City players are itching to get back into action after an enforced absence from playing due to the arctic conditions. As things stand at the moment, tomorrow’s game against Dumbarton at Glebe Park has a 50-50 chance of going ahead. The snow has been cleared from the pitch but there are still some icy patches remaining and with heavy rain forecast for overnight and Saturday there remains some doubt as to whether or not the game will go ahead. As a precaution, the club has arranged an 8.30am inspection and information regarding the outcome will be posted on this website as soon as it becomes available.

City haven’t seen competitive football since they defeated Peterhead by 3-0 at Glebe Park on 15th December when a Paul McLean goal and a double from Rory McAllister secured victory in a highly impressive performance and the players will be desperate to put on another good show tomorrow if the game gets the go-ahead

Manager Jim Duffy has signed Morton utility player Alex Walker in a short-term loan deal and Jim has no doubt he’ll be a good acquisition for the team.
“ Alex can play anywhere in the back four and also in midfield and his versatility will be a big asset for us,” he said.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s match Jim is hoping that the team can pick up from where they left off against Peterhead.

“ The players played extremely well in their last competitive match and it would be nice to see them reproduce that type of form again. It was a pity that the big freeze came immediately after that game because we would have been looking to take the momentum of that performance into our subsequent games.”
“ However, every other team has been in the same boat and we’ll just have to get on with things.

As far as tomorrow’s opponents are concerned, Jim feels that they’ll provide his side with a stern test.

“ Dumbarton had a bit of a sticky start to their league campaign but once they found their feet they began to perform very well.”
“ They’re a very difficult team to beat, they keep good possession and they’ve lost very few goals so we’re in no doubt as to how hard our task will be.”

“ However, if we play to our potential and capitalise on the chances we create, I’m confident we’ll pick up three points.

City will have new signing Walker available for selection alongside youngster Tom Miller who has yet to play for the club. Craig Nelson has also come through his recent operation successfully and has managed to train, so he will also be available for selection tomorrow.
However, Barry Smith is unavailable and it is also not yet known whether centre-back Jon Seeley will be able to play.

Dumbarton manager Jim Chapman is also hoping that the big freeze won’t have had an adverse affect on his players.

“ Like all other clubs during the break we’ve been keeping players busy, we have to otherwise things go stale,” he said.

“ Playing games though is what we’re all about and if the weather holds, tomorrow can’t come quick enough.”

“ City are a well-organised team and it’ll be a tough re-introduction to league football, but as I said, everyone is looking forward to it.
It’s 4th versus 5th as the two teams go head to head for the third time this season with City having the advantage having taken four points out of the previous two encounters.

Referring back to City’s 3-1 win earlier in the season at Glebe Park, the Dumbarton manager said,

“ That was a bad day at the office, but I think we’ve eradicated the kind of errors that cost us dear during that period.”

The Sons will be without keeper David McEwan who has played only two games this season.