Finlay Gray lived his boyhood dream by helping Dumbarton to play-off glory.
And he revealed he could extend his stay at The Rock following the Sons’ promotion to League One.
As a 10-year-old supporter, Finlay watched Dumbarton win promotion to the First Division via the play-offs in 2012.
And 12 years later he played a vital part in defeating Spartans — netting the all important winner in the first leg meeting.
An emotional Finlay told the Lennox: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s so good. Last season after missing out it didn’t seem like such a big deal. But now, thinking about it, going up to League One is mental.
“Seeing all the fans come on the pitch, seeing my parents and my grampa after the game and how happy he was is special. For the young fans seeing it for the first time, this is the sort of thing that makes you fall in love with football and Dumbarton. It’s amazing.
“I genuinely couldn’t wait to see my family as soon as the whistle went. My grampa will be so happy for weeks and weeks because of this!
“When I’m at work in Helensburgh people who know I play for Dumbarton quite often come in and talk to me about football. Knowing that they get the happiness of promotion is such a nice feeling.
“The goal on Tuesday is probably the best moment of my career. Without that we wouldn’t be in League One. To give us that advantage going into the second leg was important, it meant that they had to come out more and that played into our hands.”
Friday night’s game was the final match in a hectic run of four matches in 10 days, with Gray (below) admitting it took a toll. He laughed: “It was a hard run. And we had three games in the sun which, as a ginger, is never good. It takes it right out of me!
“I think you could see
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