Recap

Dumbarton picked up their first win of the 2023/24 competitive season with a 2-1 victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Viaplay Cup.

Ryan Wallace and Tony Wallace scored either side of the break for the home side with Billy McKay netting in the final quarter of an hour, but Sons held on for three points – their first ever victory in 90 minutes over a team two leagues above them.

The Sons boss made four changes from the side that lost out in Airdrie just a few days prior as Harry Broun, Gregg Wylde and the Wallace duo came into the starting eleven. 

Dumbarton started on the front foot and found themselves in promising areas behind the Inverness defence on a couple of occasions but the quality of delivery was often left lacking which allowed the visitors to clear.

Last season’s Scottish Cup runners-up began to come into the game on the quarter of an hour mark with Austin Samuels looking like a threat, and he forced the first real save of the game as Broun got down low to push his shot behind for a corner.

From the resulting set piece, McKay headed into the net for Caley – but only after Broun had been nudged to the ground and a free-kick in Sons favour was awarded.

Dumbarton’s constant pressing and runs in behind the defence seemed to be becoming a lot for Inverness to handle as Carlo Pignatiello latched on to a ball from Aron Lynas and jinked past his man before cutting the ball back across the face of goal, however there was nobody in a white jersey following in.

The home side would take the lead on 27 minutes when a cross from Ross MacLean was poorly dealt with by Wallace Duffy, as his clearing header landed right to Ryan Wallace.

He brought the ball down on his chest and volleyed a shot towards goal that Mark Ridgers did get something on, but the power was just too much to handle and it flew into the net.

The hosts were holding on towards the end of the first-half as Samuels was denied by Broun again with Lynas hooking the loose ball off the line, and seconds later it was almost a carbon copy when a Broun save was tidied up by the same man.

After the break, Inverness hit the woodwork through David Carson when he poked the ball towards goal and Sean Crighton stooped low to clear away the danger.

Sons added a second on 51 minutes with Tony Wallace capping off a fine team move.

MacLean, with his back to goal on the edge of the area, backheeled the ball into the path of Wilson and he clipped a cross towards the back post that was met by a towering Wallace header.

Duffy looked to make up for his earlier error when he crashed a header off the crossbar on the hour before Samuels should have swept the ball into the net following a bombing run forward from Nathan Shaw.

The hosts could have sealed it on 75 minutes when an ambitious volley from Wilson flew just off target and Gregg Wylde perhaps had more time than he thought he did when he blazed a strike over from the edge of the box.

60 seconds later, the deficit was halved with McKay’s volley hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing away clear of the goal line – though not according to the standside linesman who ruled that the ball had crossed the line.

That set up for a tense finale that called Broun into action on more than one occasion, there was one low save to deny Keith Bray who had got behind the left of the Sons defence and another stunning stop in the seventh minute of added time to claw away Roddy MacGregor’s close range attempt.

After what seemed like a lifetime of additional minutes, the referee blew his whistle for full-time as four teams sit on three points after matchday two of Group E in the Viaplay Cup.

Sons host Bonnyrigg Rose and visit Dens Park to take on Dundee in their two remaining ties.