On The Rocks - A Dumbarton FC Website

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.

Written by John - OTR Saturday, 17 October 2009 19:23

Yeah, crap headline.

But excellent result. Dumbarton travelled to Alloa today and came away with an excellent 3-1 victory. Sons goal scorers were Andy Geggan, Alan Cook and Scott Chaplain.

Match report to follow. And maybe even some pictures.

Written by John - OTR Wednesday, 14 October 2009 00:00

We left a bit late for this game and thought we were going to miss the start but no - as we were walking toward the turnstiles, the tannoy announced that the game would kick off at 7.45pm. It turned out that the Sons Supporters Bus had broken down en route, hence the delayed start.

The bus arrived with around 20 minutes left in the first half but the tardy fans missed precisely nothing as the the game had been absolutely dire. I counted one shot on target by Dumbarton the whole first forty five minutes.

As this was the first game I've managed to get to this season, there were a few faces I didn't recognise, some first squad and some reserves. Mick Dunlop impressed immediately as did Ben Gordon, looking more polished that when I saw him last season. Michael White, in goal, did not impress particularily as he committed the cardinal sin of goalkeeping (well in my eyes) of kicking the ball straight out the park from a punt. He then compounded this by throwing the ball straight out the park a few minutes later. I kid you not. If this game was back in the "Every game, Kenny" days I would have apoplectic.

Anyway, back to the game. First half - total crap. Second half - much better.

Sons took the lead just two minutes after the restart. I didn't see who scored, all I saw was the ball going through a defender's legs into the back of the net. Turns out it was Roddy Hunter with a header. Nice one.

After that, Sons were in control and were swarming around the Stenny penalty box like flies.

McNiff came on for the Adam Strachan in the 67th minute and one of his first actions was to clinically head the ball into the back of the net from a Stevie Murray cross. Two-nil to the Sons and we were cruising.....for a bruising.

The bruising came with 10 minutes to go. Roddy Hunter and the Stenny number 7, Love, got into a wee stramash in front of the stand side linesman, sorry, assistant referee. The wee man, Love, swung a fist at the other wee man, Hunter, and made contact. Hunter didn't really like that and pushed him back. Yeah, it like watching schoolkids fighting in the playground. But what turned the incident into farce was the referee then sent off Hunter, straight red, and Love escaped unpunished.

This happened right in front of the travelling support who were none too pleased, resulting in the Fat Bastards Security Squad being called into action to encourage the irate Sons fans back into their seats.

Having the man advantage fairly galvanised the Stenny team and for the next ten minutes they flung everything at us. They had one goal chopped off for offside, which was quite an enjoyable moment for the Sons fans, and they missed a great chance when the White squirted a shot out of his hands. 

But Sons hung on.

Comedy Moments:-
1. The late arrival of the Sons Supporters Bus
2. The Stenny goalkeeper, McCluskey, shouting "Offside, stupid" at the standside linesman, when he failed to put his flag up. It was a pretty loud shout by the goalie and the linesman definitely heard it. The final whistle went seconds later and the Stenny goalkeeper slowly skulked off to his goal to get his towel, doing his best to avoid the linesman as he headed towards the centre circle. 

Anyway, I took a few photos. But they were all shite. But here's a video of the Sons lifting the cup instead.

Written by Administrator Saturday, 17 October 2009 00:00

I found this file hiding away in an old directory and thought I'd upload it to Youtube. It's the Davie Stewart goal against I filmed at The Rock way back when.