Unanswered goals by Flannery (pen 29), McCutcheon (74) and Bonner (85) halted Stranraer's chance of going top of Division Two after Raith Rovers drew with Hamilton. Despite having most of the play in the second half, the Blues were unable to take advantage of a 10-man Dumbarton side.

This was a game Stranraer should not have lost. The Blues had enough chances to win several games.

The match began fairly evenly, with the first chance falling to Ian Harty after 21 minutes when he hit a shot from a tight angle into the side netting. The opening goal came when Fraser Wright pushed Dumbarton's striker Brown in the box. Paddy Flannery smacked the ball into the net from the spot giving Hillcoat no chance. Soon after Michael Moore missed a couple of great chances for Stranraer when firstly he shot wide then he shot weakly straight at the keeper from 10 yards when it looked easier to score. Just as halftime approached, Mark Crilly and Kevin Finlayson went in for hard tackle just in front of the stand. Finlayson didn't appreciate the tackle much and faced up to Crilly. There seemed just to be a bit of pushing and shoving although the Referee Brian Cassidy said there was a head used by Crilly. From where we were it looked as if yellows would have been sufficient but no he booked Finlayson and sent off Crilly. A lifeline for Stranraer we thought…

The second half was a strange affair. Stranraer once again had the majority of the play and chances. With the wind in Stranraer's favour we set about 10 man Dumbarton in good fashion. First chance fell to Harry Curran with a header over the top. Jenkins flashed a couple of efforts just wide and Harty tried his luck but too no avail. In a game where we got to the byeline so often and had a number of corners not to have scored was unbelievable. From one of these in swinging corners Alan Jenkins rose at the near post to head powerfully against the bar with the goalie beaten. Billy McLaren took off Fraser Wright and put on Ross McLaren, which seemed a strange move considering it was a defender for a defender. Gary McCutcheon came on for Dumbarton and suddenly they had an outlet again. Wee Cutchy fae the toon played well and showed his skill and finishing qualities after latching onto a bad mistake from Kevin Gaughan then Derek Wingate. Big Dexi, who has been playing well recently, was immediately removed by Billy McLaren with John Fallon coming on to replace him. Fallon didn't really get into the game, as by now Stranraer were totally deflated. The home side were even more ecstatic when McCutcheon got past two Blues defenders then put a good pass through to Bonar who shot low past John Hillcoat for number three.

OVERALL SUMMARY - A disastrous result for Stranraer after strangely a decent performance but one good thing we're still in second place only one point behind leaders Raith Rovers.

Man of the Match: Shared this week between Stevie Aitken and Alan Jenkins. For sheer work rate and determination all over the pitch. Also they were the only two players too respond to my clapping at the end of the game.

Attendance: 740