1975–76 Dumbarton F.C. season

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

  Win   Draw   Loss

Scottish First Division

Clyde v Dumbarton

30 August 1975 Scottish Division 1	Clyde	1-2	Dumbarton	Shawfield Stadium
	Harvey 30'		McLean 65', 72'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: R Keggie

Dumbarton v Falkirk

6 September 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-4	Falkirk	Boghead Park
	Bourke 28'		Lawson 16', 44' McCaig 33' Shirra 83'	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: D Syme

Montrose v Dumbarton

13 September 1975 Scottish Division 1	Montrose	3-2	Dumbarton	Links Park
	Johnston 70', 84' Barr 74' (pen)		McLean 7', 65'	Attendance: 1,100 Referee: W Reid

Dumbarton v Partick Thistle

20 September 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-3	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	Bourke 47' Wallace 62'		Craig,J 33', 77' Somner 37'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: J Gordon

Dumbarton v East Fife

27 September 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	5-5	East Fife	Boghead Park
	Bourke 2' McLean 28' Wallace 40', 62' Graham 76'		Kinnear 18', 30' Miller 34', 46' Hegarty 86'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: A Ferguson

Airdrie v Dumbarton

4 October 1975 Scottish Division 1	Airdrie	3-0	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
	Jonquin 2' (pen), 13' (pen) Wilson 54' (pen)			Attendance: 2,500 Referee: A Hope

Dumbarton v Morton

11 October 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	4-0	Morton	Boghead Park
	Bourke 21' Wallace 42' McAdam 54', 62'			Attendance: 3,000 Referee: A Paterson

St Mirren v Dumbarton

18 October 1975 Scottish Division 1	St Mirren	3-2	Dumbarton	Love Street (stadium)
	McGillivray 43' McDowall 72' Reid,R 83'		Bourke 54', 81'	Attendance: 3,500

Dumbarton v Queen of the South

25 October 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-1	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	McAdam 5', 12'		Dempster 57' (pen)	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: T Kellock

Arbroath v Dumbarton

1 November 1975 Scottish Division 1	Arbroath	1-5	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
	McKenzie 65'		Wallace 31' Bourke 40' Cook 73' McLean 82', 88'	Attendance: 1,682 Referee: T Kyle

Dumbarton v Dunfermline Athletic

8 November 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-0	Dunfermline Athletic	Boghead Park
	Bourke 34' Wallace 81'			Attendance: 2,000 Referee: R Keggie

Dumbarton v Hamilton

15 November 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	5-1	Hamilton	Boghead Park
	Bourke 2' McLean 19' Muir 21', 61' Brown,A 80'		Taylor 11'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: H Alexander

Kilmarnock v Dumbarton

22 November 1975 Scottish Division 1	Kilmarnock	1-0	Dumbarton	Rugby Park
	Fallis 14'			Attendance: 5,000 Referee: W Mullan

East Fife v Dumbarton

29 November 1975 Scottish Division 1	East Fife	2-1	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	Rutherford 25' Rankin 87' (pen)		Brown,A 38'	Attendance: 1,493 Referee: A McGunnigle

Morton v Dumbarton

13 December 1975 Scottish Division 1	Morton	1-1	Dumbarton	Cappielow Park
	Reid 86'		Cook 76'	Attendance: 2,500

Dumbarton v St Mirren

20 December 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-0	St Mirren	Boghead Park
	Wallace 44' Bourke 89'			Attendance: 3,000 Referee: A Paterson

Queen of the South v Dumbarton

27 December 1975 Scottish Division 1	Queen of the South	4-2	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
	Reid 16', 21' Dickson,P 46' Muir 83' (OG)		McLean 28' Bourke 34'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: G Smith

Falkirk v Dumbarton

1 January 1976 Scottish Division 1	Falkirk	3-2	Dumbarton	Brockville Park
	Mitchell Lawson Whiteford (pen)		Cook Bourke	Attendance: 3,000

Dumbarton v Montrose

3 January 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	0-6	Montrose	Boghead Park
			Miller 13', 32' Barr 35' Markland 53' Stewart 67' Livingstone 78'	Attendance: 2,000

Dumbarton v Kilmarnock

17 January 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	3-0	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	Bourke 19', 63' Muir 75'			Attendance: 3,500 Referee: D Ramsay

Dumbarton v Clyde

7 February 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-0	Clyde	Boghead Park
	Bourke 36'			Attendance: 2,000 Referee: T Kellock

Dumbarton v Arbroath

21 February 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	3-2	Arbroath	Boghead Park
	McLean 1' Muir 22' Wallace 52'		Yule 77' Fettes 79'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: T Kyle

Dunfermline Athletic v Dumbarton

28 February 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dunfermline Athletic	0-3	Dumbarton	East End Park
			Bourke 3', 54' Wallace 13'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: K Hope

Hamilton v Dumbarton

15 March 1976 Scottish Division 1	Hamilton	2-3	Dumbarton	Douglas Park
	Thomas 25', 82'		Wallace 35' Cook 56' Kane 78'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: W Mullen

Scottish Cup

Dumbarton v Keith

24 January 1976 Scottish Cup round 3	Dumbarton	2–0	Keith	Boghead Park
	Wallace 21' Muir 72'		MacKintosh 68'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: D Downie

Dumbarton v Partick Thistle

25 February 1976 Scottish Cup round 4R	Dumbarton	1–0	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	Wallace 55'			Attendance: 7,539 Referee: J Paterson

Dumbarton v Kilmarnock

6 March 1976 Scottish Cup round 5	Dumbarton	2–1	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	Clarke 53' (OG) Muir 74'		Fallis 64'	Attendance: 7,796 Referee: I Foote

Hearts v Dumbarton

14 April 1976 Scottish Cup Semi-final Replay	Hearts	3–0	Dumbarton	Hampden Park
	Smith 8' (OG) Prentice 35' Busby 47'			Attendance: 11,273 Referee: I Foote

Scottish League Cup

Dumbarton v Hearts

9 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	2–1	Hearts	Boghead Park
	McLean 23' Bourke 89'		Callachan 38'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: R Davidson

Aberdeen v Dumbarton

13 August 1975 Section 3	Aberdeen	2–0	Dumbarton	Pittodrie Park
	Graham 7' Jarvie 37'			Attendance: 6,000 Referee: T Muirhead

Celtic v Dumbarton

16 August 1975 Section 3	Celtic	3–1	Dumbarton	Celtic Park
	Wilson 32' Lennox 35' Edvaldsson 84'		McAdam 62'	Attendance: 23,000 Referee: D Downie

Dumbarton v Aberdeen

20 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	0–1	Aberdeen	Boghead Park
			Hair 72'	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: T Kellock

Dumbarton v Celtic

23 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	0–8	Celtic	Boghead Park
			Hood 4', 57' McGrain 19' Dalglish 49', 62' Callaghan 70' Wilson 87', 89'	Attendance: 14,000 Referee: R Valentine

Hearts v Dumbarton

27 August 1975 Section 3	Hearts	6–2	Dumbarton	Tynecastle Stadium
	Hancock 6' Callachan 15' Prentice 24' Busby 29', 82' Park 89'		Cook 28' Brown 69'	Attendance: 6,000 Referee: A Ferguson

Spring Cup

Dumbarton v Albion Rovers

10 March 1976 Section 4	Dumbarton	4–1	Albion Rovers	Boghead Park
	Cook 11' Bourke 14', 88' Muir 60' (pen)		McLean 44'	Referee: D Syme

Arbroath v Dumbarton

13 March 1976 Section 4	Arbroath	0–1	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
			Wallace 64'	Attendance: 1,187 Referee: F Pringle

Stenhousemuir v Dumbarton

20 March 1976 Section 4	Stenhousemuir	2–1	Dumbarton	Ochilview Park
	Sinclair 11' Wight 65'		McKinlay 42'	Attendance: 489

Dumbarton v Arbroath

27 March 1976 Section 4	Dumbarton	1–2	Arbroath	Boghead Park
	Wallace 68'		Bone 61' Fletcher 80'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: T Muirhead

Albion Rovers v Dumbarton

7 April 1976 Section 4	Albion Rovers	1–2	Dumbarton	Cliftonhill Stadium
	Sermanni 41'		Wallace 20', 45'	Referee: A McGunnigle

Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir

10 April 1976 Section 4	Dumbarton	3–1	Stenhousemuir	Boghead Park
	McLeod 43' Bourke 79', 84'		Simpson 57'	Attendance: 1,500

Raith Rovers v Dumbarton

17 April 1976 Round 2(1)	Raith Rovers	2–2	Dumbarton	Starks Park
	Graham 14' Wallace 22'		Brown,A 47' Cooper 83' (OG)	Attendance: 3,201 Referee: D Syme

Dumbarton v Raith Rovers

19 April 1976 Round 2(2)	Dumbarton	4–0 (6–2 agg.)	Raith Rovers	Boghead Park
	Wallace 3', 27' Graham 20' Bourke 23'			Attendance: 2,500 Referee: D Syme

Dumbarton v Falkirk

21 April 1976 Round 3(1)	Dumbarton	4–2	Falkirk	Boghead Park
	Harvey 42', 64' Graham 69' Bourke 77'		Whiteford 53' (pen) Lawson 90'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: I Foote

Falkirk v Dumbarton

24 April 1976 Round 3(2)	Falkirk	1–2 (3–6 agg.)	Dumbarton	Brockville Park
	Fowler 67'		Bourke 51' Brown,A 61'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: I Foote

Clydebank v Dumbarton

28 April 1976 Semi-final	Clydebank	3–1	Dumbarton	Kilbowie Park
	McCallan 57', 80' Hall 72'		Wallace 60'	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: E Thomson

Stirlingshire Cup

Dumbarton v Clydebank

3 November 1975 1st round	Dumbarton	1–1 (5 – 4 on penalties)	Clydebank	Boghead Park
	McAdam		Cooper 89'

Stenhousemuir v Dumbarton

11 November 1975 Semi-final	Stenhousemuir	3–1	Dumbarton	Ochilview Park
	McPaul 10', 52' Halliday 79'		McCormack 74'

Pre-season and other matches

Dumbarton v Vale of Leven

16 July 1975 Friendly	Dumbarton	2–0	Vale of Leven	Boghead Park
	Mathie

Queen's Park v Dumbarton

28 July 1975 Friendly	Queen's Park	2–0	Dumbarton	Hampden Park
	Brown 19' (OG) McGill 71'

Dumbarton v Preston NE

30 July 1975 Friendly	Dumbarton	2–2	Preston NE	Boghead Park
	Wallace 19' McAdam 30'		Elwess 78', 87'

Chester City v Dumbarton

2 August 1975 Friendly	Chester City	1–1	Dumbarton	Sealand Road
	Lennard 35'		Bourke 89'	Attendance: 1,885

Tranmere Rovers v Dumbarton

4 August 1975 Friendly	Tranmere Rovers	2–3	Dumbarton	Prenton Park
	Moore 26' Peplow		Bourke 10' Wallace

Dumbarton v Morton

1 October 1975 Friendly	Dumbarton	5–3	Morton	Boghead Park
	Rankin OG Mullen McCormack Harvey		Evans Nelson Brown

Dumbarton v Rangers

16 March 1976 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–3	Rangers	Boghead Park
	Kane 2'		Sinclair 25' (OG) Fyfe 60' Scott 85'	Referee: B McGinlay

League table

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Spring Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Ian McGregor	4	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
	GK	SCO	Laurie Williams	46	0	26	0	5	0	4	0	11	0
	DF	SCO	Jim Brown	7	1	1+1	0	3	0	0+2	1	0	0
	DF	SCO	Terry Mullen	24	0	9+2	0	4+1	0	1+1	0	5+1	0
	DF	SCO	Don Watt	48	0	25	0	6	0	6	0	11	0
	MF	SCO	Alan Bennett	6	0	1+2	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Brian Brown	4	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
	MF	SCO	John Cushley	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Johnny Graham	48	3	22+3	1	6	0	6	0	11	2
	MF	SCO	Columb McKinley	40	1	19+1	0	6	0	3	0	11	1
	MF	SCO	Hugh McLean	42	11	21+1	10	4+1	0	6	1	6+3	0
	MF	SCO	Donald McNeil	23	0	11+3	0	0+1	0	0	0	7+1	0
	MF	SCO	Jim Muir	33	6	18	3	6	2	4	0	5	1
	MF	SCO	Denis Ruddy	8	0	2+1	0	0	0	4+1	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Graeme Sinclair	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	MF	SCO	Walter Smith	36	0	24	0	6	0	0	0	6	0
	FW	SCO	John Bourke	45	26	25	18	6	0	4	1	10	7
	FW	SCO	Ally Brown	38	4	19	2	5	0	5	0	8+1	2
	FW	SCO	Peter Coleman	11	0	5	0	0	0	2+3	0	0+1	0
	FW	SCO	Jim Cook	48	6	25+1	4	5	0	5+1	1	9+2	1
	FW	SCO	Drew Harvey	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2+1	2
	FW	SCO	George Kane	2	1	0+1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Ross Mathie	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Tom McAdam	12	5	6	4	0	0	5+1	1	0	0
	FW	SCO	Murdo MacLeod	13	1	1+6	0	0	0	0	0	5+1	1
	FW	SCO	Ian Wallace	45	20	25+1	10	6	2	5	0	8	8

^[2]

Transfers

Players in Player From Date Columb McKinley Airdrie 19 Jun 1975 Hugh McLean Swindon Town 8 Jul 1975 Donald McNeil Eastercraigs 17 Jul 1975 Drew Harvey Anniesland Waverley 6 Aug 1975 Walter Smith Dundee United 18 Sep 1975 Graeme Sinclair Eastercraigs 27 Oct 1975 Martin Mowat Everton 23 Feb 1976 George Kane Notts County 4 Mar 1976

Players out Player To Date Colin McAdam Motherwell 19 May 1975 Jim McIntyre Glasgow Perthshire 28 Jul 1975 Alan Mackin Renfrew 4 Aug 1975 Willie Menmuir Alloa Athletic 2 Sep 1975 Denis Ruddy Stenhousemuir 15 Oct 1975 Tom McAdam Dundee United 31 Oct 1975 Roy McCormack APIA 14 Feb 1976 Ross Mathie Motherwell 23 Mar 1976 John Cushley Coaching Drew Checkley Freed

^[3]

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