Dumbarton welcome Bonnyrigg Rose to The Rock tomorrow in their penultimate Viaplay Cup Group E fixture.
A victory for Sons against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Tuesday evening has blown the group wide open with four teams now on three points after two match days.
Bonnyrigg have yet to pick up a point from their two fixtures but are perhaps unfortunate to have nothing to show for their efforts after narrow defeats to Inverness and Dundee.
Boss Stevie Farrell was thrilled with his sides performance at both ends of the park on Tuesday, but has warned his players they now need to prepare themselves for the next challenge.
He said: “I thought we were very unlucky not to take something from the game against Airdrie on Saturday and we felt a wee bit aggrieved that we didn’t, but we knew how well we had played.
“We challenged each other to go and build on that performance and that’s exactly what we did on Tuesday.
“I said to the players that I was really happy because we played some excellent stuff against a right good side and we were brave in possession and created chances, but we also showed the other side of the game in the last ten minutes.
“We’ve played the last two games against Championship teams, one of which was the Scottish Cup finalists, and sometimes in a players mentality you can get up for that easier than you can for games at your own level.
“I know with Bonnyrigg from last season there was no easy games and the times we play them this season will be the same so we’ll rest up and look forward to it.”
Sons had the better hand in meetings with Rosey Posey last season, running out winners in 3 of the 4 league fixtures whilst the points were shared in the other.
The Midlothian side will be familiar faces to Dumbarton in the coming weeks as Sons travel to the capital for the opening league game of the season in a fortnight whilst a potential trip to the same venue in the SPFL Trust Trophy could also be on the cards, if Bonnyrigg advance past Klimarnock B.
Sons have picked up a number of fresh injuries in the last week and will be without several first-team players. Callum Wilson, Carlo Pignatiello, Blair Malcolm, Declan Byrne, James Hilton and Finlay Gray are all out. Kalvin Orsi will return from suspension but will be built back into the team slowly after also recovering from injury.
Online tickets are now available to buy via our online platform, TicketTailor. Purchase your ticket in advance and scan it at the turnstile to gain entry. Get your ticket here: https://dumbartonfootballclub.com/matches/#tickets.
Cash gates also remain available (no card payments) with entry priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions/students (valid ID required) and £5 for under-16’s.
Bar 72 will be open from 1.30pm for both home and away supporters. Bonnyrigg fans looking to make use of the facilities should enter through turnstiles 1 and 2.
The club shop will be open once again to allow you to get kitted out in our new home and away strips ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Dan McFarlane is tomorrow’s match referee and will be assisted by George King and Chris Newman.