Match Report

Sons’ away day woes continued as defeat against high-flying Clyde brought a four match winning run to an end.

Goals from Scott Williamson and Jamie Bradley in the first-half did the damage, meaning that Leighton McIntosh’s late stunner was no more than a consolation.

Boss Frank McKeown stuck with an unchanged side to the one which had defeated Forfar Athletic a week previous, with Ali Omar continuing at left-back and Deryn Lang remaining sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Both sides took a while to settle in blustery conditions at New Douglas Park, with early chances at a premium.

It took until the 16th minute for the first goalmouth action of note as Sons got themselves into all sorts of issues defending a high ball, with Mason Munn punching a powerful Kyle Connell drive wide.

That opened up a frantic spell as Leighton McIntosh took advantage of an air-kick from Logan Dunachie to race clear, but the forward’s cross for the totally unmarked Robbie Cleary was blocked by a defender.

A slick move down the right then saw Scott Honeyman bounce a volley into Jay Hogarth’s gloves, before the home side found a breakthrough.

Kyle Connell’s fizzing free-kick into the heart of the six yard box deflected off Scott Williamson and flew into the net.

Only some superb defending from Tom Lang denied Williamson a second as he raced clean through and was dispossessed at the vital moment, before two big chances then came and went for Sons to draw level.

First neat play set Ali Omar charging clear from left-back, with Leighton McIntosh meeting the Somali international’s cross – but looping his header just over.

Robbie Cleary’s corner then dropped perfectly for Tom Lang on the edge of the six yard box, but he couldn’t meet the ball cleanly.

And Sons were made to pay for that on the stroke of half-time.

Kyle Connell’s long throw wasn’t cleared in a packed penalty area, with the ball reaching Jamie Bradley – who forced the ball home, despite the best efforts of Sons keeper Munn who took a sore one in the process.

Munn was straight back into action at the start of the second-half, racing from his line to deny Connell one-on-one. But that was as good as it would get from either side in what became a mundane start to the second 45.

In an attempt to breathe new life into his side, boss McKeown made a triple change just after the hour – introducing Kai Kirkpatrick, Francis Turley and Kristian Webster for Josiah Sowa, Robbie Cleary and Scott Honeyman.

However it was the home side who came closest to striking next, with top scorer Williamson spinning away from a challenge in the box and going for the bottom corner – with the post denying the former Queen’s Park man.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Sons found themselves back in the game as the clock ticked into injury time.

Leighton McIntosh killed a Mason Munn clearance superbly some 40 yards from goal, spotted Jay Hogarth off his line and lifted a stunning effort over the stranded keeper and into the net to set up a grandstand finale.

As quickly as hope had been restored, however, it was almost extinguished.

Dumbarton pushed everything forward in search of a leveller with a high ball forward setting Williamson racing clear.

He tussled with Chris McKenna on the edge of the area, with the defender clearing the ball to safety – but the whistle of referee Greg Soutar sounded and the East Kilbride loanee was shown a straight red card.

From the resulting free-kick the ball found Marley Redfern, but Munn sharply touched his drive onto the post.

A late free-kick then saw Dumbarton throw everyone forward – with the Northern Irishman taking it from well inside the Clyde half. But the home side stayed firm, as Sons’ wait for a first away win in 13 months continued.

Clyde 2

23′ Scott Williamson, 45′ Jamie Bradley
Yellow cards: 20′ Logan Dunachie, 67′ Timam Scott

Dumbarton 1

88′ Leighton McIntosh
Yellow cards: 20′ Leighton McIntosh, 21′ Tom Lang
Red card: 90’+1 Chris McKenna

Referee: Greg Soutar
Attendance: 711

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Highlights

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Post-match reaction