 |
| Sons kick-off against Airdrie Utd |
Following a cagey first 15 minutes in which they found themselves pinned back by a tenacious Airdrie front line, Sons began to push steadily forward as the first half progressed.
In a tight game, Dumbarton struggled to find space out of midfield. On 25 minutes a header glanced down by Paul Maxwell almost found Derek Carcary on the break, but he was beaten to the ball by Airdrie keeper Mark Ridgers.
Scott Chaplain replaced the injured Stirling Smith on 27 minutes, with Dumbarton still not finding the necessary shape and direction.
Carcary was again in the action on 29 minutes, but could not control the ball for a close range opportunity that flew well over the bar.
Seconds later he headed into the arms of the keeper as Sons tried hard to turn possession into pressure. In a flurry of action before half time, Dumbarton had to scrabble the ball out of their area after Stephen Grindlay made a fine reaction save from Airdrie's McCord.
At the other end Maxwell almost pipped Ridgers on his near post before driving fractionally wide with a firm strike from the edge of the box moments later.
As the game opened up in the second half, it was Ryan McCord who put the visitors ahead on 52 minutes - shortly after Ben Gordon had gone tantalisingly close for Sons with a driving header.
A defensive mix-up ten minutes later gave Airdrie a second goal, as Ryan Wallace drove high into the net from close range.
Dumbarton responded with a double substitution, bringing on Keiran Brannan and Mark Gilhaney. But it was Maxwell who pulled one back for Sons on 65 minutes as the home fans roared life back into the team.
However, just as it looked as if Dumbarton might pull level, Airdrie's Scott Gemmell beat a forlorn offside claim and took the ball round a stranded Grindlay to make it 3-1.
-----------
No comments:
Post a Comment