Competitive football returns to the Marbill Coaches Stadium this evening as Dumbarton kick off their Premier Sports campaign against Stirling Albion [kick-off 7:45pm].
The competition got under way on Saturday but with five teams making up each of the groups, Sons were the odd one out on match day one.
The Binos lost out 2-0 to Hamilton Academical on Saturday whilst Hearts were 4-1 winners over Dunfermline Athletic in the two matches that took place in Group E.
For Dumbarton, it allowed another session on the training pitch as they head into a busy schedule of four matches in 12 days ahead of the league campaign beginning at the start of August.
Boss Stevie Farrell was encouraged by pre-season performances from his new look squad
He said: “It’s not about results in pre-season, it’s about getting ready for the competitive football starting and I think from the first game we played to the last game we played you could see clear signs of progression.
“We looked like a fitter team and you could see partnerships start to form all over the pitch.
“This evening isn’t going to have any bearing on the outcome of this season but it will be good for us to be up against a fellow League Two side and we can see where we are.
“The Premier Sports Cup campaign is always a demanding run of fixtures but it’s a run of games against good teams we are embracing to get us ready for the league campaign.”
In team news, Farrell has revealed that Brett Long and Dom Docherty will miss out this evening. Long continues his comeback from leg surgery whilst Docherty has a slight back injury and is expected to unavailable for a couple of weeks. The trio of players on loan from St Mirren are available – with the club working to get a deal done to bring in another loan midfielder before this evenings game.
Supporters of both sides are encouraged to skip the queues and buy their tickets in advance via Fanbase at this link: Dumbarton vs Stirling Albion | MatchTickets. Tickets are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for under-16’s.
Those who wish to pay on arrival should make their way to the ticketing window beside the main entrance of the stadium with cash and card accepted. Supporters will then be required to join another queue to go through the turnstiles. Turnstiles open at 6:30pm with Bar 72 open for both sets of supporters.
Tickets for our penultimate fixture against Hearts at Tynecastle next Wednesday will also be available to purchase after tomorrow’s fixture. As per our previous story, full details can be found here: Hearts Ticketing Update.
We are pleased to announce a reduction in car parking costs for the 2025/26 season at the Marbill Coaches Stadium. Cars can now park within the grounds for £1 with a 50/50 half-time draw ticket remaining included. Please have consideration for our neighbours and park in the stadium grounds.