Saturday 24th January 2015
IT was dismal afternoon for Dumbarton in the Championship, as foot-of- the table Livingston inflicted a humiliating 5-1 defeat on them at the Rock.
Sons went behind to a simple goal after just five minutes. A Livingston corner bobbled dangerously in the box before Jordan White nodded home from close range.
For much of the opening period Dumbarton looked well in control of the game. They created more chances, but clearly lacked a killer touch in front of goal.
In the second half Sons started to press hard once more. The referee waved away a home penalty claim on 54 minutes, after Livi’s Danny Mullen had been thwarted by alert ‘keeper Danny Rogers at the other end.
Then Livingston struck on the break when Mullen pounced to place the ball high into the net from ten yards out on 63 minutes.
Things got scrappy from then on. An injured David van Zanten was replaced by Scott Taggart for Sons, before the visitors made it 3-0 with a soft rebound goal from Mullen again on 72 minutes.
It went from bad to worse when Keaghan Jacobs put his side 4-0 in front on 79 minutes. Then Jordan White pushed home a fifth three minutes later. It was far too easy for Livingston.
Sons youngster and substitute Donald McCallum gave his team a consolation goal with a well engineered tap-in on 86 minutes. In a gesture noted with appreciation by the fans, Lee Mair ran the length of the pitch to offer a congratulatory handshake.
Dumbarton remain in seventh position in a competitive division. Next up is a visit to promotion-chasers Falkirk, who have just beaten leaders beat Hearts, next weekend.
Full match report and photos now online.
Simon Barrow