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Dumbarton
1987–1988 season
Manager	Mark Clougherty
Stadium	Boghead Park, Dumbarton
Scottish League Division 1	12th
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Scottish League Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Owen Coyle (14); All: Owen Coyle (14)
Highest home attendance	1,283
Lowest home attendance	700
Average home league attendance	850
	← 1986–87 1988–89 →

Season 1987–88 was the 104th football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 82nd time, the Scottish Cup for the 93rd time and the Scottish League Cup for the 41st time.

Overview

Following two promotion challenging seasons, Dumbarton inexplicably sank to the bottom of the First Division and were relegated to the third tier of Scottish league football. With the loss of Sir Hugh Fraser, finances at the club were tight, and with this in mind it was decided to appoint Mark Clougherty as player/manager. However results were generally poor and the board sacked Clougherty in January. In his place Bertie Auld was appointed and despite a spirited draw against Hibernian in the Cup, a winless run of 11 games would ensure the club's drop into bottom place in the league - a place they would occupy even though Dumbarton were unbeaten in their last four games.

In the Scottish Cup, another third round exit was Dumbarton's fate, although this would be after a draw against Premier Division opponents Hibernian.

In the League Cup, for the second year in a row Celtic were Dumbarton's third round opponents, and it would be the Premier Division side that would ease through to the next round.

Locally however, Dumbarton regained the Stirlingshire Cup, with a final victory over Stirling Albion.

Results & fixtures

^[1] Win Draw Loss

Scottish First Division

8 August 1987 First Division	Clyde	5–0	Dumbarton	Shawfield Stadium
	Buchanan 13' (pen.) Henderson 28' Mailer 30' McGlashan 51' Walker 67'			Attendance: 1,000 Referee: K O'Donnell

11 August 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–3	Meadowbank Thistle	Boghead Park
	Martin MacIver		Park McGachie	Attendance: 740

15 August 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–3	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	Martin 33'		Harkness McInnes 56' Cuthbertson	Attendance: 800

22 August 1987 First Division	Airdrie	0–1	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
			Coyle,O 53' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: J Renton

29 August 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Clydebank	Boghead Park
	Rooney,B		Conroy 12'	Attendance: 800 Referee: A Ferguson

5 September 1987 First Division	Hamilton	2–1	Dumbarton	Douglas Park
	Caughey 16', 28'		Houston 29'	Attendance: 1,765 Referee: A Waddell

12 September 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Forfar Athletic	Boghead Park
	Rooney 44'		Blackie 13'	Attendance: 700 Referee: D McVicar

15 September 1987 First Division	Partick Thistle	1–2	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
	Kelly		Rooney,J Coyle,O	Attendance: 1,140

19 September 1987 First Division	East Fife	1–2	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	Perry 61' (pen.)		McGowan 16' Kay 44'	Attendance: 619 Referee: A Huett

26 September 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–2	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 5' Houston 89'		Mackin 27' Hughes 85'	Attendance: 700 Referee: M Gould

29 September 1987 First Division	Raith Rovers	4–1	Dumbarton	Starks Park
	Dalziel Harris		Houston	Attendance: 1,730

3 October 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Clyde	Boghead Park
	McCahill		McGlashan	Attendance: 1,200 Referee: K Hope

7 October 1987 First Division	Meadowbank Thistle	0–0	Dumbarton	Meadowbank Stadium
				Attendance: 650

10 October 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	0–0	Airdrie	Boghead Park
				Attendance: 1,200 Referee: H Gould

17 October 1987 First Division	Forfar Athletic	0–2	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
			Coyle,O 18' McCoy 85'	Attendance: 671 Referee: R Valentine

20 October 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	4–2	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O MacIver McCoy		McDonald Scrimgeour	Attendance: 800

24 October 1987 First Division	Kilmarnock	1–0	Dumbarton	Rugby Park
	Gilmour 89'			Attendance: 1,571 Referee: W Morrison

27 October 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–3	Raith Rovers	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O (pen.)		Dalziel Harris Wright	Attendance: 700

31 October 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	2–1	Hamilton	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 26' (pen.) McCoy 41'		Montgomerie 3' (OG)	Attendance: 900

7 November 1987 First Division	Clydebank	3–1	Dumbarton	Kilbowie Park
	Conroy 9' Charnley 45' 60'		McGowan 42'	Attendance: 1,431 Referee: P Hanley

14 November 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	East Fife	Boghead Park
	MacIver 70'		Hunter 12'	Attendance: 600 Referee: A Evans

21 November 1987 First Division	Queen of the South	2–0	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
	Reid 44' Moore 89'			Attendance: 1,100 Referee: A Hewitt

28 November 1987 First Division	Clyde	3–4	Dumbarton	Shawfield Stadium
	Mailer 26' McGlashan 32', 44'		Docherty 33' Coyle,O 47' MacIver	Attendance: 800 Referee: J Renton

5 December 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Meadowbank Thistle	Boghead Park
			McGonigal 64'	Attendance: 500 Referee: I Cathcart

12 December 1987 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Forfar Athletic	Boghead Park
			Blackie 87'	Attendance: 507 Referee: G Smith

19 December 1987 First Division	Partick Thistle	1–3	Dumbarton	Firhill Park
	Gallagher 79'		McNeil 12' Docherty 39' Coyle,O 48' (pen.)	Attendance: 1,407 Referee: D Hope

26 December 1987 First Division	Hamilton	2–0	Dumbarton	Douglas Park
	Gordon Fairlie			Attendance: 1,250

2 January 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	1–3	Clydebank	Boghead Park
	38' (OG)		Traynor 48' (pen.) Irons Charnley	Attendance: 1,200

9 January 1988 First Division	East Fife	3–4	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	Hunter 59' Conroy 64' (pen.) Scott 90'		McCoy 5', 43' Coyle,O 79' McGowan,P 82'	Attendance: 615 Referee: D Syme

16 January 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Queen of the South	Boghead Park
			Moore 57' Bain 75'	Attendance: 800 Referee: A Roy

23 January 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Kilmarnock	Boghead Park
	Rooney,J 42'			Attendance: 950 Referee: T Muirhead

6 February 1988 First Division	Airdrie	1–1	Dumbarton	Broomfield Park
	McCabe 12'		McCoy 35'	Attendance: 1,150 Referee: D Millar

13 February 1988 First Division	Raith Rovers	1–1	Dumbarton	Starks Park
	Lloyd 47'		McLeod 20' (OG)	Attendance: 1,802 Referee: D McVicar

27 February 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Clyde	Boghead Park
			Willock 80'	Attendance: 750 Referee: A Ferguson

5 March 1988 First Division	Forfar Athletic	4–0	Dumbarton	Station Park, Forfar
	Ward 33' MacDonald Lorimer 84' Brown			Attendance: 397 Referee: A Roy

19 March 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Hamilton	Boghead Park
	McCoy 31'		Harris (pen.)	Attendance: 1,283 Referee: J Renton

22 March 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	1–2	Partick Thistle	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O		Gallagher McNaught	Attendance: 925

26 March 1988 First Division	Clydebank	1–0	Dumbarton	Kilbowie Park
	Bryce 88'			Attendance: 1,088 Referee: R Orr

2 April 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	0–1	Airdrie	Boghead Park
			Campbell 34'	Attendance: 800 Referee: J Duncan

9 April 1988 First Division	Kilmarnock	3–1	Dumbarton	Rugby Park
	Gilmour 49' McGuire Bryson 70'		McCoy	Attendance: 2,205

16 April 1988 First Division	Queen of the South	0–0	Dumbarton	Palmerston Park
				Attendance: 1,100 Referee: D Yeats

23 April 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	0–0	East Fife	Boghead Park
				Attendance: 700 Referee: A Ferguson

30 April 1988 First Division	Meadowbank Thistle	2–4	Dumbarton	Meadowbank Stadium
	Armstrong Roseburgh 89'		McCabe 31' Coyle,O 48' McGowan,P 56' Docherty	Attendance: 600

7 May 1988 First Division	Dumbarton	3–0	Raith Rovers	Boghead Park
	Rooney 24' Coyle,O 40' Docherty 70'			Attendance: 800 Referee: R Morrison

Skol Cup

19 August 1987 League Cup round 2	Ayr United	0–1	Dumbarton	Somerset Park
			McNeil	Attendance: 2,428

26 August 1987 League Cup round 3	Dumbarton	1–5	Celtic	Boghead Park
	Martin		Burns 28' Stark 38' Walker 70' McGhee	Attendance: 9,429

Scottish Cup

30 January 1988 Cup round 3	Dumbarton	0–0	Hibernian	Boghead Park
				Attendance: 7,000 Referee: G Evans

2 February 1988 Cup round 3R	Hibernian	3–0	Dumbarton	Easter Road
	Docherty (OG) Tortolano Orr			Attendance: 8,000 Referee: G Evans

Stirlingshire Cup

13 October 1987 First Round	Stenhousemuir	3–3 (Dumbarton p)	Dumbarton	Ochilview Park

26 April 1988 Semi Final	Dumbarton	2–0	Alloa Athletic	Boghead Park

30 May 1988 Final	Stirling Albion	1–2	Dumbarton	Annfield Stadium
			McCahill Docherty

Pre-season matches

3 August 1987 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–1	Southampton	Boghead Park
	McNeil		Clarke (pen.)	Attendance: 500 Referee: M McGinlay

5 August 1987 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–2	Celtic	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O (pen.)		McGhee McCarrison

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
8	Partick Thistle	44	16	9	19	60	64	−4	41
9	Clyde	44	16	6	22	73	75	−2	38
10	Kilmarnock	44	13	11	20	55	60	−5	37
11	East Fife (R)	44	13	10	21	61	76	−15	36	Relegation to the Second Division
12	Dumbarton (R)	44	12	12	20	51	70	−19	36	Relegation to the Second Division

Source: RSSSF^{[dead link‍]} and statto^[2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		League Cup		Scottish Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Gordon Arthur	44	0	40+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	GK	SCO	Hugh Stevenson	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Willie Cairns	18	0	16+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	SCO	Craig Cranmer	22	0	18+2	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	SCO	Gerry Doyle	6	0	4+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Stevie Gow	4	0	1+1	0	0+2	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Ray Montgomerie	35	0	31+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Joe Carson	3	0	2+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Mark Clougherty	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Owen Coyle	45	14	38+3	14	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Tommy Coyle	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim Creaney	4	0	2+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Robert Docherty	23	5	19+2	5	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Alan Kay	21	1	18+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Martin	46	3	42+0	2	2+0	1	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Gerry McCabe	6	1	5+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Steve McCahill	46	1	41+1	1	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	SCO	Donald McNeil	26	2	24+0	1	2+0	1	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim McNeil	16	0	4+10	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Jim Rooney	46	4	42+0	4	2+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	SCO	Jimmy Bell	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Billy Blackie	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Peter Houston	46	3	37+5	3	2+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	SCO	Stuart MacIver	26	4	12+12	4	1+0	0	0+1	0
	FW	SCO	Gerry McCoy	32	8	30+0	8	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	SCO	Pat McGowan	45	4	39+2	4	2+0	0	0+2	0
	FW	SCO	Dougie McGuire	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Benny Rooney	15	1	4+9	1	1+1	0	0+0	0

^[3]^[4]

Transfers

^[5]

Players in

Player	From	Date
Craig Cranmer	Belhaven Athletic	27 Jun 1987
Benny Rooney	Petershill	27 Jun 1987
Jimmy Bell	Kilbowie Union	23 Jul 1987
Stevie Gow	Dumbarton United	23 Jul 1987
Iain McKinley	Duntocher BC	23 Jul 1987
Robert Docherty	Hamilton	1 Nov 1987
Jim Creaney	Stranraer (loan)	14 Nov 1987
Willie Cairns	Partick Thistle	9 Jan 1988
Dougie McGuire	Celtic (loan)	13 Feb 1988
Gerry Doyle	Stranraer	26 Feb 1988
Joe Carson	Stranraer	12 Mar 1988
Billy Blackie	Forfar Athletic	9 Apr 1988
Gerry McCabe	Hamilton (loan)	9 Apr 1988

Players out

Player	To	Date
Jackie Rafferty	Partick Thistle	13 Jun 1987
Danny Docherty	Queen of the South	1 Aug 1987
Tommy Coyle	St Johnstone	22 Aug 1987
Arthur Grant	East Stirling	28 Nov 1987
Joe Carson	Vale of Leven
Alan Kay
Jimmy Bell
Jim McNeil
Billy Traynor

Reserve team

Dumbarton competed in the Scottish Reserve League (West), winning 11 and drawing 11 of 33 games.

Trivia

The League match against Clydebank on 29 August marked Owen Coyle's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 93rd Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
The League match against Forfar Athletic on 12 September marked Donald McNeil's 300th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 6th Dumbarton player to achieve this accolade.
The League match against Forfar Athletic on 12 September also marked Steve McCahill's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 94th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
The League match against Queen of the South on 26 September marked Pat McGowan's 200th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 20th Dumbarton player to break the 'double century'.
The League match against East Fife on 14 November marked Alan Kay's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 95th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
The League match against Raith Rovers on 13 February marked Gerry McCoy's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions - the 96th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.

References

^ Scottish Football League Review 1988-89. The Scottish Football League. 1989.
^ "Scottish Division One 1987-1988 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
^ Scottish Football League Review 1988-89. The Scottish Football League. 1989.
^ 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

[review-1] Scottish Football League Review 1988-89. The Scottish Football League. 1989.

[2] "Scottish Division One 1987-1988 Season Summary". statto.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2012.

[3] Scottish Football League Review 1988-89. The Scottish Football League. 1989.

[4] McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.

[5] Litster, John. Record of Post-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.

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