Dumbarton take care of Rovers in 20 minutes

Sep 19 2008 by Marc McLean, Lennox Herald (main ed)

LAST time Dumbarton visited Cliftonhill before Saturday, the fans witnessed a fantastic winning goal by Mark Canning.

But this visit to Coatbridge saw an equally stunning strike by Ross Clark set Sons on the road to a crucial three points.

The midfielder's 30-yard pile-driver on seven minutes was followed 10 minutes later by Ben Gordon's first senior goal to double the lead.

In the second half, Paul McLeod got a debut goal from the spot before Pat Walker, also with a penalty, replied for Rovers.

However, the talk was all about THAT effort by Clark, which is definitely the benchmark for goal of the season.

Not only was the finish spectacular – the ball travelled from one goal to the other without a home player touching it.

It was just one element of a confident display by Sons which gave them a fully deserved three points.

They made a positive start when McLeod met Paul Keegan's cross 10 yards out but headed just over.

Then came Clark's netbuster after a five-man passing move, starting from keeper Dave McEwan. Had this goal been scored at a higher level, you'd be watching replays of it for the rest of the season.

After Keegan had headed wide, Gordon doubled the lead on 17 minutes, and this goal wasn't too bad either.

The Rovers defence twice failed to clear Stevie Murray's corner and the centre half drove home from the edge of the area.

The home side came back strongly, with Bobby Barr hitting the post before Walker headed just wide.

But Sons finished the first half on top, with Keegan and McLeod having further opportunities to score but neither finding the target.

The second half wasn't as exciting, although McLeod was unlucky when a defender just stopped him meeting Derek Carcary's low cross.

However, he got his debut goal on 59 minutes after Alan Reid clipped his heels in the penalty area.

The striker immediately grabbed the ball and although the keeper got a hand to his effort, he couldn't keep it out.

Rovers, though, were handed a consolation goal a minute later when Michael O'Byrne clashed with Walker in the area.

Walker, playing his last game for Rovers before heading off around the world, scored from the spot.

After Todd Lumsden was off target with a long-range effort for the home side, Sons saw the game out quite comfortably.

Dumbarton: McEwan; Lennon, Wilson, O'Byrne, Gordon, Clark (Tiernan 63), Carcary (Cusack 88), Geggan, McLeod, Keegan (McNiff 82), Murray. Subs: Gray, McGeown.

Booked: O'Byrne (70, persistent fouling).

Referee: Brian Winter

Crowd: 327

Rock Star points: 3pts O'Byrne, 2pts Gordon, 1pt Clark