1975–76 Dumbarton F.C. season

January 2015 January 2015 Dumbarton 1975–1976 Alex Wright Boghead Park, Dumbarton Scottish League Division 1 4th Scottish Cup Semi-final Scottish League Cup Prelims John Bourke (18) John Bourke (26) 4000 1500 2415 1974–75 1976–77 Season 1975–76 was the 92nd football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 70th time, the Scottish Cup for the 81st time and the Scottish League Cup for the 29th time. Overview Following league reconstruction, Dumbarton started off in the new Division 1 (second tier) of Scottish league football with a real expectation that promotion to the Premier League could be achieved. However, the departure of Willie Wallace to Australia towards the end of the previous season, followed by the transfer of brothers Colin and Tom McAdam before the end of October left a hole in the squad that proved difficult to overcome. A poor start in the league, which saw only one win taken from the first 6 fixtures (and included an astonishing 5–5 home draw with East Fife), was to handicap Dumbarton's ambitions, and eventually it required an unbeaten run of 6 games at the end of the league campaign to climb up to a respectable 4th place. It was however in the Scottish Cup where Dumbarton were to shine and after a third round win over Highland League opposition, Dumbarton were on their way to their first national cup semi-final in almost 80 years having disposed of both the clubs who would finish above them in Division 1's promotion places. Hearts provided the opposition at Hampden and, after a hard-fought 0–0 draw in which Dumbarton had the better chances, they were unable to recover from the loss of an early deflected own goal and the Premier League side eventually headed into Europe as defeated Cup Finalists. In the League Cup, Dumbarton was handed the toughest of qualifying groups, being up against 3 of the top Premier League sides, and it was no real surprise that there would be no further interest in this competition although a home win, over Hearts ironically, was well received. Due to the reduction in the number of league games, a new competition was instituted for Division 1 and 2 clubs, named the Spring Cup. Dumbarton qualified from their group with 4 wins from 6 games, and saw off Raith Rovers and Falkirk on their way to another cup semi final. It was however to be their local rivals Clydebank who would go on to the final following a 3–1 defeat. Dumbarton had finished a long season by playing no fewer than 15 matches during a hectic 8 weeks across March and April; 1 league, 3 Scottish Cup, and 11 Spring Cup ties. In a strong second half to the season, and despite the fixture congestion, Dumbarton lost only two games in addition to those semi-final defeats in its closing 23 outings. Locally, in the Stirlingshire Cup, Dumbarton beat Clydebank on penalties in the first round before surprisingly losing out to Stenhousemuir in the semi-final. Finally, Dumbarton undertook a mini-tour of England in the pre-season. Following a home game against Preston NE, the team travelled to play Chester and Tranmere Rovers. Results & fixtures #ccffcc Win 1px solid #AAAAAA #ffffcc Draw 1px solid #AAAAAA #ffcccc Loss 1px solid #AAAAAA Scottish First Division 1975–76 Scottish Football League W 1 30 August 1975 Scottish Division 1 1–2 Clyde Dumbarton Harvey 30 McLean 65 72 Shawfield Stadium 1,500 R Keggie L 1 6 September 1975 Scottish Division 1 1–4 Dumbarton Falkirk Bourke 28 Lawson 16 44McCaig 33Shirra 83 Boghead Park 3,000 D Syme L 1 13 September 1975 Scottish Division 1 3–2 Montrose Dumbarton Johnston 70 84Barr 74 pen McLean 7 65 Links Park 1,100 W Reid L 1 20 September 1975 Scottish Division 1 2–3 Dumbarton Partick Thistle Bourke 47Wallace 62 Craig, J 33 77Somner 37 Boghead Park 4,000 J Gordon D 1 27 September 1975 Scottish Division 1 5–5 Dumbarton East Fife Bourke 2McLean 28Wallace 40 62Graham 76 Kinnear 18 30Miller 34 46Hegarty 86 Boghead Park 1,500 A Ferguson L 1 4 October 1975 Scottish Division 1 3–0 Airdrie Dumbarton Jonquin 2 pen 13 penWilson 54 pen Broomfield Park 2,500 A Hope W 1 11 October 1975 Scottish Division 1 4–0 Dumbarton Morton Bourke 21Wallace 42McAdam 54 62 Boghead Park 3,000 A Paterson L 1 18 October 1975 Scottish Division 1 3–2 St Mirren Dumbarton McGillivray 43McDowall 72Reid, R 83 Bourke 54 81 Love Street (stadium) 3,500 J Paterson W 1 25 October 1975 Scottish Division 1 2–1 Dumbarton Queen of the South McAdam 5 12 Dempster 57 pen Boghead Park 1,500 T Kellock W 1 1 November 1975 Scottish Division 1 1–5 Arbroath Dumbarton McKenzie 65 Wallace 31Bourke 40Cook 73McLean 82 88 Gayfield Park 1,682 T Kyle W 1 8 November 1975 Scottish Division 1 2–0 Dumbarton Dunfermline Athletic Bourke 34Wallace 81 Boghead Park 2,000 R Keggie W 1 15 November 1975 Scottish Division 1 5–1 Dumbarton Hamilton Bourke 2McLean 19Muir 21 61Brown, A 80 Taylor 11 Boghead Park 2,000 H Alexander L 1 22 November 1975 Scottish Division 1 1–0 Kilmarnock Dumbarton Fallis 14 Rugby Park 5,000 W Mullan L 1 29 November 1975 Scottish Division 1 2–1 East Fife Dumbarton Rutherford 25Rankin 87 pen Brown, A 38 Bayview Park, Methil 1,493 A McGunnigle D 1 6 December 1975 Scottish Division 1 0–0 Dumbarton Airdrie Boghead Park 1,500 A McKenzie D 1 13 December 1975 Scottish Division 1 1–1 Morton Dumbarton Reid 86 Cook 76 Cappielow Park 2,500 JRP Gordon W 1 20 December 1975 Scottish Division 1 2–0 Dumbarton St Mirren Wallace 44Bourke89 Boghead Park 3,000 A Paterson L 1 27 December 1975 Scottish Division 1 4–2 Queen of the South Dumbarton Reid 16 21Dickson, P 46Muir83 OG McLean 28Bourke 34 Palmerston Park 2,000 G Smith L 1 1 January 1976 Scottish Division 1 3–2 Falkirk Dumbarton Mitchell Lawson Whiteford pen Cook Bourke Brockville Park 3,000 R Hopkins L 1 3 January 1976 Scottish Division 1 0–6 Dumbarton Montrose Miller 13 32Barr 35Markland 53Stewart 67Livingstone 78 Boghead Park 2,000 T Muirhead W 1 17 January 1976 Scottish Division 1 3–0 Dumbarton Kilmarnock Bourke 19 63Muir 75 Boghead Park 3,500 D Ramsay D 1 31 January 1976 Scottish Division 1 0–0 Partick Thistle Dumbarton Firhill Park 6,000 R Keggie W 1 7 February 1976 Scottish Division 1 1–0 Dumbarton Clyde Bourke 36 Boghead Park 2,000 T Kellock W 1 21 February 1976 Scottish Division 1 3–2 Dumbarton Arbroath McLean 1Muir 22Wallace 52 Yule 77Fettes 79 Boghead Park 2,500 T Kyle W 1 28 February 1976 Scottish Division 1 0–3 Dunfermline Athletic Dumbarton Bourke 3 54Wallace 13 East End Park 2,500 K Hope W 1 15 March 1976 Scottish Division 1 2–3 Hamilton Dumbarton Thomas 25 82 Wallace 35Cook56Kane 78 Douglas Park 1,500 W Mullen Scottish Cup 1975–76 Scottish Cup W 1 24 January 1976 Scottish Cup round 3 2–0 Dumbarton Keith Wallace 21Muir 72 MacKintosh 68 Boghead Park 2,500 D Downie D 1 14 February 1976 Scottish Cup round 4 0–0 Partick Thistle Dumbarton Firhill Park 8,300 J Paterson W 1 25 February 1976 Scottish Cup round 4R 1–0 Dumbarton Partick Thistle Wallace 55 Boghead Park 7,539 J Paterson W 1 6 March 1976 Scottish Cup round 5 2–1 Dumbarton Kilmarnock Clarke 53 OGMuir 74 Fallis 64 Boghead Park 7,796 I Foote D 1 3 April 1976 Scottish Cup Semi-final 0–0 Hearts Dumbarton Hampden Park 16,087 I Foote L 1 14 April 1976 Scottish Cup Semi-final Replay 3–0 Hearts Dumbarton Smith 8 OGPrentice 35Busby 47 Hampden Park 11,273 I Foote Scottish League Cup 1975–76 Scottish League Cup W 1 9 August 1975 Section 3 2–1 Dumbarton Hearts McLean 23Bourke 89 Callachan38 Boghead Park 4,000 R Davidson L 1 13 August 1975 Section 3 2–0 Aberdeen Dumbarton Graham 7Jarvie 37 Pittodrie Park 6,000 T Muirhead L 1 16 August 1975 Section 3 3–1 Celtic Dumbarton Wilson 32Lennox 35Edvaldsson 84 McAdam 62 Celtic Park 23,000 D Downie L 1 20 August 1975 Section 3 0–1 Dumbarton Aberdeen Hair 72 Boghead Park 3,000 T Kellock L 1 23 August 1975 Section 3 0–8 Dumbarton Celtic Hood 4 57McGrain 19Dalglish 49 62Callaghan 70Wilson 87 89 Boghead Park 14,000 R Valentine L 1 27 August 1975 Section 3 6–2 Hearts Dumbarton Hancock 6Callachan 15Prentice 24Busby 29 82Park 89 Cook28Brown 69 Tynecastle Stadium 6,000 A Ferguson Spring Cup W 1 10 March 1976 Section 4 4–1 Dumbarton Albion Rovers Cook 11Bourke 14 88Muir 60 pen McLean 44 Boghead Park 1,123 D Syme W 1 13 March 1976 Section 4 0–1 Arbroath Dumbarton Wallace 64 Gayfield Park 1,187 F Pringle L 1 20 March 1976 Section 4 2–1 Stenhousemuir Dumbarton Sinclair 11Wight 65 McKinlay 42 Ochilview Park 489 R Keggie L 1 27 March 1976 Section 4 1–2 Dumbarton Arbroath Wallace 68 Bone 61Fletcher 80 Boghead Park 1,500 T Muirhead W 1 7 April 1976 Section 4 1–2 Albion Rovers Dumbarton Sermanni 41 Wallace 20 45 Cliftonhill Stadium 1,000 A McGunnigle W 1 10 April 1976 Section 4 3–1 Dumbarton Stenhousemuir McLeod 43Bourke 79 84 Simpson 57 Boghead Park 1,500 A Ferguson D 1 17 April 1976 Round 2(1) 2–2 Raith Rovers Dumbarton Graham 14Wallace 22 Brown, A 47Cooper 83 OG Starks Park 3,201 D Syme W 1 19 April 1976 Round 2(2) 4–0 6–2 Dumbarton Raith Rovers Wallace 3 27Graham 20Bourke 23 Boghead Park 2,500 D Syme W 1 21 April 1976 Round 3(1) 4–2 Dumbarton Falkirk Harvey 42 64Graham 69Bourke 77 Whiteford 53 penLawson 90 Boghead Park 2,000 I Foote W 1 24 April 1976 Round 3(2) 1–2 3–6 Falkirk Dumbarton Fowler 67 Bourke 51Brown, A 61 Brockville Park 2,000 I Foote L 1 28 April 1976 Semi-final 3–1 Clydebank Dumbarton McCallan 57 80Hall 72 Wallace 60 Kilbowie Park 3,000 E Thomson Stirlingshire Cup W 1 3 November 1975 1st round 1–1(5 – 4 on penalties) Dumbarton Clydebank McAdam Cooper 89 Boghead Park L 1 11 November 1975 Semi-final 3–1 Stenhousemuir Dumbarton McPaul 10 52Halliday 79 McCormack 74 Ochilview Park Pre-season and other matches W 1 16 July 1975 Friendly 2–0 Dumbarton Vale of Leven Mathie Boghead Park L 1 28 July 1975 Friendly 2–0 Queen's Park Dumbarton Brown 19 OGMcGill 71 Hampden Park D 1 30 July 1975 Friendly 2–2 Dumbarton ENGPreston NE Wallace 19McAdam30 Elwess 78 87 Boghead Park W Anderson D 1 2 August 1975 Friendly 1–1 ENGChester City Dumbarton Lennard35 Bourke 89 Sealand Road 1,885 R Furnell W 1 4 August 1975 Friendly 2–3 ENGTranmere Rovers Dumbarton Moore 26Peplow Bourke 10Wallace Prenton Park W 1 1 October 1975 Friendly 5–3 Dumbarton Morton Rankin OG Mullen McCormackHarvey Evans Nelson Brown Boghead Park L 1 16 March 1976 Friendly 1–3 Dumbarton Rangers Kane 2 Sinclair 25 OGFyfe 60Scott 85 Boghead Park B McGinlay League table DUM Player statistics Squad First Division Scottish Cup League Cup Spring Cup Ian McGregor GK SCO 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 Laurie Williams GK SCO 26 0 5 0 4 0 11 0 Jim Brown DF SCO 1+1 0 3 0 0+2 1 0 0 Terry Mullen DF SCO 9+2 0 4+1 0 1+1 0 5+1 0 Don Watt DF SCO 25 0 6 0 6 0 11 0 Alan Bennett MF SCO 1+2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Brian Brown MF SCO 0+3 0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 John Cushley MF SCO 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Johnny Graham MF SCO 22+3 1 6 0 6 0 11 2 Columb McKinley MF SCO 19+1 0 6 0 3 0 11 1 Hugh McLean MF SCO 21+1 10 4+1 0 6 1 6+3 0 Donald McNeil MF SCO 11+3 0 0+1 0 0 0 7+1 0 Jim Muir MF SCO 18 3 6 2 4 0 5 1 Denis Ruddy MF SCO 2+1 0 0 0 4+1 0 0 0 Graeme Sinclair MF SCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 Walter Smith MF SCO 24 0 6 0 0 0 6 0 John Bourke FW SCO 25 18 6 0 4 1 10 7 Ally Brown FW SCO 19 2 5 0 5 0 8+1 2 Peter Coleman FW SCO 5 0 0 0 2+3 0 0+1 0 Jim Cook FW SCO 25+1 4 5 0 5+1 1 9+2 1 Drew Harvey FW SCO 0 0 0 0 0 0 2+1 2 George Kane FW SCO 0+1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Ross Mathie FW SCO 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tom McAdam FW SCO 6 4 0 0 5+1 1 0 0 Murdo MacLeod FW SCO 1+6 0 0 0 0 0 5+1 1 Ian Wallace FW SCO 25+1 10 6 2 5 0 8 8 |} McAllister Jim The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club J&J Robertson Printers 2002 Dumbarton Transfers Players in PlayerFromDate SCO Columb McKinley SCO Airdrie 19 Jun 1975 SCO Hugh McLean ENG Swindon Town 8 Jul 1975 SCO Donald McNeil SCO Eastercraigs 17 Jul 1975 SCO Drew Harvey SCO Anniesland Waverley 6 Aug 1975 SCO Walter Smith SCO Dundee United 18 Sep 1975 SCO Graeme Sinclair SCO Eastercraigs 27 Oct 1975 SCO Martin Mowat ENG Everton 23 Feb 1976 SCO George Kane ENG Notts County 4 Mar 1976 Players out PlayerToDate SCO Colin McAdam SCO Motherwell 19 May 1975 SCO Jim McIntyre SCO Glasgow Perthshire 28 Jul 1975 SCO Alan Mackin SCO Renfrew 4 Aug 1975 SCO Willie Menmuir SCO Alloa Athletic 2 Sep 1975 SCO Denis Ruddy SCO Stenhousemuir 15 Oct 1975 SCO Tom McAdam SCO Dundee United 31 Oct 1975 SCO Roy McCormack AUS APIA 14 Feb 1976 SCO Ross Mathie SCO Motherwell 23 Mar 1976 SCO John Cushley SCO Coaching SCO Drew Checkley SCO Freed Litster John Record of Post-War Scottish League Players PM Publications Norwich Reserve team Dumbarton competed in the Combined Reserve League and in the Combined Reserve League Cup. Reports of these games are sparse although it is known that Partick Thistle were league champions. In the Scottish Second XI Cup, Dumbarton lost to Partick Thistle in the third round. In the Scottish Reserve League Cup, Dumbarton failed to qualifying from their section. Trivia The League Cup match against Celtic on 23 August marked Johnny Graham's 300th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 4th Dumbarton player to achieve this accolade. The League match against Falkirk on 6 September marked Tom McAdam's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 71st Dumbarton player to reach this milestone. The League match against Airdrie on 6 December marked Laurie Williams's 200th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 13th Dumbarton player to break the 'double century'. The Spring Cup match against Stenhousemuir on 20 March marked Don Watt's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 72nd Dumbarton player to reach this milestone. The Spring Cup match against Raith Rovers on 17 April marked John Bourke's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 73rd Dumbarton player to reach this milestone. The transfer fee of £40,000 for Tom McAdam's departure to Dundee United at the end of October matched the record set by Kenny Wilson three seasons earlier. Dumbarton broke both the goals for and goals against 'centuries' during the season. By scoring 106 goals in all games, this was the 14th time that the 'century - for' had been broken, and by conceding 103, this was the 20th time that the 'century - against' had been broken. See also 1975–76 in Scottish football References External links Jim Brown (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) George Kane (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive) Scottish Football Historical Archive Category:Dumbarton F.C. seasons Category:Scottish football clubs 1975–76 season