Written by John - OTR Tuesday, 20 October 2009 22:26

It's been a while since I've been to Alloa and as soon as we arrived we could tell things had changed. The most obvious was the Andy Scott sculpture that floats above the roundabout as you enter Alloa from the East. Here's a picture of it taken from Paradosas' Flickr page.

Next most obvious was the massive Morrison's monstrosity that's just across the road from Recreation Park.

But the change that really struck home for me was that Alloa Athletic's far side ash-and-sleepers terracing is gone, replaced by a modern yet totally soul-less little plastic stand. It's quite sad seeing these historic pieces of football grounds gradually vanish.

One thing that hasn't changed at Alloa, though, is the quality of the pies. I had two just as the game was starting and they were fantastic. Surprisingly spicy.

On to the game. Nothing much happened in the first 15 minutes although I was able to discern that the Alloa goalie, David Crawford, has got one hell of a foul mouth and possibly anger-control issues. This was proved when Sons Scott Chaplain managed to get through one-on-one against Crawford. Crawford saved well but the ball rebounded out to Andy Geggan at the edge of the box who sweetly struck the ball with the outside of his right foot into the net, squeezing it by an Alloa defender who had retreated back to the goal line. Mr Crawford was none too happy, let me tell you.

Alloa equalised just before half time following a poor piece of goalkeeping from Jan Vojáček. Alloa had launched a free kick into the Dumbarton goal. Vojáček came for it but could only punch or parry the ball straight up. In the inevitable jostling, the ball popped out to an Alloa player who thrashed into the back of the net.

But fear not, your new Super Sons scored a second just before half time when Alan Cook got on the end of a Chris Craig cross and slammed it past Crawford. Again, Mr Crawford was not a happy bunny.

Alloa Athletic raised their game in the second half but Sons defended stoutly and seemed in control. I don't think there were many fans in the ground who thought that 2-1 was a safe scoreline so it was a relief when Sons extended their lead in the 63rd minute. Chris Craig was released on the right hand side and sent in a low cross to the near post. Scott Chaplain then nipped in between the keeper and a defender to poke the ball home.

Alloa brought on ex-Son Iain Russell in an attempt to get back into the game. He certainly did his bit, getting on the end of some good balls and generally causing mischief in the Dumbarton half. But apart from one save from Vojáček, Alloa were having trouble getting anything on target. And when they were pressing Sons were able to create a couple of breakaway chances which, unfortunately, they couldn't convert either.

So the game finished 3-1 to the Sons. A solid performance by Dumbarton, which should give the team lots of confidence for the future.