SPL Play-offs: Dumbarton stand ready to move up

Dumbarton hold a 2-1 advantage going into today’s play-off final second leg against hosts Airdrie United and stand on the brink of First Division football for the first time since Murdo MacLeod was their player/manager 17 years ago.

If current boss Alan Adamson’s men emulate MacLeod’s Sons and see off the Diamonds, the long-winded Dumbarton Football Stadium sponsored by Douglas L Cameron will host football in Scotland’s second tier for the very first time.

Chief executive Gilbert Lawrie said: “The last time we played in the First Division it was at good old Boghead and we beat Dundee United there that season. We moved to our new home in 2000 and this is the closest we have come to the First Division since then.”

Dumbarton’s ground holds just over 2,000 and Lawrie knows that, if his side are successful, he could be in for a busy time. He said: “It is a modern stadium but it only has one stand. Capacity will be tight if the likes of Partick Thistle, Morton, Dunfermline and Dundee visit us on the back of a good run. We would have a number of all-ticket games and there is a downside.”

It is a downside that Lawrie would not really mind having. He said: “With all-ticket games you are not getting in all the supporters that want to come along and are therefore not generating as much income as you could. We don’t have that problem to worry about yet and it would be a very nice problem to have.”

If promotion is secured it is unlikely to be followed by an open cheque book for Adamson, with Lawrie saying: “This season’s success has been built on a squad of 14 players augmented by loan deals for SPL youngsters and players from our youth set-up. Airdrie are much the same. It looks like the days of experienced professionals dropping down the divisions are no longer here. The approach we have used has generated a great spirit as, when you have a bigger squad, you can get resentment when players don’t play.

“If we go up we would keep the same philosophy.”

Dumbarton will be without captain Paul Nugent after he was sent off in the first leg, with Craig Dargo ruled out and Mark Gilhaney rated as extremely doubtful due to hamstring injuries.

Adamson said: “We lost four of our first six games this season but the recovery from the players has been tremendous.”

Airdrie boss Jimmy Boyle is looking to secure his club’s first ever play-off success in five attempts. He said: “The players have done wonderfully well to get us to this stage but we don’t want to stop now. Promotion was our aim at the start of the season and it remains the same.”

Diamonds defender Cameron MacDonald is out after he aggravated an ankle injury in Wednesday night’s defeat and he joins the injured pair of Graeme Owens and Phil Johnston on the sidelines.