2008–09 Dumbarton F.C. season

Season 2008–09 was the 125th football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 103rd time, the Scottish Cup for the 114th time, the Scottish League Cup for the 62nd time and the Scottish Challenge Cup for the 18th time.

Dumbarton

2008-09 season
Manager	Jim Chapman
Stadium	Strathclyde Homes Stadium, Dumbarton
Scottish League Division 3	1st
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Scottish League Cup	Second Round
League Challenge Cup	First Round
Top goalscorer	League: Ross Clark (14) All: Ross Clark (15)
Highest home attendance	1396
Lowest home attendance	462
Average home league attendance	712

Overview

Jim Chapman's first full season in charge began with a large intake of new playing staff. A slow start however was to be replaced by an unbeaten run of 8 games which saw Dumbarton rise to 2nd place by the beginning of November. Mixed results in December through February meant that Dumbarton fell to 4th place, but still in with a playoff chance. However it was to be a final surge which saw 7 wins taken from the last 8 games which pushed Dumbarton to the Third Division title. Indeed that run brought about Dumbarton's record number of consecutive 'shut-outs' - 7 in all.

In the Scottish Cup, a second round victory over Highland League opponents Fraserburgh was followed by a close encounter with First Division Ross County, which was only decided by the odd goal in three and that after a draw.

In the League Cup, Dumbarton defeated Annan Athletic on penalties, but were to be overwhelmed by Premier Division St Mirren in the second round.

Finally, it was yet another League Challenge Cup first round exit, to Airdrie United.

Locally, the Stirlingshire Cup was not competed for.

Results & fixtures

[1]  Win   Draw   Loss

Scottish Third Division

2 August 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Montrose	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Clark  83' (pen)		Stewart  26'	Attendance: 580 Referee: S Nicholls

9 August 2008 Scottish Third Division	Elgin City	1–1	Dumbarton	Borough Briggs
	McKay  24'		Logan  75'	Attendance: 462 Referee: C Boyle

16 August 2008 Scottish Third Division	Berwick Rangers	1–2	Dumbarton	Shielfield Park
	Gribben  40'		Lennon  55' Tiernan  61'	Attendance: 516 Referee: G Hilland

23 August 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–2	Stenhousemuir	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Keegan  71'		Motion  23' Shirra  90'	Attendance: 660 Referee: B Colvin

30 August 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–1	East Stirlingshire	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Murray  25'		McKenzie  69'	Attendance: 592

13 September 2008 Scottish Third Division	Albion Rovers	1–3	Dumbarton	Cliftonhill
	Walker,P  61' (pen)		Clark  8' McLeod  18' Gordon  60' (pen)	Attendance: 327 Referee: B Winter

20 September 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Cowdenbeath	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Carcary  36' Gordon  90'		McQuade  90'	Attendance: 801 Referee: S O'Reilly

27 September 2008 Scottish Third Division	Forfar Athletic	2–2	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
	Russell  57' Gibson,G  79'		Tulloch  7' (OG) McLeod  52'	Attendance: 431 Referee: F McDermott

4 October 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	4–1	Annan Athletic	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Watson  6' (OG) Keegan  30' Clark  34' (pen) Hill  45' (OG)		Inglis  59'	Attendance: 539 Referee: S Finnie

18 October 2008 Scottish Third Division	Montrose	1–2	Dumbarton	Borough Briggs
	Black  90'		Clark  32' McLeod  51'	Attendance: 673 Referee: A Law

1 November 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	5–2	Berwick Rangers	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	McLeod  9' Clark  19', 62' Murray  34' Cusack  75'		Anderson Craig  32' Ewart  83'	Attendance: 673 Referee: C Brown

8 November 2008 Scottish Third Division	Stenhousemuir	1–1	Dumbarton	Ochilview
	Brand  61'		Murray  62'	Attendance: 723 Referee: A Law

15 November 2008 Scottish Third Division	East Stirlingshire	5–2	Dumbarton	Firs Park
	Graham  22', 60' Rodgers  44' (pen) Donaldson  46' Dunn  64'		Carcary  87' Moore  90'	Attendance: 516 Referee: S McLean

22 November 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Albion Rovers	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Clark  42'		Donnelly  37'	Attendance: 646 Referee: Mat Northcroft

13 December 2008 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	3–0	Forfar Athletic	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Chisholm  24' McLeod  67' Keegan  88'			Attendance: 539 Referee: S Finnie

20 December 2008 Scottish Third Division	Annan Athletic	2–1	Dumbarton	Galabank
	Neilson  42', 90'		Clark  45' (pen)	Attendance: 634 Referee: C Allan

10 January 2009 Scottish Third Division	Cowdenbeath	2–0	Dumbarton	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
	Adamson  18' McQuade  80'			Attendance: 416 Referee: G Salmond

17 January 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Stenhousemuir	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Chisholm  42'			Attendance: 425 Referee: B Madden

24 January 2009 Scottish Third Division	Berwick Rangers	1–2	Dumbarton	Shielfield Park
	Callaghan  28'		McLeod  21' Carcary  43'	Attendance: 425 Referee: T Robertson

31 January 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Montrose	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Carcary  5'		Hunter  54'	Attendance: 652 Referee: S Nicholls

21 February 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Cowdenbeath	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Boyle  33'		Dempster  57'	Attendance: 692 Referee: E Norris

28 February 2009 Scottish Third Division	East Stirlingshire	3–1	Dumbarton	Firs Park
	Stevenson  5' Cramb  67' (pen) Rodgers  87'		Clark  39'	Attendance: 526 Referee: C Brown

3 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	2–0	East Stirlingshire	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	McLaughlin  22' Craig  32'			Attendance: 462

7 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Albion Rovers	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Boyle  68'			Attendance: 692 Referee: J McKendrick

10 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	2–0	Elgin City	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	McLaughlin  35' Carcary  67'			Attendance: 471 Referee: N Watters

14 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Montrose	1–0	Dumbarton	Links Park
	McKenzie  65'			Attendance: 343 Referee: Mat Northcroft

17 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Albion Rovers	1–1	Dumbarton	Cliftonhill
	Barr  71'		Clark  90'	Attendance: 535 Referee: G Hilland

21 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Annan Athletic	Dumbarton Football Stadium
			Neilson  20' Jack  39'	Attendance: 815 Referee: S McLean

31 March 2009 Scottish Third Division	Elgin City	0–2	Dumbarton	Borough Briggs
			Edwards  39' (OG) McLaughlin  67'	Attendance: 271 Referee: G Hilland

4 April 2009 Scottish Third Division	Stenhousemuir	0–2	Dumbarton	Ochilview
			Lennon  44' Clark  76'	Attendance: 588 Referee: G Salmond

7 April 2009 Scottish Third Division	Forfar Athletic	0–2	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
			Clark  55', 73'	Attendance: 513 Referee: N Watters

11 April 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	2–0	Berwick Rangers	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Forbes  15' Boyle  64'			Attendance: 702 Referee: B Colvin

18 April 2009 Scottish Third Division	Cowdenbeath	0–0	Dumbarton	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
				Attendance: 1,181 Referee: S Finnie

25 April 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	4–0	Forfar Athletic	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Smith  4' (OG) McLaughlin  25' Carcary  33' Brannan  80'			Attendance: 539 Referee: S Finnie

2 May 2009 Scottish Third Division	Dumbarton	6–0	Elgin City	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Carcary  13', 34', 43', 66' McLaughlin  28' Murray  84'			Attendance: 1,396 Referee: E Smith

9 May 2009 Scottish Third Division	Annan Athletic	1–3	Dumbarton	Galabank
	Watson  66'		Clark  23' McLaughlin  28' Carcary  88'	Attendance: 1,343 Referee: G Salmond

Alba Challenge Cup

26 July 2008 Scottish Challenge Cup Round 1	Airdrie United	3–2	Dumbarton	Excelsior Stadium
	Noble  53' Cardle  58' Di Giacomo  75'		Clark  25' Carcary  43'	Attendance: 808

Co-operative Insurance League Cup

5 August 2009 Scottish League Cup Round 1	Dumbarton	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5-4 p)	Annan Athletic	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Logan  115'		Jack  103' (pen)	Attendance: 464

26 August 2009 Scottish League Cup Round 1	St Mirren	7–0	Dumbarton	Love Street (stadium)
	Robb  18' Mehmet  33', 50', 52' Dorman  39' Dargo  75' Mason  77'			Attendance: 1,747

Homecoming Scottish Cup

25 October 2008 Scottish Cup Round 2	Fraserburgh	0–1	Dumbarton	Bellslea Park
			Chisholm	Attendance: 517 Referee: B Colvin

29 November 2008 Scottish Cup Round 3	Ross County	2–2	Dumbarton	Victoria Park, Dingwall
	Higgins  23', 57'		Carcary  50', 83'	Attendance: 1,200

15 December 2008 Scottish Cup Round 3	Dumbarton	1–2	Ross County	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Gordon  46'		Brittain  24' (pen) Hart  37'	Attendance: 557

Pre-season

10 July 2008 Friendly	Queen's Park	2–3	Dumbarton	Hampden Park
			Geggan Keegan Gourlay

12 July 2008 Friendly	Rangers XI	2–2	Dumbarton	Ibrox Park
			Keegan Gray

15 July 2008 Friendly	Stenhousemuir	0–2	Dumbarton	Ochilview
			O'Byrne Chisholm

18 July 2008 Friendly	Dumbarton	0–1	Morton	Dumbarton Football Stadium
				Attendance: 562

22 July 2008 Friendly	Dumbarton	2–2	St Mirren	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	O'Byrne Murray		Brady Molloy	Attendance: 683

23 July 2008 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–3	Hamilton	Dumbarton Football Stadium
	Carcary		Stevenson McCarthy Akins	Attendance: 312

30 July 2008 Friendly	Rangers XI	1–2	Dumbarton	Ibrox Park
			Logan Tiernan

14 August 2008 Friendly	Vale of Leven	1–2	Dumbarton	Millburn Park
			Weir McCuiag

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	Dumbarton (C, P)	36	19	10	7	65	36	+29	67	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Cowdenbeath (P)	36	18	9	9	48	34	+14	63[lower-alpha 1]	Qualification for the Second Division Play-offs[lower-alpha 2]
3	East Stirlingshire	36	19	4	13	57	50	+7	61
4	Stenhousemuir (P, O)	36	16	8	12	55	46	+9	56
5	Montrose	36	16	6	14	47	48	−1	54

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted.
Notes:

1. Cowdenbeath were promoted due to Livingston's demotion from the First Division to the Third.
2. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams will be entered into a play-off with the Second Division's 4th placed team. The winning team will be awarded a place in the 2009–10 Second Division.

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		League Cup		Challenge Cup		Scottish Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Dave McEwan	27	0	22+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	GK		Mark McGeown	16	0	14+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	GK		Michael White	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Pat Boyle	20	3	20+0	3	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Craig Brittain	4	0	3+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Iain Chisholm	32	3	15+12	2	1+1	0	0+0	0	2+1	1
	DF		Mick Dunlop	23	0	21+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Ben Gordon	42	4	36+0	3	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	1
	DF		Gordon Lennon	39	1	32+2	1	1+1	0	0+1	0	2+0	0
	DF		Richie McKillen	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Michael O'Byrne	19	0	13+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	DF		Gary Wilson	11	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
	MF		Kieran Brannan	7	1	0+6	1	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Mark Canning	24	0	10+10	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	2+1	0
	MF		Ross Clark	37	15	30+1	14	2+0	0	1+0	1	3+0	0
	MF		Ross Forbes	18	1	15+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Andy Geggan	30	0	23+2	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	MF		Alan Gourlay	5	0	0+3	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		David Gray	9	0	2+5	0	0+1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Raymond Logan	9	1	4+2	1	2+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	MF		Kieran McAnespie	4	0	2+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Martin McNiff	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Ryan McStay	12	0	10+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Stevie Murray	41	4	34+1	4	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	MF		Fergus Tiernan	7	1	2+2	1	0+2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	FW		Derek Carcary	37	14	25+8	11	1+0	0	1+0	1	1+1	2
	FW		Paul Craig	3	1	3+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Liam Cusack	11	1	1+8	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
	FW		Paul Keegan	27	3	12+9	3	2+0	0	1+0	0	1+2	0
	FW		Denis McLaughlin	16	6	16+0	6	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Paul McLeod	27	6	19+5	6	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+1	0
	FW		Michael Moore	8	1	0+6	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW		Nathan Taylor	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Steven Weir	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

[1]

Transfers

[2]

Players in Player From Date Mick Dunlop Queen's Park 25 May 2008 Paul Keegan Partick Thistle 25 May 2008 Dave McEwan Derry City 28 May 2008 Iain Chisholm Albion Rovers 13 Jun 2008 Mark McGeown Ayr United 13 Jun 2008 Alan Gourlay Vale of Leven 19 Jun 2008 Ross Clark Alloa Athletic 27 Jun 2008 Stevie Murray Partick Thistle 1 Jul 2008 Derek Carcary Raith Rovers 7 Jul 2008 David Gray Kilbirnie Ladeside 7 Jul 2008 Gary Wilson Pollok 7 Jul 2008 Martin McNiff Leven Valley Am 9 Jul 2008 Ben Gordon Strathclyde Univ 22 Jul 2008 Michael White Alloa Athletic 25 Jul 2008 Steven Weir Livingston 9 Aug 2008 Raymond Logan Pollok 26 Aug 2008 Paul McLeod Hamilton 1 Sep 2008 Alan Cook St Mirren Youth 8 Oct 2008 Nathan Taylor Gretna 17 Jan 2009 Ross Forbes Motherwell (loan) 23 Jan 2009 Kieran McAnespie Morton (loan) 30 Jan 2009 Pat Boyle Everton 31 Jan 2009 Ryan McStay Partick Thistle 3 Feb 2009 Denis McLaughlin Hearts (loan) 21 Feb 2009 Paul Craig Benburb 3 Mar 2009

Players out Player To Date David Crawford Queen's Park 12 Jun 2008 Tommy Coyne Albion Rovers 15 Jul 2008 Greg Cavanagh St Anthonys 1 Aug 2008 Kenny Haswell Kirkintilloch Rob Roy 1 Aug 2008 Steven Weir Arbroath 21 Aug 2008 Chris Hamilton Stirling Albion 22 Aug 2008 Alan Gourlay Vale of Leven 10 Oct 2008 Craig Brittain 2 Jan 2009 David Gray 31 Jan 2009 Jason McLaughlin 31 Jan 2009 Liam Cusack Annan Athletic 2 Feb 2009 Michael Moore Stranraer 27 Feb 2009 Axel Orrström AC Oulu David Craig Arthurlie Peter Shaw Arthurlie Brian McPhee Bathgate Thistle Jonathan Yule Benburb Craig Potter Cumnock Chris Gentile Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Paul McQuilken Kirkintilloch Rob Roy Anton Nugent Kirkintilloch Rob Roy David McNaught Vale of Leven Ryan Russell Vale of Leven Richie McKillen Glenafton Athletic Raymond Logan Michael Stokes

Trivia

• The League match against Annan Athletic on 9 May marked Andy Geggan's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 130th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.

See also

• 2008–09 in Scottish football

References

1. Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2009/10. London: Headline Publishing Group. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7553-1948-0.
2. Litster, John. Record of Post-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.

External links

• Michael White (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Richie McKillen (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Michael O'Byrne (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Gary Wilson (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Kieran Brannan (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Alan Gourlay (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• David Gray (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Paul Craig (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Liam Cusack (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Nathan Taylor (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Scottish Football Historical Archive