Saturday 28th August 2021
MANAGER Stevie Farrell revealed that the incentive of a weekend off helped drive his Dumbarton players on to today’s 2-1 victory at Montrose.
Sons have no scheduled fixture next weekend as they are out of the SPFL Trust Trophy, giving the gaffer something to offer his players if they came away from Links Park with a result.
And goals by Gregor Buchanan and Kalvin Orsi ensured that while training will continue on Tuesday and Thursday as usual, the squad can enjoy next weekend with their families.
The gaffer said: “We said to the players before the game that if we came away with a result we’d give them next weekend off.
“Somebody then shouted asking about the win bonus, and when we got back into the dressing room they were buzzing.
“We’ll come in and work hard in training on Tuesday and Thursday, but they can have the weekend off and we’ll come in and work hard again to prepare for the East Fife game.”
He added: “This is the hardest place to come to in the league. Not many teams will come here and leave with anything.
“In the first half I thought we were excellent. People might look at why we played Carlo Pignatiello on the right, but Montrose try to move it up the left hand side through Andrew Steeves.
“I knew I could trust Carlo, and that the pace we had could hurt Montrose. We got our goals deservedly.
“In the second half, they had to come out and we said to the players that they would throw everything at us.
“I feel a bit sorry for Edin Lynch conceding the penalty as he was a bit impetuous, but that apart I thought he and the team were excellent.
“We’ve said that this isn’t just a result – it’s a marker. Many people will fancy Montrose to finish in the top four and we’ve won fairly and squarely here.
“Ross MacLean has great movement and I think we can make him into a number nine or ten. The goals came from his runs today.”
Andy Galloway