Friday 23rd March 2018
DUMBARTON travel to Perth tomorrow to play Championship rivals Inverness Caley Thistle in the final of the 2017/2018 Irn Bru Cup.
Match Details: Irn Bru Cup Final – Dumbarton v Inverness Caley Thistle, McDiarmid Park (home of St Johnstone FC), Perth – kick-off 4.15pm.
Match Coverage: If you’re not able to get to the game, catch the action ‘live’ with our in-game commentary via our official Twitter account. Follow us using @Dumbartonfc. The hashtag for the game is #irnbrufinal. The game is also being shown live on BBC Alba.
Match Officials: Tomorrow’s match referee is Andrew Dallas. This will be Andrew’s second game this season involving Dumbarton. He officiated in our 1-0 win against St Mirren back in December 2017. David Roome and Daniel McFarlane are the assistants with David Munro the 4th official.
Supporters Notes: The Sonstrust Travel Section supporters buses will leave the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium for 1pm. We urge all supporters who have booked on the buses to arrive in good time to allow the organisers to get all buses en-route as smoothly and efficiently as possible. THERE ARE NO SEATS AVAILABLE on any of the buses. The Stadium opens at 11am, with provisions in place for ‘Bus Zero’ who are leaving that little bit earlier.
NO MATCH TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE FROM THE YOUR RADIO 103FM STADIUM TOMORROW
Safety Note: Sons Safety Officer David Douglas has been in touch with the following – “I would just like to wish all our fans heading to Perth a safe journey and hope they have a great time at the final. However, I would also like to remind them of the Club’s Unacceptable Conduct Policy which applies at both home and away matches. Supporters are representatives of the club and any misbehaviour could have serious consequences for the club particularly from any incursions onto the park or the use of pyrotechnics; which could affect the health and safety of all supporters present. Enjoy your day and hopefully many of you will join us for the remaining league games in the Championship.”
Fan Flag Display: With the cooperation of the SPFL and St Johnstone, the Sonstrust are organising a pre-match fan flag display at McDiarmid Park. In both stands where Dumbarton fans are housed, each seat will have either a gold or black flag which supporters are encouraged to use when the teams enter the field of play before kick-off. The flags can be taken home after the game if fans wish to do so.
Banner Display:The Trust are also coordinating the positioning of any flags and banners that fans may bring to the game. To ease organisation at McDiarmid Park, Sonstrust members are offeringto position any flags in a designated area at the ground. If you have a flag, and it’s convenient, drop it off at the YOUR Radio 103FM Stadium and they’ll be taken to the game.
Did You Know? If Dumbarton win the Irn Bru Cup, they will become only the fourth part-time team to lift the trophy since its inception in 1990, and the first this century. All of the previous three teams were playing their football in the third tier – now known as League One – at the time of their victory.
What About This? Terry Christie has been manager of two of the previous three part-time winners, the first of those being in 1995 with Stenhousemuir as the first ever part-time finalists in the competition. The last part-time winners of the trophy were Alloa Athletic in 1999, with Christie at the helm of a cup-winning side again. Would it be appropriate to mention that the team they beat in that final were Inverness CT?
Blimey, Really?Dumbarton’s participation in this year’s final ensures that every one of this season’s Championship clubs has been in the final at least once. Of the 10 clubs, Falkirk and Queen of the South currently have been in the most finals with four each – a joint record for the competition. The Bairns have won all of their four (most recently in 2012) while the Doonhamers have lifted the trophy twice. However, Saturday is also Inverness CT’s fourth final, and Dumbarton are hopeful that 2003 will remain the only time Caley have been winners. Two Premiership clubs, Ross County and Hamilton Accies, have also been in four finals each. Sons are the 25th different club to play in the final, counting the liquidated Airdrieonians and the current Airdrieonians as two different clubs.
Team News: Sons gaffer Stevie Aitken has a few selection headaches ahead of tomorrow’s game, given injuries and palyers being cup-tied. Unavailable to the manager are Liam Dick, Kevin Nisbet, Aidan Wilson and Andy Stirling. Sam Wardrop is ruled out with injury and international call-ups to Liam Burt and Dimitris Froxylias are also a challenge, but every effort is being made to get these two players to McDiarmid Park. in better news, Tom Walsh comes into contention for a squad place and Chris McLaughlin is also available.
Alan Findlay & Andrew Galloway