Written by John - OTR Saturday, 29 November 1997 00:00

This was a most frustrating game. For a start, Arbroath brought about 50 fans with them and they even had the temerity to do a bit of singing. That's the first time I can remember Arbroath fans doing that.

The first half was fairly even, with Dumbarton having marginally the upper hand. The team's form was much improved since the last home game but wasn't quite up to the standards of the Queen's Park game.

The second half saw Arbroath take the lead after a period of sustained Dumbarton pressure. A Sons attack (probably a corner) broke down and the Lichties swarmed upfield and slotted the ball away. The Sons then upped their game and after about 7 consecutive corners, Jim Meechan headed the equalizer. Glancy was then brought on and he so nearly scored. He picked the ball up deep in his own half, took it by three of four defenders and sent a delightful lob over the keeper. Unfortunately, it hit the bar.

Dumbarton kept attacking but Arbroath scored again with a goal almost indentical to the first. Annoyed. I certainly was. To their credit, Dumbarton kept going forward and Shuggie forced the Arbroath goalie into a superb save late on. But it wasn't enough. Even though we got beat the fans appreciated the much improved performance and applauded the team off the pitch.