Arbroath put the wind up Dumbarton

Arbroath eventually swept aside an average Dumbarton side that tried to play football but lacked the killer touch. 605 fans - maybe 100 from the away side - mostly enjoyed a fairly open game at a sunny but blustery Gayfield

Dobbins came into the starting lineup in place of Raeside with Ross

Dumbarton showed up early on. With the wind at their backs Arboath struggled all the half to control their attacks with many instances of passes and crosses overhit.

We normally seem unable to handle the wind but suddenly on 15 minutes a stroke of genius from Barry Sellars upset that theory. Taking a pass just about the edge of the centre circle IN HIS OWN HALF, he struck a fierce shot which gathered pace with the wind and bounced over the keeper into the net. Probably the longest range goal ever witnessed at Gayf.

Our defence needed to be sharp as the Sons put together some nice passing movements but which came to nought. We came more into the game as halftime approached with freekicks, throwins all overhit or handled well by their keeper

At halftime there were mixed views on whether the one-goal advantage would be enough into the teeth of the wind. Any nerves were settled 2 minutes into the second half when Sellars (?) met a great corner from McCulloch unchallenged on the penalty spot and Hislop delicately steered it past the keeper 2-0.

Thereafter we showed up in some nice spells, hislop giving a masterclass in keeping possession up front on his own, running the ball into the corner. The defence seemed to be handling diminishing efforts by the away side.

But just as the crowd were drifting away, oddy hunter was allowed to drift in from the right and fire it into the net on 89 minutes. The pressure was on again and Dumbarton were close to equalising. We then broke forward, Barry took up good position on the right and fired in the perfect low cros for Ross to finish well. Bizarrely he was booked before the restart when the ref whistled immediately - so what time was wasted?

Second half performance was encouraging - we kep better possession as the game opened out. Dumbarton were not the strongest opposition bu two wins in two games is a solid start