Match Report

Edinburgh City moved to within two points of Dumbarton at the foot of the League Two table with a comeback victory at The Rock.

Leighton McIntosh’s opener on the half hour was the least Frank McKeown’s men deserved for an impressive first-half, however it was cancelled out by Innes Lawson’s low strike five minutes before the break.

Lawson struck home a superb winner just 90 seconds into the second period, with Sons cracking the woodwork twice on a day of even more frustration in G82.

Boss McKeown stuck with the same side that had drawn with Elgin City a week previous, and almost straight away the Sons looked like a team with a point to prove – as they created most of the early openings.

Typically driving play from Scott Tomlinson saw the jet-heeled winger twist and turn his way into the box before laying off to Tobi Joseph, but he blazed over from the edge of the area.

Kai Kirkpatrick, fresh off the back of signing a permanent deal for the club, was next to threaten – as he curled narrowly wide with City keeper Mark Weir at full stretch.

City defender Jamie Walker became the first player to be booked for clattering Josh Todd on the right wing with 25 minutes played, and Todd dusted himself down to clip in the resulting free-kick – which was met by Mark Durnan, producing a superb full stretch save from Weir in the home goal.

It felt like Sons needed to make their dominance pay, and the opener duly arrived on the half hour.

Adam Livingstone’s corner was touched onto the bar by Weir, with Tony Wallace nodding the ball back into the six yard box – where Weir was outmuscled by talisman Leighton McIntosh, who smashed in from point-blank range.

The joy would be short lived however.

In one of their first attacks, Malik Zaid set off on a typically mazy run, with the ball breaking to Innes Lawson inside the area – and he rolled into the bottom corner through a packed penalty box.

Sons almost found an immediate response as good play from Ali Omar and Scott Tomlinson created an opening for top scorer McIntosh, but he was crowded out by a mixture of keeper Weir and defender Chris McQueen.

If the home fans had been boosted by what they saw in the first-half, it took just 90 second-half settings for the mood inside the stadium to change.

Again Zaid was the creator, as his deflected pass sent Lawson clean through – and this time the midfielder rifled a stunning finish high into the top corner of the net, leaving Sons shellshocked.

Aaron Brown and Kristian Webster were introduced almost immediately as boss McKeown looked for a response, which very nearly arrived on the hour.

Scott Tomlinson showed James Lyon a clean pair of heels and cut back for Kai Kirkpatrick, with the midfielder steadying himself before smacking the bar from inside the area.

After Brett Long had smothered a Zaid daisy-cutter from 25 yards, Sons were left frustrated by the woodwork again.

A clever short corner saw Aaron Brown pick out McIntosh inside the area with a perfectly weighted cross, but his header clattered the bar with City keeper Weir rooted to the spot.

There was still time for one last big chance for the home side, as Kristian Webster slipped McIntosh in on goal – but this time he was denied one-on-one by keeper Weir from a tight angle.

Dumbarton 1

30′ Leighton McIntosh

Yellow cards: 38′ Adam Livingstone, 60′ Ali Omar, 83′ Frank McKeown

Edinburgh City 2

39′, 47′ Innes Lawson

Yellow cards: 25′ Jamie Walker, 32′ Mark Weir, 64′ Malik Zaid, 71′ James Lyon

Referee: Joel Kennedy

Attendance: 711

View all the results and league table from William Hill League 2

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