Friday 2nd September 2016
SONS are on the road again this weekend, facing Stranraer. They will need to be at their best to progress to round four of the Irn Bru Cup.
Stair Park though is not a happy hunting ground for Dumbarton, especially in this particular competition.
Sons boss Stevie Aitken was the mastermind (as manager) behind Stranraer’s two victories against Dumbarton in season 13/14 and 14/15 and his affection for the Wigtonshire club is still strong.
However tomorrow his focus is fully on Dumbarton who he admits have a poor record in the competition.
He said: “I think in total Dumbarton have won just five games in thirty attempts in the Irn Bru cup in its various incarnations.
“It’s not a good record, but we’ll be aiming to make it to the next round; that’s our immediate focus.
“My first game in charge for DFC was in this tournament and it was a win, so a repeat tomorrow would be very welcome.”
The manager will have limited squad options for the game as both Joe Thomson and Daniel Harvie are unavailable.
“We will have Darren Barr back,” confirmed Stevie, “but Garry Fleming took another knock in training this week, so we’ll see how this is tomorrow.
“Sam Stanton though is available and is added to the squad.”
The draw for the fourth round of the competition will be made at Oriam, Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre, on Tuesday 6th September at 12 noon.
The 12 third-round winners will be joined in the last 16 by the top two clubs from Northern Ireland and Wales last season – Crusaders, Linfield, The New Saints and Bala Town.
Fourth-round ties are due to be played on the weekend of 8th and 9th October 2016.
Alan Findlay & Simon Barrow