Match Preview – Dumbarton v Forfar Athletic

Ladbrokes League 1

Venue – C&G Systems Stadium

Date – Saturday, January 5th – kick-off 3 p.m.

Admission Prices – Adults £16 Concessions (65 & over, 13/16-year-olds) £10 12 years & under £8 Parent & Child £20

League Positions – Dumbarton – 8th place – 19 pts from 19 games Forfar Athletic – 4th place – 27 points from 19 games

Previous Results this Season – Dumbarton 0 Forfar Athletic 2 on 11.8.18
Forfar Athletic 3 Dumbarton 0 on 17.11.18

Summary – The ‘Loons’ head to Dumbarton on Saturday for their first game of the New Year clinging on to fourth place in the league table following a mixed December which saw two home derby wins and three defeats.

The report card for the first five months of the campaign would certainly read satisfactory, but also perhaps could have done better on occasions.

As has been mentioned already this week, the Athies certainly enter the New Year in a much better position than twelve months back.

Manager Jim Weir has stated as has his counterpart this weekend Jim Duffy that he hopes to augment and more importantly strengthen his squad now that the registration window has opened, but this is never an easy task at this stage of the campaign.

Back to this weekend’s encounter and John Baird is an obvious doubt for the Station Park outfit, having had to leave the field of play injured midway through the first half of the Brechin fixture.

Lewis Moore an absentee against City was due to be assessed at training on Thursday evening and hopes were high he would return to the squad.

As for the ‘Sons’, since beating Brechin City comprehensively 4-1 back on December 1st, their record reads drawn two and lost two. Last Saturday two goals from Ross Forbes, the second in the dying embers of the contest saw them pick up a point at Ochilview against Stenhousemuir.

The ‘Loons’ have triumphed in both previous encounters this season to date, but they know they will have to be at their best to glean a reward from Saturday’s encounter which comes at the beginning of to say the least an interesting run of fixtures, a home clash with Stranraer on Saturday week to be followed by visits to Kilmarnock, Arbroath and Kirkcaldy!

Match Officials – Referee – Alan Muir Assistants – Craig Ferguson & Barry Reid