Elgin City 2-0 Dumbarton - "We got what we deserved" admits boss after first league loss

Goals in either half consigned Dumbarton to a first league defeat of the season, on a day where manager Stevie Farrell admitted his side got what they deserved.

Connall Ewan’s first-half header was added to by a thunderous Liam Harvey strike, with Sons huffing and puffing in the final third all afternoon.

Deflated boss Stevie Farrell said: “We got what we deserved. There haven’t been many performances this season where we’ve been flat and deserved nothing. But that was the case today.

“We started the game well and had two great chances where we should do better. If we score them then we’re maybe talking about a different game. But we don’t, and we’ve got to be more resilient.

“I can take us having an off day, but we’ve got to have the ability to grind out a result. And we didn’t do that.

“We had an off day for the first time this season and we paid the price for that.

“The players accept that we were far off the standards that we’ve set and what we expect.”

Farrell welcomed back Brett Long, Greig Young, Blair Malcolm, Finlay Gray, Ross MacLean and Jinky Hilton to his starting lineup - having played a heavily rotated squad against Kelty Hearts a week previous.

Sons controlled possession early in the game, albeit without seriously threatening Tom McHale in the hosts’ goal.

Carlo Pignatiello’s low drive was comfortably held by the Englishman, whilst Jinky Hilton was unfortunate to see the ball rebound to City a shirt after closing down a short backpass to the keeper.

With both teams struggling with a slow park, it was the Sons who put together the most flowing move of the first 20 minutes.

They worked the ball down the right, with Pignatiello driving beyond a defender and teeing up Ross MacLean - but he skewed a left-footed