporters Trust, which helped bring in Adam Frizzell on loan from Kilmarnock.
Adam, of course, scored twice in the 3-1 victory over Forfar Athletic on our most recent matchday which rounded off the first quarter of the season.
The manager’s fund is now fully operational and is one of a number of ways in which supporters can contribute to the financial progress of their club.
This is something Colin is keen to see continue after Saturday’s evidence of how well things can work with everybody coming together.
Speaking to www.dumbartonfootballclub.com, Colin said: “Adam’s transfer was made possible by the contribution of our supporters towards the manager’s fund and all those who chipped in should feel great satisfaction with their efforts.
“Given that there were two goals separating the teams last Saturday, and Adam scored two of our goals, you could say that the fans won us the game!
“It was, though, a real team effort that day. As soon as Morgyn Neill’s header hit the net, you just felt that we could not fail to win.
“There was a very noticeable buzz about the place, and even when Forfar got their goal early in the second half, that continued through the afternoon.
“Now we look to keep it going.
“Three of our players, Adam being one of them, are on loan until January. We hope to retain them beyond then but a lot of people have a big role to play – including our supporters.
“Keep coming to games, back the fundraising events that our supporters’ working group are arranging, and make whatever contribution you can towards the manager’s fund.
“It took only 34 minutes of the Forfar game, when Adam scored his second goal, and our third, to show what a difference you can make.”
After a difficult start to the season in League One, not helped by a tough set of opening fixtures, Dumbarton are now finding their feet.
A haul of 13 points has led the team to fifth place at the quarter mark, with only eight points relinquished since the second matchday.
There are very fine margins in the division when it comes to posting results, as Sons have already discovered.
Colin continued: “We are now completely familiar with the challenge in front of us, having played each of the nine teams once.
“With one obvious and regrettable exception, we have competed well with all of those teams on the day.
“Thirteen points from the first quarter is a good return, but to compete at the sharp end of this league, that has to be at least maintained in the next quarter and possibly bettered. And that’s something the players and manager are keen to do.
“There are already so many ifs and buts to the season. For example, when we played Raith Rovers on the opening day, it looked until their late winner as if we would hang on for a draw.
“If we had done that, and all other games so far had worked out the same, we would trail them by two points and only be three points off the top of the table.
“To flip it, on another day we may never have completed the heroic comeback at Peterhead, winning from two goals down.
“Had that not happened, who is to say how other matches since then would have worked out? That game just gave us the confidence that was needed.
“Our players have already come together as a team really well. Whenever I have seen them together on a matchday they have been a close-knit bunch, and of course they have regularly shown that on the pitch too.
“Over 30 years as a manager, Jim Duffy has developed the strength of getting players to work together as a unit, and we have clear evidence of that.”
So has the positive start to the season led to any assessment of where Dumbarton can finish when the 36-game league season ends in May?
Colin said: “We are of the same opinion as our manager. We will simply aim to put as many points on the board across 36 games and see where we are in the table after that.
“Regardless of the opposition, we go into every matchday with the aim of getting three points. No game stands out as more important than another.
“Nobody is mentioning any potential outcome to the season, good or bad. While we will of course keep an eye on our league position, we are only too aware of how quickly things can change.”
Colin, involved at Dumbarton for decades with a long-standing family connection, was keen to reaffirm the role of supporters from the sidelines between 3pm and 5pm on a Saturday.
He added: “The support we have had on a matchday has been excellent, at home and on the road.
“If you were asking me to pick one game where they have made a difference, the standout is at Peterhead. We were so far from home, off the back of a difficult week results-wise, but still took a great support.
“Getting the first goal when we did was key, but it gave us confidence on and off the pitch. What was generated among the support translated through to the team, and look what happened next.
“But as previously mentioned, there was also a really good feeling at our stadium last time out. In fact, you could say that about our other win at home this season, against Stranraer.
“We go to Stranraer on Saturday and hopefully, with hard work, we can make that another positive matchday.
“It is a good time to be involved at Dumbarton, and we hope that this will continue. Who knows – this could just be the start.”
For full details of the manager’s fund and how you can get involved, please visit www.sonstrust.net – the story on the manager’s fund is the fourth one down the home page.
Andy Galloway