Written by John - OTR Saturday, 17 October 1998 00:00

Ochilview has taken a turn for the worse since my lat visit. The terracing has now been closed which meant that me, Gary and Graeme had to take seats in the new stand, unfortunately next to lots of schoolkids who seemed remarkably knowledgeable about Paddy Flannery. It was quite funny listen to them sing "Ginger Morton Reject" after Paddy slammed in his 6th goal of the season.

Changed lineup for this game. Stevie Gow hadn't recovered from the knock he took in the last match which meant Stephen Jack played alongside Lee Sharp in the defence and Paul Harvey got his first full start in midfield. Upfront, Martin Glancy was on and Joe Robertson was nowhere to be seen.

It was a pretty tame first half which I thought Dumbarton edged. There was nothing to really trouble the Stenny keeper, Lindsay Hamilton. Glancy, Melvin and Flannery all had shots but on the whole they were blasted well over or wide. Stenny probably thought themselves unlucky not to take the lead when a header came off the junction of post and crossbar following a corner in the 30th minute.

The second half was far from tame. It started superbly when Paddy Flannery got his 5th goal in consecutive games, which must be some sort of Dumbarton record, heading in from a Billy Melvin cross in the 46th minute. This got Stenny moving and they camped themselves in the Dumbarton half for long periods. All the pressure had us looking constantly at our watches wishing that time would run a bit faster. But Dumbarton stood firm thanks to solid defending by, in particular, Stephen Jack and Davie Reid, both of whom were outstanding. Not even Willie Watters, so often a thorn in Dumbarton's side, could get close to scoring.

The points were sealed in the 84th minute. Davie Reid ran on to a loose ball and got a pass out to Martin Glancy, before being subject to a horrific tackle by the Stenhousemuir number 6, Graham. The tackle left Reid in agony clutching his leg. I think everybody, including the players, were expecting the referee to stop play but he waved play on. Glancy then passed the ball inside to Martin Mooney who left rip with a glorious 25 yarder that curled in at the far post. As Davie Reid was carried off, it looked as there was something protruding from under his shin. It may have been bone or it may have just been the shape of his shinpad. Not sure.

Just on full time Martin Glancy scored a very similar goal to Martin Mooney's but possibly a wee bit closer in to round off an excellent victory. Long may they continue.