1977–78 Dumbarton F.C. season
| 1977–1978 season | |||
| Manager | Davie Wilson | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Boghead Park, Dumbarton | ||
| Scottish League Division 1 | 4th | ||
| Scottish Cup | Fifth Round | ||
| Scottish League Cup | First Round | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Derek Whiteford/ Jocky Whiteford (15) All: Jocky Whiteford (17) |
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Season 1977–78 was the 101st 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 83rd time and the Scottish League Cup for the 31st time.
Contents
Overview
Dumbarton played league football in Division 1 for the third year running. Davie Wilson's first season as manager began well, and while always up with the leading pack, it was to be the case that too many draws rather than wins would prevent a serious challenge on the title. Nevertheless, a 4th-place finish was a creditable result.
In the Scottish Cup, Hearts were once again the opponents, but it was Dumbarton who were to progress this time after a drawn game. In the quarter final, however Partick Thistle were to prove too good on the day.
In the League Cup, qualifying groups were dispensed with and replaced with straight knock-out ties on a home-and-away basis. It was however to prove a bit of an embarrassment when in the first round, a 4-1 home win against Hamilton was followed by a 6-0 away drubbing.
Locally, in the Stirlingshire Cup, Dumbarton were defeated by local rivals Clydebank in the semi final.
Results
| Win |
| Draw |
| Loss |
All results are written with Dumbarton's score first.
Scottish League
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| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 August 1977 | Hearts | H | 2-2 | Bourke(2) | 7,000 |
| 20 August 1977 | Arbroath | A | 2-2 | Bourke;Muir | 1,200 |
| 27 August 1977 | Queen of the South | H | 2-0 | Whiteford,J;Brown | 2,000 |
| 10 September 1977 | Morton | A | 0-0 | 3,000 | |
| 14 September 1977 | Airdrie | H | 2-1 | McNeil;Fyfe | |
| 17 September 1977 | Dundee | A | 1-2 | Whiteford,D | 4,725 |
| 24 September 1977 | Montrose | H | 4-0 | Whiteford,D(2);Whiteford,J;Fyfe | |
| 28 September 1977 | East Fife | A | 1-3 | Whiteford,D | 879 |
| 1 October 1977 | St Johnstone | H | 5-1 | Whiteford,J;Brown;Fyfe(2);Whiteford,D | 1,500 |
| 8 October 1977 | Kilmarnock | A | 2-2 | Whiteford,D;Whiteford,J | 3,000 |
| 15 October 1977 | Hamilton | H | 1-0 | Whiteford,D | 2,500 |
| 19 October 1977 | Stirling Albion | A | 3-2 | Whiteford,J(2);Brown | 1,000 |
| 22 October 1977 | Hearts | A | 1-2 | Gallacher | 9,200 |
| 29 October 1977 | Arbroath | H | 1-0 | Gallacher | 1,500 |
| 5 November 1977 | Queen of the South | A | 0-1 | 1,500 | |
| 12 November 1977 | Morton | H | 1-1 | Gallacher | 5,000 |
| 19 November 1977 | Dundee | H | 0-0 | 3,500 | |
| 26 November 1977 | Montrose | A | 2-2 | Whiteford,J;Muir | 950 |
| 3 December 1977 | St Johnstone | H | 2-0 | Whiteford,J;Whiteford,D | 1,600 |
| 10 December 1977 | Kilmarnock | H | 2-2 | Fyfe;Whiteford,J | 2,500 |
| 17 December 1977 | Hamilton | A | 3-3 | Whiteford,J(2);Whiteford,D | 2,500 |
| 24 December 1977 | Alloa Athletic | A | 3-2 | Gallacher;Whiteford,J;Whiteford,D | 1,000 |
| 31 December 1977 | Queen of the South | H | 1-1 | Muir | |
| 2 January 1978 | Morton | H | 1-4 | Whiteford,J | 5,000 |
| 7 January 1978 | Arbroath | A | 1-1 | Whiteford,J | 1,100 |
| 4 February 1978 | St Johnstone | H | 2-1 | Whiteford,D;Whiteford,J | 1,500 |
| 11 February 1978 | Kilmarnock | A | 1-0 | Whiteford,D | 5,000 |
| 25 February 1978 | Hamilton | H | 1-1 | Whiteford,D | 2,000 |
| 4 March 1978 | Hearts | A | 1-1 | Gallacher | 8,000 |
| 18 March 1978 | Stirling Albion | A | 2-2 | Brown(2) | |
| 21 March 1978 | East Fife | H | 3-0 | McNeil;Gallacher(2) | 3,000 |
| 25 March 1978 | Stirling Albion | H | 2-2 | Muir;OG | 2,000 |
| 4 April 1978 | Airdrie | A | 2-0 | Muir;Gallacher | 2,000 |
| 8 April 1978 | Alloa Athletic | A | 0-3 | 1,000 | |
| 12 April 1978 | Dundee | H | 2-1 | MacLeod,M;Gallacher | |
| 15 April 1978 | East Fife | A | 0-0 | 651 | |
| 19 April 1978 | Montrose | H | 2-2 | MacLeod,A;McCluskey | 1,500 |
| 22 April 1978 | Airdrie | H | 2-1 | Whiteford,D;Govan | 1,000 |
| 29 April 1978 | Alloa Athletic | H | 2-0 | Whiteford,D;Blair | 1,000 |
Scottish Cup
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| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 January 1977 | 3 | Alloa Athletic | A | 2-2 | Whiteford,J;MacLeod,M | 1,450 |
| 6 February 1978 | 3R | Alloa Athletic | H | 2-1 | MacLeod,M;Fyfe | 1,750 |
| 18 February 1977 | 4 | Hearts | H | 1-1 | Whiteford,D | 6,677 |
| 27 February 1978 | 4R | Hearts | A | 1-0 | Gallacher | 14,000 |
| 11 March 1978 | 5 | Partick Thistle | A | 1-2 | Fyfe | 4,500 |
Scottish League Cup
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| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 1977 | 1(1) | Hamilton | H | 4-1 | McCluskey;Muir;Whiteford;J;Bourke | 1,000 |
| 3 September 1978 | 1(2) | Hamilton | A | 0-6 | 1,000 |
Stirlingshire Cup
| Date | Rd | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 October 1977 | 1 | East Stirling | H | 4-1 | Whiteford;J;Fyfe;Muir;OG | 800 |
| 20 April 1978 | SF | Clydebank | A | 1-4 | Whiteford,D |
Other Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 August 1977 | Lossiemouth | A | 1-1 | unknown | |
| 6 August 1977 | Nairn County | A | 3-0 | Gallacher;MacLeod,A(2) | |
| 7 September 1977 | St Mirren | A | 1-1 | Blair |
Appearances
Club
Dumbarton used 21 players for the 46 League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup matches, as detailed below. Murdo MacLeod and Derek Whiteford were best by being the only players to start in every one of these matches.[1]
| Player | Position | Appearances[2] | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
 Raymond Blair |
FW | 10(12) | 1 |
| John Bourke |
FW | 5 | 4 |
| Ally Brown |
FW | 45(1) | 6 |
| Joe Coyle |
FW | 2(2) | |
| Jim Cruickshank |
GK | 6 | |
| Graham Fyfe |
FW | 34 | 7 |
| Brian Gallacher |
FW | 40(1) | 10 |
| Dave Govan |
FW | 1(1) | 1 |
| Drew Harvey |
FW | 0(4) | |
| Pat McCluskey |
MF | 44 | 2 |
| Columb McKinley |
MF | 12(1) | |
| Ally MacLeod |
MF | 12(8) | |
| Murdo MacLeod |
FW | 46 | 3 |
| Donald McNeil |
MF | 37(1) | 2 |
| Martin Mowatt |
MF | 5 | |
| Jim Muir |
MF | 39(1) | 6 |
| Graeme Sinclair |
MF | 40 | |
| Don Watt |
DF | 10(3) | |
| Derek Whiteford |
MF | 46 | 16 |
| Jocky Whiteford |
FW | 32 | 17 |
| Laurie Williams |
GK | 40 |
International
Murdo MacLeod and Graeme Sinclair were selected to play for the Scottish League in a match against an Italian League XI in Verona, which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
In addition Ally MacLeod was part of the Scottish Youth (under 19) side which competed in the UEFA Youth Championships. He played in all seven matches, against Denmark (1-0 and 2-0), West Germany (1-0), Portugal (1-0), Italy (0-0), Yugoslavia (2-2) and Poland (1-3) - Scotland finished in 4th place.
Reserve Team
Dumbarton competed in the Scottish Reserve League First Division and finished 8th of 11.
In the Scottish Second XI Cup, Dumbarton lost to Ayr United in the first round, and in the Reserve League Cup, Dumbarton lost to Rangers, on aggregate, in the first round.
