Friday 24th July 2015
THE 2015/2016 competitive season is upon Dumbarton, in the shape of a short journey to Cappielow to face Morton in the first round of the Petrofac Training Cup.
The Greenock club are one of new gaffer Stevie Aitken’s former employers, and the Sons boss has been really looking forward to the match.
He told us : “I can’t wait for the real stuff to start. It’s our first competitive game of the season and it’s a good environment to play at Cappielow.
“There should be a good crowd and this will create a great atmosphere.
“Hopefully our fans will make some noise and get behind the team. It’s a tough fixture for us, but as I said, everyone is really looking forward to getting things underway.”
The game is round one of the Petrofac Training Cup – a competition that’s never been kind to Dumbarton. While the competition is now in its 25th year, Dumbarton’s record is not good. In 24 first round matches, we have lost 21 times.
Sons’ last win was in 2011 when we defeated East Stirlingshire 3-2 with last minute Pat Walker winner.
The pre-season has gone well for Dumbarton in terms of results. Three wins have been recorded, including a fine 2-0 defeat of Hearts, last season’s Championship title winners, at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium.
Morton have played four matches which can be regarded as practice for their first team plus two additional games against BSC Glasgow and Greenock Juniors, with the latter scheduled for last night.
Jim Duffy’s team have lost all the pre-season games with the exception of the BSC encounter, but come into the match tomorrow as League 1 Champions.
Sons lost 3-0 to this weekend’s hosts the last time both faced each other in a competitive game in April 2014. Rowan Vine, Thomas O’Ware and Barrie McKay scored Morton’s goals. Andy Graham, Jordan Kirkpatrick and Garry Fleming are the only survivors from that loss in the current Sons squad.
Alan Findlay & Simon Barrow