Friday 13th August 2021
DUMBARTON return to league action tomorrow with a top-of-the-table clash away to newly-promoted League Two champions Queen’s Park.
It is one of the oldest fixtures in Scottish football, but this will only be our 13th meeting with the Spiders this century.
Like Sons, Queens have made an unbeaten start to the league season with four points on the board, so the chance to stay at least joint top on Saturday night gives the teams plenty at stake.
For Dumbarton it is also an opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing exit from the SPFL Trust Trophy on Wednesday evening.
Manager Stevie Farrell said: “It has been a tough week, but we are looking forward to testing ourselves against newly-promoted opposition tomorrow.
“I of course saw Queen’s Park last season when they played Stranraer, and know what a threat they will be. We will need to be at our best.
“We hoped we could go into this game off the back of a win in midweek, but it didn’t turn out that way.
“We’ve shown in the last two games that we can respond to setbacks, but we know we can’t keep giving teams a head start before we get into gear ourselves.
“It’s not a habit we want to get into and we’ll be looking for us to avoid it tomorrow. If we play as well as we can, we will give ourselves every chance.”
Stevie will not be at tomorrow’s game due to an essential personal commitment, meaning that his assistant Frank McKeown will oversee the team.
However, there has been a double dose of good news ahead of the game. Part one is that after missing the last two matches, Joe McKee (pictured) took full part in training last night and is fit and available.
Part two is that Sam Ramsbottom’s isolation period is now over and he too is available for the trip to Firhill.
However, it’s one in, one out on the goalkeeping front. Callum Erskine has snapped a tendon in his finger and a trialist goalkeeper (not the same one as last week) will replace him.
Midfielder Mark Lamont also has to miss this game as he must continue to self-isolate.
Admission details for Firhill are as per our previous story – there will be no cash turnstiles in operation. You must buy a ticket in advance and print it off, or download it to a ticketing app for scanning at the turnstile.
Please also bring proof of age with you if you have purchased a concession ticket.
If you can’t get to Firhill, the action is also available to stream live, as per our previous story.
We’ll also have in-play Twitter commentary on our feed @DumbartonFC and report and reaction will be here on our club website ASAP after the final whistle.
Tomorrow’s game is our first with Queens in the league since season 2006/07, when the Spiders won promotion through the playoffs. We only managed to take one point from the four meetings against them.
We’ve met twice since then in cup competitions, with a 1-0 win for each team.
Queens do not sell printed versions of their matchday programme. It is instead available to read for free on their club website and is expected to be online later today.
Craig Napier is the referee for tomorrow’s game, and will be assisted by David Dunne and Kevin Lindsay.
Andy Galloway