1988–89 Dumbarton F.C. season

Dumbarton 1988–1989 football season

Dumbarton
1988–1989 season
Manager	Bertie Auld/ Jim George
Stadium	Boghead Park, Dumbarton
Scottish League Division 2	12th
Scottish Cup	Third Round
Scottish League Cup	Second Round
Top goalscorer	League: Stuart MacIver (13) All: Stuart MacIver (16)
Highest home attendance	800
Lowest home attendance	341
Average home league attendance	490
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Season 1988–89 was the 105th football season in which Dumbarton competed at a Scottish national level, entering the Scottish Football League for the 83rd time, the Scottish Cup for the 94th time and the Scottish League Cup for the 42nd time.

Overview

Dumbarton's descent into the lower reaches of league football continued with a 12th-place finish—just two away from the bottom—their worst performance for over 50 years. The loss of Owen Coyle was a huge blow and with a change in manager and a sizeable turnover in playing staff, conditions were never going to be the best.

In the Scottish Cup, for the first time in many years, Dumbarton would start their campaign in the first round, and it would be two struggles to see off Highland League opposition, before Celtic were to prove too much in the third round.

In the League Cup, Premier Division St Mirren were to be the victors in the second round.

Locally, Dumbarton's grip on the Stirlingshire Cup was fairly easily released with a disappointing first round defeat by East Stirlingshire.

Finally, the friendly arranged with West Bromwich Albion was in celebration of the 'world championship' match between WBA and Renton in 1888, with Dumabrton winning the Renton Centenary Trophy after the 2–1 victory.

Results and fixtures

^[1] Win Draw Loss

Scottish Second Division

Dumbarton v East Fife

13 August 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	3–1	East Fife	Boghead Park
	Docherty 13', 43' McQuade,J		Pittman 46'	Attendance: 400 Referee: W Morrison

Stenhousemuir v Dumbarton

20 August 1988 Second Division	Stenhousemuir	3–1	Dumbarton	Ochilview Park
	Beaton 46' (pen), 67' Elliott		Duncan 35'	Attendance: 477 Referee: J Herald

Dumbarton v Queen's Park

27 August 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–3	Queen's Park	Boghead Park
			Crooks 9', 34' Armstrong 64'	Attendance: 500

Albion Rovers v Dumbarton

3 September 1988 Second Division	Albion Rovers	2–1	Dumbarton	Cliftonhill Stadium
	Cougan 11' Graham 55'		McQuade,J 26'	Attendance: 300 Referee: J Mackinnon

Dumbarton v Stranraer

10 September 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Stranraer	Boghead Park
			Lloyd 15' MacNiven 58'	Attendance: 450 Referee: J Renton

Brechin City v Dumbarton

17 September 1988 Second Division	Brechin City	1–1	Dumbarton	Glebe Park, Brechin
	Firth 54'		Rooney 68'	Attendance: 430 Referee: J Duncan

Dumbarton v Alloa Athletic

24 September 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–1	Alloa Athletic	Boghead Park
	Rooney 75'		Rutherford 51'	Attendance: 500 Referee: G Evans

Berwick Rangers v Dumbarton

1 October 1988 Second Division	Berwick Rangers	1–0	Dumbarton	Shielfield Park
	Douglas 30'			Attendance: 320 Referee: B McGinlay

Dumbarton v Arbroath

8 October 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–4	Arbroath	Boghead Park
	McGowan 19'		Fotheringham 17', 74' Anderson 22' Cairney (OG)	Attendance: 350 Referee: A Waddell

Dumbarton v Stirling Albion

15 October 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–2	Stirling Albion	Boghead Park
	MacIver 27'		Brogan 72'	Attendance: 700 Referee: J McCluskey

Cowdenbeath v Dumbarton

22 October 1988 Second Division	Cowdenbeath	2–0	Dumbarton	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
	McGovern 29' Hoggan			Attendance: 350 Referee: K Hope

Dumbarton v East Stirling

29 October 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	3–0	East Stirling	Boghead Park
	Docherty 28' (pen) Duncan			Attendance: 400 Referee: J Herald

Montrose v Dumbarton

5 November 1988 Second Division	Montrose	1–1	Dumbarton	Links Park
	Murray 29'		MacIver 70'	Attendance: 350 Referee: J McGillvray

Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir

12 November 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Stenhousemuir	Boghead Park
			Sexton	Attendance: 500 Referee: K Hope

East Fife v Dumbarton

19 November 1988 Second Division	East Fife	1–1	Dumbarton	Bayview Park, Methil
	Mitchell 46'		MacIver 39'	Attendance: 558 Referee: L Thow

Stranraer v Dumbarton

26 November 1988 Second Division	Stranraer	2–2	Dumbarton	Stair Park
	Lloyd 41' McMillan 48'		MacIver 6' McCahill 66'	Attendance: 850 Referee: D Brooks

Dumbarton v Brechin City

13 December 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Brechin City	Boghead Park
			Paterson	Attendance: 570

Alloa Athletic v Dumbarton

17 December 1988 Second Division	Alloa Athletic	2–0	Dumbarton	Recreation Park, Alloa
	Blackie Lytwyn 81'			Attendance: 563

Dumbarton v Berwick Rangers

24 December 1988 Second Division	Dumbarton	3–2	Berwick Rangers	Boghead Park
	Spence 40' McQuade,J Doyle		McGlashan 25' Maver	Attendance: 400 Referee: D Yeats

East Stirling v Dumbarton

31 December 1988 Second Division	East Stirling	0–1	Dumbarton	Firs Park
			McQuade,J	Attendance: 250 Referee: R Paterson

Queen's Park v Dumbarton

3 January 1989 Second Division	Queen's Park	2–1	Dumbarton	Hampden Park
	Caven Crooks		McQuade,J	Attendance: 832

Stirling Albion v Dumbarton

21 January 1989 Second Division	Stirling Albion	1–1	Dumbarton	Annfield Stadium
	Gibson 13'		Cairney 62'	Attendance: 620 Referee: A Roy

Dumbarton v Cowdenbeath

31 January 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	3–0	Cowdenbeath	Boghead Park
	McQuade,A MacIver Docherty			Attendance: 470

Arbroath v Dumbarton

4 February 1989 Second Division	Arbroath	1–1	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
	Stewart 54'		Docherty 88' (pen)	Attendance: 404 Referee: G Evans

Dumbarton v East Fife

18 February 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	4–0	East Fife	Boghead Park
	MacIver 44', 81' Docherty pen' McQuade,J 73'			Attendance: 400 Referee: M McGinlay

Stranraer v Dumbarton

25 February 1989 Second Division	Stranraer	1–1	Dumbarton	Stair Park
	McIntyre 30'		Quinn 85'	Attendance: 850 Referee: J Herald

Cowdenbeath v Dumbarton

4 March 1989 Second Division	Cowdenbeath	1–1	Dumbarton	Central Park, Cowdenbeath
	McGonigal 10'		MacIver 56'	Attendance: 300 Referee: J McCluskey

Dumbarton v Berwick Rangers

7 March 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	2–2	Berwick Rangers	Boghead Park
	MacIver		Hughes Tait	Attendance: 341

Dumbarton v Queen's Park

11 March 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Queen's Park	Boghead Park
	Spence 10'			Attendance: 600 Referee: L Thow

East Stirling v Dumbarton

25 March 1989 Second Division	East Stirling	1–0	Dumbarton	Firs Park
	Feeney 65'			Attendance: 300 Referee: J McGillvray

Dumbarton v Montrose

28 March 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	2–0	Montrose	Boghead Park
	Wharton MacIver			Attendance: 400

Stirling Albion v Dumbarton

1 April 1989 Second Division	Stirling Albion	3–1	Dumbarton	Annfield Stadium
	Gibson 2' Moore 9' Tennant 20'		Spence 65'	Attendance: 634

Dumbarton v Albion Rovers

4 April 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Albion Rovers	Boghead Park
	Robertson 50'			Attendance: 600

Dumbarton v Berwick Rangers

8 April 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–4	Berwick Rangers	Boghead Park
			Porteous 43' Callachan 46' Hughes	Attendance: 550 Referee: J McCluskey

Dumbarton v Brechin City

15 April 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	1–0	Brechin City	Boghead Park
	Quinn 25'			Attendance: 500 Referee: P Miller

Albion Rovers v Dumbarton

22 April 1989 Second Division	Albion Rovers	2–0	Dumbarton	Cliftonhill Stadium
	Graham 42' Chapman			Attendance: 840 Referee: R Valentine

Arbroath v Dumbarton

29 April 1989 Second Division	Arbroath	1–3	Dumbarton	Gayfield Park
	Stewart 71'		MacIver 25' Quinn 74', 78'	Attendance: 347 Referee: B McGinlay

Dumbarton v Stenhousemuir

6 May 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	2–0	Stenhousemuir	Boghead Park
	MacIver 9' Douglas			Attendance: 600 Referee: W Morrison

Dumbarton v Alloa Athletic

6 May 1989 Second Division	Dumbarton	0–2	Alloa Athletic	Boghead Park
			Gibson 75' Lytwyn	Attendance: 800 Referee: J Herald

Skol Cup

Dumbarton v St Mirren

16 August 1988 League Cup round 2	Dumbarton	1–3 (a.e.t.)	St Mirren	Boghead Park
	McQuade,J		Hamilton McGarvey Chalmers	Attendance: 3,800

Scottish Cup

Inverness Thistle v Dumbarton

3 December 1988 Cup round 1	Inverness Thistle	0–0	Dumbarton	Kingsmills
				Attendance: 900 Referee: D Yeats

Dumbarton v Inverness Thistle

10 December 1988 Cup round 1R	Dumbarton	2–1	Inverness Thistle	Boghead Park
	Cairney 15' MacIver		Christie 38'	Attendance: 1,000 Referee: D Yeats

Elgin City v Dumbarton

7 January 1989 Cup round 2	Elgin City	2–2	Dumbarton	Borough Briggs
	McGinlay,D 1' McGinlay,J 50'		McQuafde,J 23' McGowan 89'	Attendance: 2,074 Referee: J McGillvray

Dumbarton v Elgin City

14 January 1989 Cup round 2R	Dumbarton	4–0	Elgin City	Boghead Park
	Cairney 23' MacIver McQuade,J			Attendance: 1,000 Referee: J McGillvray

Celtic v Dumbarton

28 January 1989 Cup round 3	Celtic	2–0	Dumbarton	Celtic Park
	Walker 80' Burns 84'			Attendance: 24,844

Stirlingshire Cup

Dumbarton v East Stirlingshire

18 April 1989 First Round	Dumbarton	0–2	East Stirlingshire	Boghead Park

Renton Centenary Cup

Dumbarton v

West Bromwich Albion

6 August 1988	Dumbarton	2–1	West Bromwich Albion	Boghead Park
	Coyle,O 65' Rooney 85'			Attendance: 2,000

Pre-season and other matches

Dumbarton v Largs Thistle

31 July 1988 Friendly	Dumbarton	1–0	Largs Thistle	Boghead Park
	McCahill

Dumbarton v Rangers XI

3 August 1988 Friendly	Dumbarton	0–3	Rangers XI	Boghead Park

Dumbarton v Rangers XI

10 August 1988 Friendly	Dumbarton	2–1	Rangers XI	Boghead Park

Vale of Leven v Dumbarton

19 November 1988 Testimonial	Vale of Leven	1–1^[2]	Dumbarton	Millburn Park
	Howie		90'	Attendance: 300

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
10	Arbroath	39	11	15	13	56	63	−7	37
11	Stranraer	39	12	12	15	58	63	−5	36
12	Dumbarton	39	12	10	17	45	55	−10	34
13	Berwick Rangers	39	10	13	16	50	59	−9	33
14	Stenhousemuir	39	9	11	19	44	59	−15	29

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Player statistics

Squad

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Second Division		League Cup		Scottish Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Hugh Stevenson	18	0	16+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
	GK	SCO	Boyd Strachan	27	0	23+0	0	0+0	0	4+0	0
	DF	SCO	Willie Cairns	14	0	9+2	0	1+0	0	0+2	0
	DF	SCO	Dom Callan	6	0	4+1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Craig Cranmer	8	0	7+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Gerry Doyle	26	0	16+6	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
	DF	SCO	Stevie Gow	24	0	16+4	0	0+0	0	4+0	0
	DF	ENG	Peter Wharton	22	1	19+0	1	0+0	0	3+0	0
	MF	SCO	Pat Cairney	33	3	28+0	1	0+0	0	5+0	2
	MF	SCO	Owen Coyle	4	0	3+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Gary Dickie	11	0	11+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Robert Docherty	37	7	31+0	7	1+0	0	2+3	0
	MF	SCO	Craig Douglas	11	1	0+11	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Gerry Doyle	17	1	11+3	1	0+0	0	3+0	0
	MF	SCO	Derek English	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Fulton	8	0	7+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Dave Martin	9	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Steve McCahill	27	1	21+0	1	1+0	0	5+0	0
	MF	SCO	Ian McDougall	6	0	4+1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Iain McKinley	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	SCO	Andy McQuade	19	1	18+0	1	0+0	0	1+0	0
	MF	SCO	Colin Spence	22	3	19+0	3	0+0	0	3+0	0
	FW	SCO	Billy Blackie	9	0	5+4	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Graham Duncan	21	2	14+4	2	1+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	SCO	George Elliot	15	0	8+4	0	0+0	0	2+1	0
	FW	SCO	Stuart MacIver	32	16	27+0	13	0+0	0	5+0	3
	FW	SCO	Pat McGowan	39	2	34+0	1	0+0	0	5+0	1
	FW	SCO	John McQuade	40	8	26+8	5	0+1	1	5+0	2
	FW	SCO	Paul Quinn	15	4	15+0	4	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	SCO	Stuart Robertson	30	2	24+3	2	0+0	0	2+1	0
	FW	SCO	Benny Rooney	4	2	4+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0

Sources:^[1]^[3]

Transfers

Players in

Player	From	Date
Derek English	Duntocher BC	18 Jun 1988
John McQuade	Duntocher BC	18 Jun 1988
Dom Callan	Kilbowie Union	2 Jul 1988
Graham Duncan	Eadie Star	2 Jul 1988
Ian McDougall	Dalry Thistle	2 Jul 1988
Dave Fulton	Clydebank	13 Aug 1988
Craig Douglas	Balloch Juv	12 Oct 1988
George Elliot		12 Oct 1988
Pat Cairney	Petershill	21 Oct 1988
Stuart Robertson	Queen of the South	29 Oct 1988
Jamie Doyle	Partick Thistle	3 Dec 1988
Boyd Strachan	Yoker Athletic	9 Dec 1988
Colin Spence	Petershill	24 Dec 1988
Peter Wharton	Pollok	6 Jan 1989
Andy McQuade	Pollok	4 Feb 1989
Paul Quinn	Clyde	12 Feb 1989
Gary Dickie	Petershill	25 Mar 1989

Players out

Player	To	Date
Gordon Arthur	Raith Rovers	17 May 1988
Peter Houston	Falkirk	13 Jun 1988
Gerry McCoy	Partick Thistle	2 Jul 1988
Jim Rooney	Clyde	6 Aug 1988
Ray Montgomerie	Kilmarnock	12 Aug 1988
Owen Coyle	Clydebank	17 Sep 1988
Dave Fulton		13 Oct 1988
Dave Martin	Queen of the South	29 Oct 1988
Billy Blackie	Alloa Athletic	25 Nov 1988
Steve McCahill	Celtic	1 Feb 1989
Ian McDougall	Pollok
Iain McKinley	Yoker Athletic
Donald McNeil	Renfrew
Benny Rooney	Pollok
Willie Cairns
Dom Callan
Mark Clougherty
Craig Cranmer
Gerry Doyle
George Elliot
Derek English

Source:^[4]

Reserve team

Dumbarton competed in the Scottish Reserve League (West), but withdrew after 18 games due to financial constraints.

Trivia

The League match against East Fife on 19 November marked Stuart MacIver's 100th appearance for Dumbarton in all national competitions—the 97th Dumbarton player to reach this milestone.
Despite the previous season's relegation, manager Bertie Auld retained his position. However a poor start saw Auld replaced by Jim George seven games into the new season.

References

^ ^a ^b Scottish Football League Review 1989–90. The Scottish Football League. 1990.
^ Testimonial match for the benefit of Vale player Tom Robertson.
^ 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.

Dumbarton F.C. seasons

1873–74
1874–75
1875–76
1876–77
1877–78
1878–79
1879–80
1880–81
1881–82
1882–83
1883–84
1884–85
1885–86
1886–87
1887–88
1888–89
1889–90
1890–91
1891–92
1892–93
1893–94
1894–95
1895–96
1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

v t e 1988–89 in Scottish football
« 1987–88 1989–90 »
Domestic leagues	Football League Premier Division First Division Second Division Highland League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final League Cup Final Junior Cup Tennent's Sixes
European competitions	European Cup European Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup
Related to national team	Results 1990 World Cup qualifying (Group 5) Rous Cup
Club seasons
Premier Division	Aberdeen Celtic Dundee Dundee United Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Motherwell Rangers St. Mirren
First Division	Airdrieonians Ayr United Clyde Clydebank Dunfermline Athletic Falkirk Forfar Athletic Kilmarnock Meadowbank Thistle Morton Partick Thistle Queen of the South Raith Rovers St. Johnstone
Second Division	Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Arbroath Brechin City Berwick Rangers Cowdenbeath Dumbarton East Fife East Stirlingshire Montrose Queen's Park Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer