1997–98 Dumbarton F.C. season

Season 1997–98 was the 114th football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 92nd time, the Scottish Cup for the 103rd time, the Scottish League Cup for the 51st time and the Scottish Challenge Cup for the eighth time.

Overview

In Ian Wallace's first full season at the helm, Dumbarton's poor financial status meant that the team was almost unchanged from the one that had dropped from the Second Division the previous season. Nevertheless, initial results were promising, but this was soon to be replaced with that well known sinking feeling as the season went on. From January, Dumbarton registered just 3 league wins, and from the end of February till the end of the season propped up the rest of the league - easily Dumbarton's worst league performance in its history.

In the national cup competitions, however, the five-year wait for some progress was brought to an end. In the Scottish Cup, an uninspiring win over Highland League outfit Lossiemouth presented Dumbarton with a tie against Premier Division Motherwell in the third round. After holding their opponents to a home draw, they battled fiercely in the replay only to lose by a single goal.

In the League Cup, old rivals Queen's Park were dispatched in the first round, before Dumbarton found Premier Division Aberdeen too hot to handle.

Finally, however, in the Challenge Cup, it was the same old story - eight seasons and eight first round defeats - Falkirk would be the victors this time.

Locally, in the Stirlingshire Cup, the format reverted to group ties, but with only one win from three ties, Dumbarton failed to reach the final.

Results

Win
Draw
Loss

All results are written with Dumbarton's score first.

Scottish League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance
5 August 1997	Cowdenbeath	A	2-0	McKinnon;Reilly	232
16 August 1997	Montrose	H	2-2	McKinnon;Ward	395
23 August 1997	Berwick Rangers	H	3-5	McKinnon(2);Mellis	304
30 August 1997	Alloa Athletic	H	0-1		465
13 September 1997	Albion Rovers	A	1-2	Brittain	495
20 September 1997	Arbroath	A	1-2	Gow	702
27 September 1997	Queen's Park	H	0-0		436
4 October 1997	East Stirling	A	1-3	McKinnon	321
18 October 1997	Ross County	H	2-2	Ward(2)	452
25 October 1997	Berwick Rangers	H	1-4	Glancy	413
1 November 1997	Montrose	A	2-2	Brittain;Sharp	347
8 November 1997	Alloa Athletic	A	2-1	Sharp;Grace	424
15 November 1997	Albion Rovers	H	1-1	McKinnon	425
22 November 1997	Queen's Park	A	3-2	McKinnon;Sharp(2)	548
29 November 1997	Arbroath	H	1-2	Meechan	379
13 December 1997	Ross County	A	3-2	Meechan(2);Glancy	1,226
20 December 1997	East Stirling	H	0-1		323
27 December 1997	Berwick Rangers	H	1-1	McKinnon	449
10 January 1998	Cowdenbeath	H	1-2	Mooney	338
17 January 1998	Queen's Park	H	0-0		408
31 January 1998	Arbroath	A	2-2	Meechan;Grace	666
4 February 1998	Ross County	H	0-1		447
17 February 1998	East Stirling	A	0-1		181
21 February 1998	Cowdenbeath	A	0-2		255
25 February 1998	Montrose	H	2-3	Mooney;McKinnon	315
28 February 1998	Alloa Athletic	H	0-3		396
7 March 1998	Albion Rovers	A	2-2	Sharp;Grace	417
14 March 1998	Queen's Park	A	2-0	Sharp;Grace	528
21 March 1998	Arbroath	H	1-2	Sharp	383
28 March 1998	Ross County	A	0-0		1,475
4 April 1998	East Stirling	H	1-0	Wilson	338
11 April 1998	Alloa Athletic	A	0-3		538
18 April 1998	Albion Rovers	H	2-0	Mooney;Meechan	398
25 April 1998	Berwick Rangers	H	0-2		310
2 May 1998	Montrose	A	1-2	Mooney	305
9 May 1998	Cowdenbeath	H	2-3	Mooney;McKinnon	413

Scottish Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance
3 January 1998	2	Lossiemouth	A	1-0	McCuaig	509
24 January 1998	3	Motherwell	H	1-1	Sharp	2,412
27 January 1998	3R	Motherwell	A	0-1		4,202

Scottish League Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance
2 August 1997	1	Queen's Park	H	1-1*	Bruce	544
9 August 1997	2	Aberdeen	H	1-5	McKinnon	1,739

* - won on penalties after extra time

Scottish Challenge Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers	Attendance
12 August 1997	1	Falkirk	H	0-2		447

Stirlingshire Cup

Date	Rd	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
22 July 1997	P	Stenhousemuir	H	0-2
26 July 1997	P	Alloa Athletic	H	1-2	Glancy
18 August 1997	P	Stirling Albion	H	4-1	Grace(2):Glancy;Ward

Other Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorers
21 July 1997	Norwich City	H	3-2	Ward(2);Mellis
28 July 1997	Clydebank	H	0-0
20 October 1997	Vanguard Hao Doa	H	3-1	McKinnon;Grace;Glancy

Player Statistics

Squad^[1]^[2]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Third Division		League Cup		Challenge Cup		Scottish Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Derek Barnes	6	0	6+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Kenny Meechan	36	0	30+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	DF		Craig Brittain	29	2	23+0	2	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	DF		Jamie Bruce	27	1	21+1	0	2+0	1	0+0	0	3+0	0
	DF		Tom Currie	16	0	15+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Chris Dalrymple	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Billy Davidson	6	0	4+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Stevie Gow	25	1	21+0	1	2+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Alex Grace	32	4	23+5	4	0+1	0	0+1	0	1+1	0
	DF		Stephen Hamill	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	DF		Stephen Jack	12	0	11+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Martin Melvin	3	0	1+0	0	0+1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		David Reid	17	0	15+1	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	MF		Jim Meechan	41	5	36+0	5	2+0	0	0+0	0	3+0	0
	MF		Adrian Mellis	19	1	5+11	1	1+0	0	1+0	0	0+1	0
	MF		Billy Melvin	7	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Robert Prytz	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Willie Wilson	38	1	30+2	1	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	FW		Chris Ewing	2	0	1+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Marc Falconer	8	0	6+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Paddy Flannery	13	0	5+6	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW		Martin Glancy	26	2	11+10	2	2+0	0	1+0	0	0+2	0
	FW		Hrienn Hringsson	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Ross McCuaig	18	1	12+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	1
	FW		Colin McKinnon	39	11	32+1	10	2+0	1	1+0	0	3+0	0
	FW		Martin Mooney	36	5	26+4	5	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	FW		Tommi Orismaa	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Robert Reilly	10	1	4+2	1	1+1	0	1+0	0	0+1	0
	FW		Lee Sharp	40	8	34+0	7	2+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	1
	FW		Hugh Ward	26	3	9+11	3	0+2	0	1+0	0	1+2	0

Transfers^[3]

Players in

Player	From	Date
Adrian Mellis	Vale of Leven	11 Jun 1997
Craig Brittain	Ashfield	14 Jun 1997
Alex Grace	Vale of Leven	25 Jul 1997
Robert Prytz	Kilmarnock	30 Aug 1997
Marc Falconer	Queen's Park	1 Sep 1997
Tom Currie	Clydebank	18 Oct 1997
Chris Ewing	Stranraer	18 Oct 1997
Hrienn Hringsson	East Stirling	1 Nov 1997
Ross McCuaig	Leven Valley	21 Nov 1997
Paddy Flannery	Morton	27 Dec 1997
Stephen Jack	Cowdenbeath	25 Feb 1998
Billy Melvin	Clydebank	27 Mar 1998
Tommi Orismaa	TPS	30 Mar 1998
Chris Dalrymple	Yoker Athletic (trialist)

Players out

Player	To	Date
Gordon Parks	East Stirling	4 Jun 1997
Toby King	Clyde	10 Jun 1997
Robert Prytz	Cowdenbeath	20 Dec 1997
Hugh Ward	Clydebank	27 Mar 1998
Martin McGarvey	Arthurlie
Stephen Dallas	Baillieston
Sam McGivern	Dalry Thistle
Graeme McKenzie	Kilbirnie Ladeside
Alan Granger	Petershill
Peter Dennison	Vale of Leven
Joe Goldie	Vale of Leven
Jim McGall	Vale of Leven
Adrian Mellis	Vale of Leven

Factfile

* The League Cup match against Queen's Park on 2 August marked Hugh Ward's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 111th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
* The League match against East Stirling on 20 December marked Martin Mooney's 200th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 27th Dumbarton player to break the 'double century'.

References

↑ Scottish Football League Review 1998-99. The Scottish Football League. 1999.
↑ McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.
↑ Litster, John. Record of Post-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.

External links

Dumbarton F.C. seasons

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1997–98 in Scottish football
« 1996–97 1998–99 »
Domestic leagues	Football League Premier Division First Division Second Division Third Division Highland League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup (Final) League Cup (Final) Challenge Cup (Final) Junior Cup
European competitions	Champions League UEFA Cup UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Related to national team	Results 1998 World Cup qualifying (Group 4) 1998 World Cup
Club seasons
Premier Division	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee United Dunfermline Athletic Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Motherwell Rangers St. Johnstone
First Division	Airdrieonians Ayr United Dundee Falkirk Greenock Morton Hamilton Academical Partick Thistle Raith Rovers St. Mirren Stirling Albion
Second Division	Brechin City Clyde Clydebank East Fife Forfar Athletic Inverness Caledonian Thistle Livingston Queen of the South Stenhousemuir Stranraer
Third Division	Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Arbroath Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath Dumbarton East Stirlingshire Montrose Queen's Park Ross County

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