Dumbarton FC: Manager Jim Duffy 'keen to stay' after play-off win

Ouzy See headed home in the opening minutes of the second half for the League Two side – but Monday night’s 3-1 victory for the Sons at Ainslie Park was enough to see them come out victors over the two legs on aggregate.

The former Morton manager is out of contract at the club, as is his coaching team and the entire playing staff, and whilst Duffy says he is keen to stay, he admits his fate is out of his hands.

Speaking post-match, he said: “I’ve said before that I love being a manager and love being involved at the club, but it’s not my decision.

“Every single player is out of contract, and myself and Barry [Smith, assistant manager] and Robert [Glen, goalkeeping coach], so everybody is in the same boat but we don’t know yet.

“The important thing in the short term was to make sure we got over this hurdle of the four games, and we managed to do that.

Dumbarton secured their League One place for 2021-22 with a 3-2 aggregate win over Edinburgh City - despite losing 1-0 in Thursday's second leg at the C&G Systems Stadium (Photo - Andy Scott)

"We'll enjoy it for a couple of nights and then we’ll see what happens after that.”

The Sons boss was delighted to see his side get the job done and believes his side were good value to come out on top over the two legs.

City's hopes of sending Dumbarton down to the bottom tier were dealt a blow when Liam Henderson was handed a second yellow card for diving with half an hour to play.

READ MORE: Forbes on fire as Sons seize control of play-off final with 3-1 victory

Duffy added: “In the first half I felt, although we had the wind, we didn’t really utilise it too well.

"We actually came out in the second half and started on the front foot, which we had asked the players to try and do because we wanted to make sure we didn’t allow Edinburgh to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.

“We lost a goal and it becomes a wee bit frantic. Obviously the boy got sent off which definitely helped, but for us it was a job to be done over the two legs, and we managed to do that– and I think over the two legs we just about edged it.

Dumbarton secured their League One place for 2021-22 with a 3-2 aggregate win over Edinburgh City - despite losing 1-0 in Thursday's second leg at the C&G Systems Stadium (Photo - Andy Scott)

“I think our organisation and defensive display again has been the foundation of why we could manage to win the tie over the two legs because it was always going to be a bit fraught.

“Sam [Ramsbottom, Sons' ggoalkeeper] never really had a save to make over the two games, so although there were a lot of balls in and about the box, our organisation meant that we protected our goal for the most part in the games, and that was enough to say.”

The fixture was played in front of supporters at the C&G Systems Stadium for the first time in 443 days – but though the players got a warm reception from the 300 Sons fans in the stand when they arrived on to the pitch, there wasn’t much to shout about in the opening exchanges.

READ MORE: Duffy's delight as Dumbarton fans set to return to ground for crucial play-off final

Dumbarton, unchanged from Monday night's first leg, had the better of the first half. though it was a low-key affair as neither side wanted to give away a goal.

It was the man of the moment in the first leg, Ross Forbes, that was at the centre of the action once again however his two strikes from distance were off target.

Dumbarton secured their League One place for 2021-22 with a 3-2 aggregate win over Edinburgh City - despite losing 1-0 in Thursday's second leg at the C&G Systems Stadium (Photo - Andy Scott)

The best of the chances came towards the end of the half when Forbes’ free kick was headed back across goal by Nick McAllister and over the bar by Robert Jones.

Sons started the second period on the front foot and forced a series of corners, with Ryan McGeever and Jones coming close.

But the visitors got the goal they were looking for to pile the pressure on when a cross into the box wasn’t dealt with as it got stuck in the wind and Ouzy See nodded into the net.

As Gary Naysmith’s side were on the front foot and hunting for the goal that would level up the tie, Liam Henderson was shown a second yellow card after he was booked for simulation in the penalty box just before the hour.

Jamie Dishington had the best sight of goal for the visitors but volleyed over the bar from the edge of the area as Duffy’s side saw the game out in a professional style to retain their League One status.

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