By Glen Douglas
Dumbarton squeezed a narrow 1-0 win over Stirling Albion in the Premier Sports Cup on a dreich night under the floodlights.
The decisive goal was something of a fluke. It came as a cross from the right, deflected off Kyle Banner and into the Albion net.
Despite a determined push to find an equaliser achieve taking the game to penalty kicks, it wasn’t to be, for Stirling as Sons held on for the win to cheer up their new French Canadian owner.
Albion coach Alan Maybury made four changes to the starting XI from Saturday’s match with Ross McGeachie, Adam Brown, Harry Wright and Ryan Shanley all returning to the side.
Three minutes into the game, Dumbarton threatened the Stirling goal as Gordon Walker forced Derek Gaston into a sharp reflex save, tipping the ball round the post for a corner.
Stirling responded well to this early scare as a passage of quick, fluid play saw Ryan Shanley break through on goal, only for his effort to be blocked by the retreating Sons defence.
Harry Wright was next to test the Sons backline as he skipped past two defenders and fired a low shot on target, forcing Shay Kelly into a smart diving stop.
Shanley soon found himself with another chance, striking powerfully towards goal, only to watch the ball drift wide as Stirling asserted dominance with just 15 minutes gone.
Dumbarton, though, came close to taking the lead against the run of play when former Bino Ally Roy rattled the crossbar from close range.
An in-swinging corner from Adam Brown almost produced the opener as Robbie McNab met it well, but his headed effort flashed just wide of the far post.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Ross Cunningham fired a rocket towards goal, but his strike flew wide and out for a goal kick.
The last chance before the interval fell again to Robbie McNab, from another Adam Brown corner. However, in wet conditions, he couldn’t make a clean connection and the effort drifted wide.
Half-Time: Dumbarton 0-0 Stirling Albion
Five minutes into the second half, Ross Cunningham was shown a straight red card after a challenge on the advancing Thomas Falconer.
In the 53rd minute, Dumbarton edged in front when a cross from the right by Scott Tomlinson took a cruel deflection off Kyle Banner and found its way past Derek Gaston.
Stirling looked to respond instantly. Ryan Shanley unleashed a powerful strike from distance, which Shay Kelly managed to fingertip onto the crossbar.
Ally Roy looked poised to double the hosts’ lead after pouncing on a loose ball, but Ross McGeachie did brilliantly to recover and block the shot.
A lofted pass over the top from Calum Crane picked out Ryan Shanley, who was brought down on the edge of the box, but referee Jamie Wilkie waved play on, to the disbelief of the Binos bench.
Trialist B came close moments later, curling a shot towards the top corner after meeting Calum Crane’s cross, only for Kelly to produce a fine save.
The resulting corner almost brought the equaliser, as the ball bounced inside a crowded area of the box and was scrambled clear from the goal line at the last second.
As the match moved into the final ten minutes, Stirling piled forward in search of an equaliser to take the tie to penalties.
Shanley had another great opportunity after being played through by Trialist B, taking on the shot from a tight angle which Shay Kelly again did well to turn behind.
Moments later, it looked like the breakthrough had finally come when Kyle Banner nodded the ball across goal to Robbie McNab, whose close-range effort seemed destined to go in, but once more, the Dumbarton ‘keeper denied Stirling.
In a last-gasp push, Derek Gaston surged forward for a corner and connected with an audacious scissor kick that went inches wide of the post in what would’ve been a stunning equaliser.
Despite a spirited late surge from the Binos, it ended in frustration as Dumbarton claimed a narrow 1-0 win.
Full-Time: Dumbarton 1-0 Stirling Albion
Dumbarton: Kelly, Durnan, Blair, Tomlinson (McCormick 89’), Roy (McEvoy 80’), Wallace (McIntosh 66’), Livingstone, Falconer (Johnston 80’), Honeyman (Kirkpatrick 66’), Neill, Walker
Unused Subs: Ecrepont, Lynas, Clark, Trialist, Johnston
Stirling Albion: Gaston, McGeachie, McNab, Banner, Cunningham, Brown (Carse 66’), Knox, Wright (Trialist B 56’), Trialist A (Carrick 66’), Shanley, Crane
Unused Subs: McLean, Weir, Howe, Scott, Smith
Bookings: Cunningham 49’ (RED), Neill 75’, Tomlinson 87’