Frank McKeown was pleased to see momentum building as we made it back-to-back victories with a 3-2 KDM Evolution Trophy win over Kilmarnock B at The Rock – Sponsored by Marbill Coaches.
We followed Saturday’s 3-0 victory over The Spartans with another three goals on Tuesday night, although McKeown felt the scoreline could have been more comfortable.
“We’ve scored another three goals, which is great. We had a lot of shots on goal tonight. We probably should have went 4-1 up at one point when it was 3-1.
“We should have buried a couple of chances we had and then we’ve given away the penalty at the end which made it a wee bit nervy, to be honest, but I thought the boys deserved to win the game.
“That’s two wins, obviously Saturday and Tuesday, a kick-on to Saturday against Banks O’ Dee.”
The manager admitted the demanding schedule has made squad management particularly difficult, with the league remaining our clear priority.
“It’s difficult, to be honest, because this cup is obviously clearly not our priority. The league is the priority and the goal that we’ve been set, where we’re going to finish in the league this year.
“We’re beginning to get on track to do that, but in terms of this cup, you want to try and do well, but you also want to try and give boys minutes who have not been playing.
“The main thing coming out of these games is probably coming out with no injuries.”
We were without Tom Lang, Ali Omar and Tommy Robson, meaning three members of our starting back four from Saturday were unavailable.
“You could see that disrupted it a little bit at the back, particularly in the first half,” said McKeown.
“I had to make a couple of changes at half-time, I changed a couple of things tactically. You could see in the second half we were much more on top of the game.
“I said that to him at the end, that’s the way we should be playing at home. I thought for 35-40 minutes that they were excellent in the second half, they really were.”
McKeown also praised the quality of the B teams competing in this season’s competition, insisting there are no easy games.
“You see some results, obviously. I had a look at the results before I came in. There are no easy games in this, and I think the B teams potentially this year are better,” he explained.
“Also, we’ve got 40 teams in this league now as opposed to 32. It’s tougher this year, there’s no doubt about it. You see with some of the results, as I said.
“Kilmarnock B have got some good players, a few of them on loan, and a couple who are probably going to go out before the end of the window. They’re good players, they’re at full-time clubs in the Premier League for a reason.
“Ultimately, our boys have done a professional job.”
The manager felt the first half was below the standards we expect but was pleased with the response after the interval.
“I don’t think the first half was anywhere near what we wanted, but we got a bit of energy in the second half. We changed a couple of things, as I said, tactically, and you could see the difference in the second half,” he said.
“It should have been a bit more comfortable, but the penalty at the end makes it a wee bit nervy.
“Ultimately, it’s a win. It’s another win at home. It’s another three points in the KDM, which is great.
“Now we kick on to Saturday.”
There was also plenty of praise for our younger players, with Josiah Sowa and Owen Hartington both getting on the scoresheet.
“People forget Josiah’s 19, Owen Hartington’s 18. For those two boys to score is fantastic,” he said.
“Josiah obviously scored on Saturday, but it’s certainly Owen’s first goal. These are young boys. It’s one of the things that we focused on in the summer, bringing quality young players to the club.
“I think we’ve got 11 under 23. I think eight of them are ours. That is protecting the future of the club, the future of Dumbarton.
“With the compensation rules and the values and all of that, up to their 23, that is securing our future. These young players have now got a value, and they’re fantastic. They’re great boys with great attitudes.
“They come into training week in, week out, and work really, really hard. But to then go and do it on the pitch, that’s when it matters.
“Tonight, when Josiah came on, he was excellent.
“To be fair, I thought Owen Hartington was fantastic as well. I don’t like singling anybody out because you’ve asked me about those two. Those two were brilliant.”
McKeown was also delighted to see Lewis Spence return from injury, with the experienced midfielder providing another option for the squad.
“I think that’s key. When I spoke about the number of young boys we’ve got in the group, we need experience round about them. We’ve not had that run of experience in the team, just pulling people left and right,” the boss explained.
“To get Lewis back is fantastic. Delighted to get him back on the pitch. That’s just another experienced player.
“Probably gives us the opportunity to bring him back on again on Saturday, probably off the bench. And hopefully we can get him up to speed as soon as possible.”