1976–77 Dumbarton F.C. season

Dumbarton 1976–1977 football season

Dumbarton
1976–1977 season
Manager	Alex Wright
Stadium	Boghead Park, Dumbarton
Scottish League Division 1	7th
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Scottish League Cup	Prelims
Top goalscorer	League: John Bourke (19) All: John Bourke (22)
Highest home attendance	4000
Lowest home attendance	500
Average home league attendance	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

Win Draw Loss

Scottish First Division

Main article: 1976–77 Scottish Football League Dundee v Dumbarton

4 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dundee	2-1	Dumbarton	Dens Park
	Hutchinson 10' Pirie 53'		Muir 61'	Attendance: 4,619 Referee: M Delaney

Arbroath v Dumbarton

8 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	Arbroath	1-0	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
	Fletcher 18'			Attendance: 753

Dumbarton v Montrose

11 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-1	Montrose	Boghead Park
	Bourke 72', 76'		Lowe 86'	Attendance: 1,000

Dumbarton v Airdrie

14 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-3	Airdrie	Boghead Park
	Bourke 5'		McCulloch 2' Clark 59' Whiteford 80'	Attendance: 1,200

St Mirren v Dumbarton

18 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	St Mirren	2-1	Dumbarton	Love Street (stadium)
	McDowall 11' McKinlay 71' (OG)		Bourke 8'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: J Gordon

Dumbarton v Hamilton

25 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-2	Hamilton	Boghead Park
	Brown, A 68'		McGrogan 40' Lynch 62'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: R Hopkins

East Fife v Dumbarton

29 September 1976 Scottish Division 1	East Fife	2-3	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	O'Connor 27' Young 67'		Brown,A 2' Muir 20' Steele 62'	Attendance: 784

Raith Rovers v Dumbarton

2 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Raith Rovers	1-1	Dumbarton	Starks Park
	Urquhart 62' (pen.)		Muir 56'	Attendance: 1,553 Referee: K Hope

Dumbarton v East Fife

5 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	5-1	East Fife	Boghead Park
	Muir 10', 51', 75' Steele 16' Bourke 20'		Law 1'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: H Alexander

Dumbarton v Morton

9 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-1	Morton	Boghead Park
	Bourke 50'		Brown 44'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: A McFaull

St Johnstone v Dumbarton

16 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	St Johnstone	1-2	Dumbarton	Muirton Park
	McKay		Bourke 73', 82'	Attendance: 2,000

Dumbarton v Falkirk

20 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-2	Falkirk	Boghead Park
	McLean 16' Bourke 18'		Ford 30', 70' (pen.)	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: A McFaull

Dumbarton v Queen of the South

23 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	3-3	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	McLean 11' Bourke 76' Brown,A 86'		Dickson 69', 73' McKinlay 84' (OG)	Attendance: 1,505 Referee: K Stewart

Clydebank v Dumbarton

30 October 1976 Scottish Division 1	Clydebank	2-0	Dumbarton	Kilbowie Park
	McCallan 80' Lumsden 90' (pen.)			Attendance: 7,000 Referee: G Smith

Dumbarton v Dundee

10 November 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-1	Dundee	Boghead Park
	Harvey 79'		Hutchinson 9'	Attendance: 500 Referee: D Murdoch

Montrose v Dumbarton

13 November 1976 Scottish Division 1	Montrose	2-1	Dumbarton	Links Park
	Low 16' Street 84'		Harvey 61'	Attendance: 1,000

Dumbarton v St Mirren

20 November 1976 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	0-1	St Mirren	Boghead Park
			Torrance 76'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: E Pringle

Hamilton v Dumbarton

27 November 1976 Scottish Division 1	Hamilton	0-1	Dumbarton	Douglas Park
			Whiteford 84'	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: E Thomson

Queen of the South v Dumbarton

27 December 1976 Scottish Division 1	Queen of the South	1-2	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
	Dempster		McLean MacLeod	Attendance: 2,500

Dumbarton v Clydebank

1 January 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-1	Clydebank	Boghead Park
	Brown,A 74'		Larnach 36'	Attendance: 4,000

Dumbarton v Montrose

8 January 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-2	Montrose	Boghead Park
	Whiteford 44' (pen.), 88'		Brown 61' Stewart 76'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: M Delaney

Dumbarton v Hamilton

22 January 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	1-1	Hamilton	Boghead Park
	Whiteford 87'		Lawson 44'	Attendance: 1,500 Referee: H Alexander

Raith Rovers v Dumbarton

5 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	Raith Rovers	3-1	Dumbarton	Starks Park
	Harrow 15' Brown,J 51' Cooper 55'		Brown,A 29'	Attendance: 1,613 Referee: J Gordon

St Mirren v Dumbarton

7 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	St Mirren	3-2	Dumbarton	Love Street (stadium)
	Reid 19' Hyslop 24' Torrance 49' (pen.)		Graham 21' Bourke 46'	Attendance: 7,800 Referee: I Foote

Dumbarton v Morton

12 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	0-4	Morton	Boghead Park
			Anderson 19' McGhee 46' Morrison 47' Goldthorpe 89'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: I Foote

St Johnstone v Dumbarton

19 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	St Johnstone	0-2	Dumbarton	Muirton Park
			Bourke 80', 89'	Attendance: 1,497 Referee: A Ferguson

Dumbarton v Raith Rovers

23 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-0	Raith Rovers	Boghead Park
	Whiteford 22' Bourke 58'			Attendance: 800

Morton v Dumbarton

26 February 1977 Scottish Division 1	Morton	3-0	Dumbarton	Cappielow Park
	McGhee 49', 69' Goldthorp 90'			Attendance: 2,000 Referee: W Anderson

Dumbarton v Queen of the South

5 March 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-0	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	Whiteford 41' Muir 46'			Attendance: 1,000 Referee: E Pringle

Clydebank v Dumbarton

12 March 1977 Scottish Division 1	Clydebank	4-2	Dumbarton	Kilbowie Park
	McCallan 6' Houston 27', 65' Larnach 77'		Bourke 41' Whiteford 74'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: D Murdoch

Dumbarton v Airdrie

19 March 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-1	Airdrie	Boghead Park
	Bourke 71' Whiteford 73'		McVeigh 67'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: R Valentine

Dundee v Dumbarton

23 March 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dundee	4-0	Dumbarton	Dens Park
	Pirie 19', 33', 35', 62'			Attendance: 2,401 Referee: A Ferguson

Airdrie v Dumbarton

26 March 1977 Scottish Division 1	Airdrie	1-2	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
	McVeigh 30'		Whiteford 48' Bourke 80'	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: J Gordon

Falkirk v Dumbarton

2 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Falkirk	1-3	Dumbarton	Brockville Park
	Wilson 56' (pen.)		Whiteford 12' (pen.), 41' MacLeod 69'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: T Kellock

Dumbarton v St Johnstone

6 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-4	St Johnstone	Boghead Park
	Whiteford 24' (pen.), 35'		O'Connor 2' Anderson 55' Brogan 77', 81'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: A Downie

Dumbarton v Falkirk

9 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	4-0	Falkirk	Boghead Park
	MacLeod 23', 39' Whiteford Muir			Attendance: 1,000 Referee: W Anderson

Dumbarton v Arbroath

16 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	2-3	Arbroath	Boghead Park
	MacLeod 4' Bourke 66'		Yule 56' Rylance 71' Bone 84'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: K Hope

Arbroath v Dumbarton

23 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Arbroath	1-2	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
	Yule		Wells OG' MacLeod	Attendance: 957 Referee: M Delaney

Dumbarton v East Fife

30 April 1977 Scottish Division 1	Dumbarton	3-3	East Fife	Boghead Park
	McLean 27' MacLeod 39' Bourke 85'		Clarke 15' (pen.) Gillies 69' Huskie 80'	Attendance: 2,000

Scottish Cup

Main article: 1976–77 Scottish Cup Hearts v Dumbarton

29 January 1977 Scottish Cup round 3	Hearts	1–1	Dumbarton	Tynecastle Stadium
	Callachen 7'		Bourke 87'	Attendance: 7,969 Referee: R Valentine

Dumbarton v Hearts

2 February 1977 Scottish Cup round 3R	Dumbarton	0–1	Hearts	Boghead Park
			Gibson 112'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: R Valentine

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 1976–77 Scottish League Cup Dumbarton v Arbroath

14 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	2–0	Arbroath	Boghead Park
	Wallace 52' Sinclair 69'			Attendance: 1,500 Referee: I Foote

Celtic v Dumbarton

18 August 1975 Section 3	Celtic	3–0	Dumbarton	Celtic Park
	Doyle 25' Dalglish 80' (pen.), 88' (pen.)			Attendance: 15,000 Referee: J Downie

Dumbarton v Dundee United

21 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	1–2	Dundee United	Boghead Park
	Wallace 9'		Reid 69' Hegarty 84'	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: A McGunnigle

Dumbarton v Celtic

25 August 1975 Section 3	Dumbarton	3–3	Celtic	Boghead Park
	Bourke 8', 24' Wallace 34'		Wilson 14' McDonald 61' Doyle 84'	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: E Thomson

Dundee United v Dumbarton

28 August 1975 Section 3	Dundee United	1–1	Dumbarton	Tannadice Park
	McAdam 42'		Muir 56'	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: I Foote

Arbroath v Dumbarton

1 September 1975 Section 3	Arbroath	0–3	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
			Muir 19' Mullen 52' MacLeod 58'	Attendance: 810 Referee: R Cuthill

Stirlingshire Cup

Dumbarton v Alloa Athletic

15 November 1976 1st Round	Dumbarton	2–4	Alloa Athletic	Boghead Park
	Steele 30' Brown,A 49'		Muir 19' Wilson 33' Forrest 54' McCabe 78'	Attendance: 500 Referee: A McGunnigle

Pre-season Matches

Vale of Leven v Dumbarton

27 July 1976 Friendly	Vale of Leven	2–5	Dumbarton	Millburn Park
			Wallace Mulraine MacLeod OG'

Lloret v Dumbarton

3 August 1976 Friendly	Lloret	1–6	Dumbarton	Lloret de Mar
			Wallace 3' Mulr Sinclair Harvey

Malgrat v Dumbarton

4 August 1976 Friendly	Malgrat	2–3	Dumbarton	Malgrat de Mar
			Wallace Smith Harvey

Gerona v Dumbarton

6 August 1976 Friendly

Gerona

Dumbarton

Gerona, Spain

Dumbarton v Rangers

11 August 1976 Friendly	Dumbarton	3-2	Rangers	Boghead Park
	Wallace 13', 69' Muir 25'		McDougall 39' Henderson 58'

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
5	Montrose	39	16	9	14	61	62	−1	41
6	Airdrieonians	39	13	12	14	63	58	+5	38
7	Dumbarton	39	14	9	16	63	68	−5	37
8	Arbroath	39	17	3	19	46	62	−16	37
9	Queen of the South	39	11	13	15	58	65	−7	35

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

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Ian McGregor	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	GK	SCO	Laurie Williams	46	0	38	0	2	0	6	0
	DF	SCO	Terry Mullen	4	1	0+1	0	0	0	0+3	1
	DF	SCO	Willie Russell	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Don Watt	36	0	28	0	2	0	6	0
	MF	SCO	Brian Brown	4	0	3+1	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Johnny Graham	42	1	33+1	1	1+1	0	6	0
	MF	SCO	Columb McKinley	33	0	27+1	0	2	0	2+1	0
	MF	SCO	Hugh McLean	37	4	22+8	4	2	0	3+2	0
	MF	SCO	Donald McNeil	27	0	14+8	0	0+2	0	3	0
	MF	SCO	Martin Mowat	10	0	10	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim Muir	35	10	26+1	8	2	0	6	2
	MF	SCO	Graeme Sinclair	46	1	38	0	2	0	6	1
	MF	SCO	Walter Smith	35	0	26+1	0	2	0	6	0
	FW	SCO	Raymond Blair	13	0	11+2	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	John Bourke	42	22	36	19	2	1	4	2
	FW	SCO	Ally Brown	42	5	29+6	5	2	0	5	0
	FW	SCO	Jim Cook	16	0	12+1	0	0	0	3	0
	FW	SCO	Jim Donaldson	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Drew Harvey	12	2	4+5	2	1+1	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Bobby McCallum	16	0	10+4	0	0	0	1+1	0
	FW	SCO	Murdo MacLeod	33	8	25+5	7	0	0	3	1
	FW	SCO	Tommy Mulraine	5	0	2+2	0	0	0	1	0
	FW	SCO	Billy Steele	20	2	16+4	2	0	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Ian Wallace	4	3	0	0	0	0	4	3
	FW	SCO	Jocky Whiteford	21	15	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

Players in

Player	From	Date
Raymond Blair	Dunipace Juv	13 May 1976
Willie Russell	Eastercraigs	13 May 1976
Jim Donaldson	Eastercraigs	15 May 1976
Tommy Mulraine	Arthurlie	19 Jul 1976
Billy Steele	Dundee United	24 Sep 1976
Jocky Whiteford	Falkirk	25 Nov 1976
Ally McLeod	Douglas Acad	17 Dec 1976
Joe Coyle	Shettleston	31 Jan 1977
Bobby McCallum	Lanark United	29 Apr 1977

Players out

Player	To	Date
George Kane	Baillieston	10 Jun 1976
Peter Coleman	Petershill	20 Jun 1976
Alan Bennett	East Stirling	26 Jul 1976
Ian Wallace	Coventry City	31 Aug 1976
Jim Cook	Falkirk	25 Nov 1976
Terry Mullen	Falkirk	17 Dec 1976
Walter Smith	Dundee United	27 Feb 1977
Jim Brown	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.

References

"Scottish Division One 1976-1977 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
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

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v t e 1976–77 in Scottish football
« 1975–76 1977–78 »
Domestic leagues	Football League Premier Division First Division Second Division Highland League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Junior Cup
European competitions	European Cup European Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup Anglo-Scottish Cup
Related to national team	Results World Cup 1978 qualifying (Group 7) British Home Championship
Club seasons
Premier Division	Aberdeen Ayr United Celtic Dundee United Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kilmarnock Motherwell Partick Thistle Rangers
First Division	Airdrieonians Arbroath Clydebank Dundee Dumbarton East Fife Falkirk Hamilton Academical Montrose Morton Queen of the South Raith Rovers St. Johnstone St. Mirren
Second Division	Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Berwick Rangers Brechin City Clyde Cowdenbeath Dunfermline Athletic East Stirlingshire Forfar Athletic Meadowbank Thistle Queen's Park Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer

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