Dumbarton return to cinch League Two action tomorrow afternoon with a long trip north to take on Elgin City [kick-off 3.00pm].
After last weeks 3-1 defeat against Kelty Hearts in the SPFL Trust Trophy, Sons will be looking to get back on track and make it four league wins in a row when they travel to Borough Briggs.
The hosts will be hoping that a ‘new manager bounce’ can kickstart their season after the appointment of former Dumbarton assistant Barry Smith last week – he took charge of his first game on Saturday, a narrow 2-1 loss against Morton.
Despite being knocked out of the competition, boss Stevie Farrell was delighted with his sides performance against Kelty last weekend and insists his troops will need to be just as good if they want three points tomorrow afternoon.
He said: “I was really pleased with the way we played, I thought we were excellent. There’s a lot of things I’m really pleased about and a lot of positives.
“We went up the pitch with a real aggression and on another day we could have had a day like Stenhousemuir where we score goals and are clinical.
“Elgin went to Morton last weekend and just got touched off so that shows you what a new manager can do.
“The one thing about working against Barry for a number of years is that he’ll make them organised and discsiplined.
“We’re taking nothing for granted, I’m not buying into where they are sitting in the league.
“We’ve got to make sure we build on what we have done in our five games and we need to go and get after more valuable points.”
The Sons boss reports that only Callum Wilson remains out with injury and other than that he has a full squad to choose from.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for tomorrow’s hosts as they currently sit second from bottom in League Two, just above East Fife, with two points from five games so far.
Meetings between the sides last season were equally balanced with both teams winning two games a piece.
A couple of penalties from Ally Love turned things around for Dumbarton at the Rock in August after Kane Hester had given the visitors the lead before there was a comfortable 4-0 win for the Sons on the road in November with Ross MacLean, Gregg Wylde, Aron Lynas and Ryan Wallace on the score sheet.
City got revenge on those two victories after the new year as Hester and Russell Dingwall earned them a 2-1 win in G82 in February, Ryan Blair netting for the hosts, before a 94th minute strike from Ross Draper on the penultimate weekend of the season ensured Elgin’s spot in League Two.
Tickets for tomorrow are available to purchase now via Fanbase, priced at £14 for adults and £9 for concessions. Under-16’s go free with a paying adults. Buy in advance here: https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Dashboard?clubId=29.
Some seats remain available on the Sons Supporters Trust for tomorrow’s game. Thanks to overwhelming sponsorship from supporters, seats are priced at just £20 for Sonstrust members and under-16’s and £23 for non-members. The bus departs Castle Street at 8.00am and will stop on the way for breakfast.
Tomorrow’s match referee is Ryan Lee and he will be assisted by Graham McNeillie and Robert Mackinnon.