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.

Dumbarton

1975–1976 season
Manager	Alex Wright
Stadium	Boghead Park, Dumbarton
Scottish League Division 1	4th
Scottish Cup	Semi Final
Scottish League Cup	Prelims
Top goalscorer	League: John Bourke (18) All: John Bourke (26)
Highest home attendance	4000
Lowest home attendance	1500
Average home league attendance	2415

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

Main article: 1975–76 Scottish Football League

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

Dumbarton v Airdrie

6 December 1975 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	0-0	Airdrie	Boghead Park
				Attendance: 1,500 Referee: A McKenzie

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

Partick Thistle v Dumbarton

31 January 1976 Scottish Division 1	Partick Thistle	0-0	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
				Attendance: 6,000 Referee: R Keggie

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

Main article: 1975–76 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

Partick Thistle v Dumbarton

14 February 1976 Scottish Cup Round 4	Partick Thistle	0–0	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
				Attendance: 8,300 Referee: J Paterson

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

3 April 1976 Scottish Cup Semi Final	Hearts	0–0	Dumbarton	Hampden Park
				Attendance: 16,087 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

Main article: 1975–76 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

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
2	Kilmarnock (P)	26	16	3	7	44	29	+15	35	Promotion to Premier Division
3	Montrose	26	12	6	8	53	43	+10	30
4	Dumbarton	26	12	4	10	53	46	+7	28
5	Arbroath	26	11	4	11	41	39	+2	26
6	St Mirren	26	9	8	9	37	37	0	26

Source: RSSSF and statto[1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted.

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		Ian McGregor	4	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0
	GK		Laurie Williams	46	0	26	0	5	0	4	0	11	0
	DF		Jim Brown	7	1	1+1	0	3	0	0+2	1	0	0
	DF		Terry Mullen	24	0	9+2	0	4+1	0	1+1	0	5+1	0
	DF		Don Watt	48	0	25	0	6	0	6	0	11	0
	MF		Alan Bennett	6	0	1+2	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
	MF		Brian Brown	4	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
	MF		John Cushley	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	MF		Johnny Graham	48	3	22+3	1	6	0	6	0	11	2
	MF		Columb McKinley	40	1	19+1	0	6	0	3	0	11	1
	MF		Hugh McLean	42	11	21+1	10	4+1	0	6	1	6+3	0
	MF		Donald McNeil	23	0	11+3	0	0+1	0	0	0	7+1	0
	MF		Jim Muir	33	6	18	3	6	2	4	0	5	1
	MF		Denis Ruddy	8	0	2+1	0	0	0	4+1	0	0	0
	MF		Graeme Sinclair	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	MF		Walter Smith	36	0	24	0	6	0	0	0	6	0
	FW		John Bourke	45	26	25	18	6	0	4	1	10	7
	FW		Ally Brown	38	4	19	2	5	0	5	0	8+1	2
	FW		Peter Coleman	11	0	5	0	0	0	2+3	0	0+1	0
	FW		Jim Cook	48	6	25+1	4	5	0	5+1	1	9+2	1
	FW		Drew Harvey	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2+1	2
	FW		George Kane	2	1	0+1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
	FW		Ross Mathie	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW		Tom McAdam	12	5	6	4	0	0	5+1	1	0	0
	FW		Murdo MacLeod	13	1	1+6	0	0	0	0	0	5+1	1
	FW		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 Mowatt 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

1. "Scottish Division One 1975-1976 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
2. McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.
3. Litster, John. Record of Post-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.

External links

• Jim Brown (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• George Kane (Dumbarton Football Club Historical Archive)
• Scottish Football Historical Archive