Match Report

Dumbarton and Alloa shared the points in a back-and-forth six-goal thriller at the Marbill Coaches Stadium in the first home game of the 2024/25 campaign.

Michael Ruth had given Sons the lead after five minutes but the visitors turned things around before the break thanks to goals from Luke Donnelly and ex-Dumbarton man Kevin Cawley.

James Hilton brought the home side level with a powerful half-volley midway through the second-half before Ruth got his second and Dumbarton’s third heading into the closing quarter of an hour.

Andy Graham’s side grabbed a point, through another former Son of the Rock, when a strike from Scott Taggart deflected off Mark Durnan and guided the ball past Brett Long.

There were a couple of changes to the side that picked up a point in the season opener at Inverness a week prior with Mouhamed Niang forced out through suspension whilst Aron Lynas dropped to the bench. They were replaced by Ryan Blair and Carlo Pignatiello.

The match was only five minutes old when Ruth picked up on a loose pass from Steven Hethrington that left him with just PJ Morrison to beat in the Alloa goal, and he duly obliged for his first strike of the season.

The lead was short lived with a cross into the Dumbarton box causing problems for the defence that Donnelly took full advantage of, as he prodded the ball into the net with his back to goal from six-yards.

Both teams were the architects of their own downfalls at times with more slack defending from Alloa presenting Finlay Gray with an opportunity. He burst into the penalty area after robbing possession in midfield, but seemed to get caught in two minds as he approached Morrison and the chance was gone.

Just a couple of minutes later, Sons were punished for not taking that opportunity when a fairly straight forward ball into the penalty area wasn’t dealt with and was nodded down by Donnelly, into the path of Cawley who expertly rifled a strike into the bottom corner of the net to put the away side ahead.

There were chances for the home side to get on level terms before the break but Matty Shiels picked the wrong option when he found himself in a promising position as he looked to pick out Ruth rather than have a shot himself, before a cross from Kalvin Orsi was met by Ruth but glanced wide of the target.

After the break, Brett Long was called into action early on after Luke Rankin got in behind the defence and shot across goal with the follow-up cleared away by Shiels.

For Dumbarton, their best opportunity was courtesy of Craig McGuffie but he couldn’t find the far corner from 20 yards.

On 65 minutes, Sons did find a leveller when a corner from McGuffie was cleared only as far as Hilton who met the bouncing ball with a terrific half-volley to bring his side level.

The hosts tails were up as Blair curled a free-kick just wide of the target before substitute Joel Mumbongo had a powerful strike from 25-yards pushed away by the goalkeeper and from the resulting corner Mark Durnan should have made contact with the delivery to put his side in front.

Dumbarton eventually got the goal their play deserved with just less than 15-minutes to go; Gray drove through the heart of the Alloa midfield before a neat pass through to Ruth, and he lifted the ball over the onrushing Morrison to put his side in front for a second time.

The visitors would throw everything at Sons in the closing stages with Dumbarton standing up to everything fairly well – that was until the 84th minute when a speculative shot from distance from Taggart struck off the head of Durnan and took the ball agonisingly away out of reach of Long.

The result means both sides have drawn their opening two games in League One with Sons on the road to Cove Rangers next weekend.