1976–77 Dumbarton F.C. season

January 2015 January 2015 Dumbarton 1976–1977 Alex Wright Boghead Park, Dumbarton Scottish League Division 1 7th Scottish Cup Third Round Scottish League Cup Prelims John Bourke (19) John Bourke (22) 4000 500 1450 1975–76 1977–78 Season 1976–77 was the 93rd football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 71st time, the Scottish Cup for the 82nd time and the Scottish League Cup for the 30th time. Overview Dumbarton played for the second successive season in Division 1, but with the Spring Cup being dispensed with, the league programme was extended by each team playing the other 3 times. Facing the unlucky ballot of two away trips to newly relegated Dundee, as well what proved to be the division's top two teams, St Mirren and Clydebank, provided an immediate disadvantage. Once again a poor start was to scupper Dumbarton's promotion ambitions. On this occasion the transfer of future £1m player Ian Wallace to Coventry City immediately following a 3–3 home draw with Celtic in the season-opening League Cup sections proved a disruptive loss as only a single win was gained from the first 6 league games. Although this was immediately followed by a seven-game unbeaten run, and there was another unbeaten run of five games from the end of November until the end of January, thereafter results were without any level of consistency - something which almost led to manager Alex Wright resigning in February - although a mid-table 7th place was achieved in the end. In the Scottish Cup it was once again Hearts who were to end any thoughts of a cup run for Dumbarton, losing in a third round replay by the only goal, after a 1-1 drawn game at Tynecastle Park. In the League Cup, another tough qualifying group, which included two of the top-four Premier Division clubs, Celtic (again) and Dundee United, was to prove to be too much of a hurdle to progress to the knock-out stages. However, 2 wins and 2 draws from the 6 ties (including the 3–3 home draw with Celtic after leading 3–1 at half-time, and a 1–1 draw away to Dundee United) was a creditable achievement for a second-tier side. Locally, in the Stirlingshire Cup, Dumbarton were defeated by Alloa Athletic in the first round. Elsewhere during the pre-season a short tour of Spain was undertaken. Results & fixtures #ccffcc Win 1px solid #AAAAAA #ffffcc Draw 1px solid #AAAAAA #ffcccc Loss 1px solid #AAAAAA Scottish First Division 1976–77 Scottish Football League L 1 4 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–1 Dundee Dumbarton Hutchinson 10Pirie 53 Muir 61 Dens Park 4,619 M Delaney L 1 8 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–0 Arbroath Dumbarton Fletcher 18 Gayfield Park 753 E Pringle W 1 11 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–1 Dumbarton Montrose Bourke 72 76 Lowe 86 Boghead Park 1,000 A ferguson L 1 14 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–3 Dumbarton Airdrie Bourke 5 McCulloch 2Clark 59Whiteford 80 Boghead Park 1,200 L 1 18 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–1 St Mirren Dumbarton McDowall 11McKinlay 71 OG Bourke 8 Love Street (stadium) 2,500 J Gordon L 1 25 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–2 Dumbarton Hamilton Brown, A 68 McGrogan 40Lynch 62 Boghead Park 1,500 R Hopkins W 1 29 September 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–3 East Fife Dumbarton O'Connor 27Young 67 Brown, A 2Muir 20Steele 62 Bayview Park, Methil 784 D 1 2 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Raith Rovers Dumbarton Urquhart 62 pen Muir 56 Starks Park 1,553 K Hope W 1 5 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 5–1 Dumbarton East Fife Muir 10 51 75Steele 16Bourke 20 Law 1 Boghead Park 1,000 H Alexander D 1 9 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Dumbarton Morton Bourke 50 Brown 44 Boghead Park 2,000 A McFaull W 1 16 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–2 St Johnstone Dumbarton McKay Bourke 73 82 Muirton Park 2,000 J Renton D 1 20 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–2 Dumbarton Falkirk McLean 16Bourke 18 Ford 30 70 pen Boghead Park 2,000 A McFaull D 1 23 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 3–3 Dumbarton Queen of the South McLean 11Bourke 76Brown, A 86 Dickson 69 73McKinlay 84 OG Boghead Park 1,505 K Stewart L 1 30 October 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–0 Clydebank Dumbarton McCallan 80Lumsden 90 pen Kilbowie Park 7,000 G Smith D 1 10 November 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Dumbarton Dundee Harvey 79 Hutchinson 9 Boghead Park 500 D Murdoch L 1 13 November 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–1 Montrose Dumbarton Low 16Street 84 Harvey 61 Links Park 1,000 M Delaney L 1 20 November 1976 Scottish Division 1 0–1 Dumbarton St Mirren Torrance 76 Boghead Park 4,000 E Pringle W 1 27 November 1976 Scottish Division 1 0–1 Hamilton Dumbarton Whiteford 84 Douglas Park 1,200 E Thomson W 1 27 December 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–2 Queen of the South Dumbarton Dempster McLean MacLeod Palmerston Park 2,500 K Hope D 1 1 January 1977 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Dumbarton Clydebank Brown, A 74 Larnach 36 Boghead Park 4,000 T Muirhead D 1 8 January 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–2 Dumbarton Montrose Whiteford 44 pen 88 Brown 61Stewart 76 Boghead Park 2,000 M Delaney D 1 22 January 1977 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Dumbarton Hamilton Whiteford 87 Lawson 44 Boghead Park 1,500 H Alexander L 1 5 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 3–1 Raith Rovers Dumbarton Harrow 15Brown, J 51Cooper 55 Brown, A 29 Starks Park 1,613 J Gordon L 1 7 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 3–2 St Mirren Dumbarton Reid 19Hyslop 24Torrance 49 pen Graham 21Bourke 46 Love Street (stadium) 7,800 I Foote L 1 12 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 0–4 Dumbarton Morton Anderson 19McGhee 46Morrison 47Goldthorpe 89 Boghead Park 1,000 I Foote W 1 19 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 0–2 St Johnstone Dumbarton Bourke 80 89 Muirton Park 1,497 A Ferguson W 1 23 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–0 Dumbarton Raith Rovers Whiteford 22Bourke 58 Boghead Park 800 R Cuthill L 1 26 February 1977 Scottish Division 1 3–0 Morton Dumbarton McGhee 49 69Goldthorp 90 Cappielow Park 2,000 W Anderson W 1 5 March 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–0 Dumbarton Queen of the South Whiteford 41Muir 46 Boghead Park 1,000 E Pringle L 1 12 March 1977 Scottish Division 1 4–2 Clydebank Dumbarton McCallan 6Houston 27 65Larnach 77 Bourke 41Whiteford 74 Kilbowie Park 4,000 D Murdoch W 1 19 March 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–1 Dumbarton Airdrie Bourke 71Whiteford 73 McVeigh 67 Boghead Park 1,000 R Valentine L 1 23 March 1977 Scottish Division 1 4–0 Dundee Dumbarton Pirie 19 33 35 62 Dens Park 2,401 A Ferguson W 1 26 March 1977 Scottish Division 1 1–2 Airdrie Dumbarton McVeigh 30 Whiteford 48Bourke 80 Broomfield Park 2,000 J Gordon W 1 2 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 1–3 Falkirk Dumbarton Wilson 56 pen Whiteford 12 pen 41MacLeod 69 Brockville Park 1,000 T Kellock L 1 6 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–4 Dumbarton St Johnstone Whiteford 24 pen 35 O'Connor 2Anderson 55Brogan 77 81 Boghead Park 1,000 A Downie W 1 9 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 4–0 Dumbarton Falkirk MacLeod 23 39Whiteford Muir Boghead Park 1,000 W Anderson L 1 16 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 2–3 Dumbarton Arbroath MacLeod 4Bourke 66 Yule 56Rylance 71Bone 84 Boghead Park 1,000 K Hope W 1 23 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 1–2 Arbroath Dumbarton Yule Wells OGMacLeod Gayfield Park 957 M Delaney D 1 30 April 1977 Scottish Division 1 3–3 Dumbarton East Fife McLean 27MacLeod 39Bourke 85 Clarke 15 penGillies 69Huskie 80 Boghead Park 2,000 A McGunnigle Scottish Cup 1976–77 Scottish Cup D 1 29 January 1977 Scottish Cup round 3 1–1 Hearts Dumbarton Callachen 7 Bourke 87 Tynecastle Stadium 7,969 R Valentine L 1 2 February 1977 Scottish Cup round 3R 0–1 Dumbarton Hearts Gibson 112 Boghead Park 4,000 R Valentine Scottish League Cup 1976–77 Scottish League Cup W 1 14 August 1975 Section 3 2–0 Dumbarton Arbroath Wallace 52Sinclair 69 Boghead Park 1,500 I Foote L 1 18 August 1975 Section 3 3–0 Celtic Dumbarton Doyle 25Dalglish 80 pen 88 pen Celtic Park 15,000 J Downie L 1 21 August 1975 Section 3 1–2 Dumbarton Dundee United Wallace 9 Reid 69Hegarty 84 Boghead Park 2,500 A McGunnigle D 1 25 August 1975 Section 3 3–3 Dumbarton Celtic Bourke 8 24Wallace 34 Wilson 14McDonald 61Doyle 84 Boghead Park 12,000 E Thomson D 1 28 August 1975 Section 3 1–1 Dundee United Dumbarton McAdam 42 Muir 56 Tannadice Park 4,000 I Foote W 1 1 September 1975 Section 3 0–3 Arbroath Dumbarton Muir 19Mullen 52MacLeod 58 Gayfield Park 810 R Cuthill Stirlingshire Cup L 1 15 November 1976 1st Round 2–4 Dumbarton Alloa Athletic Steele 30Brown, A 49 Muir 19Wilson 33Forrest 54McCabe 78 Boghead Park 500 A McGunnigle Pre-season Matches W 1 27 July 1976 Friendly 2–5 Vale of Leven Dumbarton Wallace Mulraine MacLeod OG Millburn Park W 1 3 August 1976 Friendly 1–6 ESPLloret Dumbarton Wallace 3Mulr Sinclair Harvey Lloret de Mar W 1 4 August 1976 Friendly 2–3 ESPMalgrat Dumbarton Wallace Smith Harvey Malgrat de Mar W 1 11 August 1976 Friendly 3–2 Dumbarton Rangers Wallace 13 69Muir 25 McDougall 39Henderson 58 Boghead Park League table DUM Player statistics Squad McAllister Jim The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club J&J Robertson Printers 2002 Dumbarton First Division Scottish Cup League Cup Ian McGregor GK SCO 1 0 0 0 0 0 Laurie Williams GK SCO 38 0 2 0 6 0 Terry Mullen DF SCO 0+1 0 0 0 0+3 1 Willie Russell DF SCO 2 0 0 0 0 0 Don Watt DF SCO 28 0 2 0 6 0 Brian Brown MF SCO 3+1 0 0 0 0 0 Johnny Graham MF SCO 33+1 1 1+1 0 6 0 Columb McKinley MF SCO 27+1 0 2 0 2+1 0 Hugh McLean MF SCO 22+8 4 2 0 3+2 0 Donald McNeil MF SCO 14+8 0 0+2 0 3 0 Martin Mowat MF SCO 10 0 0 0 0 0 Jim Muir MF SCO 26+1 8 2 0 6 2 Graeme Sinclair MF SCO 38 0 2 0 6 1 Walter Smith MF SCO 26+1 0 2 0 6 0 Raymond Blair FW SCO 11+2 0 0 0 0 0 John Bourke FW SCO 36 19 2 1 4 2 Ally Brown FW SCO 29+6 5 2 0 5 0 Jim Cook FW SCO 12+1 0 0 0 3 0 Jim Donaldson FW SCO 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 Drew Harvey FW SCO 4+5 2 1+1 0 1 0 Bobby McCallum FW SCO 10+4 0 0 0 1+1 0 Murdo MacLeod FW SCO 25+5 7 0 0 3 1 Tommy Mulraine FW SCO 2+2 0 0 0 1 0 Billy Steele FW SCO 16+4 2 0 0 0 0 Ian Wallace FW SCO 0 0 0 0 4 3 Jocky Whiteford FW SCO 19 15 2 0 0 0 |} International Caps Graeme Sinclair was selected to play for Scotland Under23s in a match against England Under23s on April 27, 1977. The tie - which was part of the unofficial under23 British Home International Championship - was won by England 1–0. This was the first Dumbarton internationalist, of any sort, for over 15 years. Transfers Litster John Record of Post-War Scottish League Players PM Publications Norwich Players in PlayerFromDate SCO Raymond Blair SCO Dunipace Juv 13 May 1976 SCO Willie Russell SCO Eastercraigs 13 May 1976 SCO Jim Donaldson SCO Eastercraigs 15 May 1976 SCO Tommy Mulraine SCO Arthurlie 19 Jul 1976 SCO Billy Steele SCO Dundee United 24 Sep 1976 SCO Jocky Whiteford SCO Falkirk 25 Nov 1976 SCO Ally McLeod SCO Douglas Acad 17 Dec 1976 SCO Joe Coyle SCO Shettleston 31 Jan 1977 SCO Bobby McCallum SCO Lanark United 29 Apr 1977 Players out PlayerToDate SCO George Kane SCO Baillieston 10 Jun 1976 SCO Peter Coleman SCO Petershill 20 Jun 1976 SCO Alan Bennett SCO East Stirling 26 Jul 1976 SCO Ian Wallace ENG Coventry City 31 Aug 1976 SCO Jim Cook SCO Falkirk 25 Nov 1976 SCO Terry Mullen SCO Falkirk 17 Dec 1976 SCO Walter Smith SCO Dundee United 27 Feb 1977 SCO Jim Brown SCO Retired Reserve team Dumbarton competed in the Scottish Reserve League and finished 9th of 18 with 14 wins and 6 draws from 34 matches. In the Scottish Second XI Cup, Dumbarton lost to Queen of the South in the second round, on penalties, after a 2–2 draw. In the Scottish Reserve League Cup, Dumbarton failed to qualifying from their section. Trivia Johnny Graham set two records during the season. His appearance in the League match against Montrose on 13 November was his 365th competitive match for the club - overtaking Andy Jardine's record set a decade earlier - and in what was to be his final match for Dumbarton, his appearance in the League match against East Fife on 30 April was his 385th competitive match for the club - setting a new club record - which still stands. The fee of £80,000 for Ian Wallace's transfer to Coventry City at the end of August set a new record. Despite only a 7th place in the league, John Bourke finished as the First Division's top scorer. At the end of the season Alex Wright gave up his managerial duties to accept a directorship and was replaced by his assistant manager Davie Wilson. See also 1976–77 in Scottish football References External links Willie Russell (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) Martin Mowatt (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) Bobby McCallum (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) Tommy Mulraine (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) Scottish Football Historical Archive Category:Dumbarton F.C. seasons Category:Scottish football clubs 1976–77 season