Elgin robbed of win by Sons’ late leveller

Elgin suffered late disappointment as Dumbarton battled back from 2-0 down to claim a point at The Rock.

Russell Dingwall opened the scoring with 20 minutes played, before Ross Draper nodded home seven minutes later to double the advantage.

It was almost three when Ryan MacLeman thundered a shot against the bar, though the hosts replied nine minutes before half-time when Michael Ruth headed past Tom McHale.

Both sides spurned chances in the second half before the hosts salvaged a point in the 89th minute after James Graham came off the bench to slam home a leveller.

Elgin boss Allan Hale was disappointed not to come away with a first win in six games, instead having to settle for a fifth draw during a spell in which his team secured their League Two safety.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half,” Hale said.

“We created a number of opportunities and were unlucky not to get ourselves three in front.

“We lost a poor goal from a cross into the back post and in the second half we’ve had to absorb a bit of pressure.

“In the second half we’ve had opportunities to get the third goal that would have ended it as a contest. We’ve not taken those chances, then gave away a goal right at the death, meaning we have to settle for a point.”

Having ensured they will remain in the SPFL for another year, Hale is hoping his players can enjoy the closing stages of the season.

He experimented with a different set-up against Dumbarton, a move which paid dividends, particularly during an impressive first-half showing.

“We’ve said to the group we’re going to try a couple of different things in terms of how we’re asking them to play,” he continued.

“We changed our system to one the team has never played before and we only had the two training sessions this week to work on it, but the players implemented the game plan really well in the first half.

“We want the players to play with that freedom, but we are still professionals and have our own objectives to secure. We were certainly there to play for the win.”

Hale was boosted last week by the news Jake Dolzanski has put pen to paper on a contract extension.

The Borough Briggs boss insists work is well under way ahead of next season and he hopes many key players within the squad will follow suit by signing new deals with the club.

He explained: “I don’t think that work ever stops. You’ve got a team of people who are constantly reviewing games and identifying targets.”

Ross Draper’s header put the visitors 2-0 ahead.