Saturday 12th March 2016
SOME watched through the gaps in their fingers. Others bit their nails down to the knuckles. A few didn’t even watch at all.
But Garry Fleming? He never had any doubt.
One swing of his boot was about to decide whether Dumbarton would come out of a powderkeg game against Falkirk with one point or nothing at all.
His coolness and precision from the penalty spot ensured it was the former, and Sons had the least they deserved from the game.
And the biggest reason to be confident? He’s been in that situation before, completing November’s remarkable comeback from 3-0 down to draw with Raith Rovers.
This time he was up against a goalkeeper in Danny Rogers who knows what he’s about. But the outcome was what he wanted.
He said: “I’m the penalty taker here and I knew I had to step up and get the goal for the point we felt we deserved.
“A couple of key decisions had gone against us but we were happy with our performance and we’d have been gutted to come away with nothing.
“I didn’t really eyeball Danny. I just knew that if I struck the ball well I had a good chance of scoring. I know Danny got a hand to it, but it was enough.
“I’ve scored late penalties to make a difference against Raith and away to St Mirren. But I’ve also missed one at Queen’s Park and I had that in my head a bit!”
As a result of the dismissal of Mark Docherty Sons will, pending appeal, miss him and Jon Routledge for the trip to face Queen of the South on Saturday.
But Garry is confident that whoever comes in can help the team to another result as the bid to keep distance from second bottom Livingston intensifies.
He added: “It’s always tough when players are suspended but the manager has built a good squad here with players who can come in and do a job.
“There are players ready to come in and we’ll have a strong team available at Dumfries.”
Andy Galloway