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Dumbarton 3 v 1 Albion Rovers |  |
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Dumbarton 3 v 1 Albion Rovers | |
| Scottish League Third Division 3rd February 2007 |
Attendance : 745
Scorers ~ Dumbarton : Coyne (20, 48), Borris (47). Albion Rovers : McFarlane (25).
An impressive travelling support visited the Strathclyde Homes Stadium hoping to see Rovers maintain their unbeaten run propelling them to a possible play-off place, but some suicidal defending cost them a share of the spoils.
The match started quietly then Kevin Nicoll whizzed the ball past the Dumbarton goal. Lee Thompson was called into action in 12 minutes when Paul McQuilken struck a free-kick low and hard but the young 'keeper got down without undue problem to scoop the ball up.
A Scott Chaplain header rebounded to Iain Chisholm whose shot was stopped by 'keeper Stephen Grindlay. In 20 minutes young striker Tommy Coyne making his home debut rose to head home a Andy Geggan cross, 1 - 0 Dumbarton.
Coyne had a shot blocked by Gordon Moffatt at the edge of Rovers penalty area. Then in 25 minutes Rovers were level when Dave McFarlane headed a Nicoll free-kick into the Sons net.
Coyne was once more a thorn in the side of Rovers when he advanced up the wing to unleash a shot which was a foot or so wide of the target. In 40 minutes Nicoll incurred the wrath of Mr. Norris who showed him a yellow card for what seemed to be at worst the same as several home players had done previously without similar retribution from the official.
The first period ended with Chris Boyle heading from short range and managing to get the ball onto the top of Rovers net.
Half-Time
As the players trooped out for the restart of the match little did Rovers fan know what was about to happen. The Sons equalised when a Chris Boyle touch found its way to Ryan Borris with Moffatt failing to intercept, the midfielder took advantage and slipped the ball into the Rovers net.
A minute later Rovers went further behind when Thompson spilled an easy ball, allowing Coyle to advance on the empty goal and take the easiest of tap-ins.
Rovers were somewhat shell-shocked and took a few minutes to find their feet, normally deadly striking duo Chaplain and Pat Walker combined to have a go but the latter's decent shot was saved.
Cliftonhill gaffer Jim Chapman caused a few fans to scratch their heads when he replaced Nicoll and Walker with Phil Creaney and on-loan John McGoldrick. A few minutes later Andy Sim replaced Chisholm and the striker soon had the home 'keeper making a save.
Rovers were dominating the play around this time, helped by Sim being inexplicably given plenty of space on the near wing. 10 Rovers men swamped the final third of the pitch when they were awarded a free-kick but nothing productive came of it.
Sim was doing his best to redress the balance and he fired a super shot which Grindlay was equal to in a diving save. Rovers had a corner which found Tommy Lennox at the edge of the home penalty area and the snap shot was saved by the quick reactions of the Sons stopper.
A moment of danger caused by Thompson flapping at a Dumbarton corner in a packed box passed quickly with the homesters wondering how they failed to score.
A couple of relatively easy looking Dumbarton attempts caused great difficulty for the young custodian of the Rovers goal before he made a decent stop of a Boyle strike on the stroke of full time.
Summary
A sore one for Rovers, when without the suicidal defending at the start of the second half they'd have drawn the match. Rovers require a win next Saturday at home to Stenhousemuir who'll be desperate to make amends for the 4 - 0 drubbing they received at the hands of Rovers recently.
Dumbarton : Grindlay, Geggan, Brittain, Canning, Craig, Winter, Borris (Hamilton 68), Bagan, Coyne (McNaught 80), McQuilken (Henry 72), Boyle. Subs Not Used : Dillon, Shaw.
Albion Rovers : Thompson, Moffat, Lennox, Lennon, Donnelly, Nicoll (Creaney 55), Chisholm (Sim 60), Chaplain, McFarlane, Walker (McGoldrick 55), Smith. Subs Not Used : Thomson, Scott.
Referee : Euan Norris