Dumbarton boss Stevie Farrell hopes that the town's young fans can come out and get involved in the magic of the Scottish Cup this weekend.
The Sons are set to welcome the famous trophy to the Rock on Friday night for ‘An Evening with the Scottish Cup’, less than 24 hours before their campaign gets underway against Banks O’Dee in a second-round tie on Saturday.
The free event, organised by the SFA, will allow supporters to see and have their photo taken with the trophy, share memories with fellow supporters and have the opportunity to win exciting prizes.
A question and answer session with two former Dumbarton favourites in Ray Montgomerie and Andy Graham will also take place, which will be hosted by Craig Telfer from BBC Scotland’s ‘A View from The Terrace’.
Montgomerie played nearly 200 times for the Sons across seven seasons at Boghead between 1981 and 1988, whilst Graham captained Dumbarton for three years from 2012 and was part of the side that reached the last eight of the competition in the 2013/14 campaign.
Farrell welcomed the trophy visiting G82 and embraced the impact it can have on the local community.
Speaking about the event, he said: “It brings a bit of prestige to the town and allows people to see the famous Scottish Cup.
“For a community club like Dumbarton, it’s important – we’ve got the Young Sons who come every Saturday and hopefully a lot of them will be in attendance with their parents and guardians.
“It’s important that clubs like Dumbarton get the opportunity to be involved in the Scottish Cup because, with the greatest of respect, in the latter stages it’s normally the bigger clubs that get that opportunity so it’s a fantastic event for the town, the community and the club.”
The Highland League side visit G82 less than 24 hours after the event with a 6-0 victory over Dalbeattie Star earlier in the competition securing their spot in round two.
The Aberdeen outfit currently sit in fifth place in the Highland League and Faz is expecting the Dee to provide a stern test for his Sons as the road to Hampden begins for his side.
He added: “It will be a difficult game and we won’t underestimate them at all.
“They are in the top end of the Highland League which is a tough league and we have been using our contacts there to get footage.
“We’ll do everything in preparation like we do every week but we know we’ll need to be at our very best on Saturday if we’re to progress to the next round of the cup.
“When the senior teams and the SPFL teams come in there is always a shock and we’ve got to make sure that it’s not us.
“We’re used to playing lower league opposition in recent seasons with Sauchie and Cumnock and they’ve been difficult games and I don’t expect anything other than that on Saturday.
“I think they are a step up in terms of where they are so we know it’s going to be a difficult game but we know if we play the way we have for the majority of the season then we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”
The response from Sons fans and the local community has been impressive so far with tickets currently sold out, though supporters are encouraged to keep an eye out for more to be released: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-the-scottish-cup-dumbarton-tickets-736444714967
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here