Wednesday 29 September 2010

Scarf waving, not drowning

Flying the flag...
Domestic arrangements meant that it wasn't possible for me to travel across from Edinburgh to see Dumbarton's seconds progress in the Reserve League Cup yesterday evening, thanks to a gratifying 3-0 win over Annan Athletic. The goals came from Ryan McStay, Alan Cook and Ryan Metcalf after the break. Another regional tie against Partick Thistle follows.

Sons overcame the Jags 2-1 in a pre-season friendly, and their first team is doing fractionally worse in the First Division than we are in the Second at the moment. Meanwhile Annan, the SFL's newest outfit, are faring well in the Third Division, and good luck to them. They have always been very friendly towards the Sons, not least in their hospitality when we won the Championship the season before last. They've also done remarkably well on slender resources. An example to us all.

The sad thing for Dumbarton at the moment is that our youngsters are doing very well in 19s and reserve matches. It's the rigours of the League that are presenting the real problems - and that, of course, is the one arena where supporters particularly crave success... or at least survival. The youth policy bodes well for the future. But we're definitely going to need to be patient, persistent and patriotic this season, if we want to see things turn around.

Talking of turnaround, I see that the Stirlingshire Cup semi-final, now set for Tuesday 6 October 2010, has been switched from Ochilview to SHS because of scheduling problems. That will suit most Sons fans, but isn't such good news for me, because Stenhousemuir's ground is more like a home game if you live in Leith... even though we are playing East Stirling. Come to think of it, Falkirk is only an hour from Waverley, too. Ah well, I love the Rock and I'll still be there, sporting my new Sons scarf - as depicted in this photo, where I seem to be slightly on the miserable side of sanguine. Not for long, I hope. Victory over Airdrie United beckons on Saturday...  Please?
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