Dumbarton boss Jim Duffy quite happily labelled himself as ‘boring’ after admitting he preferred his side’s clean sheet over the three goals they scored in their win over East Fife - a result which consolidated their place in League One.

Craig Barr, Dom Thomas and Calum Gallagher all scored as Sons earned the crucial three points. 

That coupled with rivals Brechin and Stenhousemuir losing meant that Duffy’s side moved seven points clear of the bottom two with just a couple of games left.

Praise for the defence may not be at the forefront of a manager’s mind after a dominant 3-0 win, but the Sons Boss was full of kind words for his defensive duo of Craig Barr and Brian McLean. 

He said: “It was a good win. I felt in the first 20 minutes East Fife were the better side without cutting us open at times. 

READ MORE: Jim Duffy pleased with side's mentality after hard-fought Forfar point

“The first goal we got from the set play calmed us down and we started to express ourselves after that and from then on in I thought we were pretty much in control of the game. 

“As I said to the players in the dressing room, I’m a bit more boring and like the fact we’ve kept two clean sheets in a row. 

“We know we’ve got goals but clean sheets, in the early part of the season, is something we struggled for. 

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter: Duffy was delighted with Craig Barr and the Sons defence who kept a clean sheet as they confirmed their spot in next season's League One (Photo: Andy Scott)Duffy was delighted with Craig Barr and the Sons defence who kept a clean sheet as they confirmed their spot in next season's League One (Photo: Andy Scott)

“I felt the two centre backs were the two most important players in our team today. 

“They were aggressive, won headers, won tackles, won crosses, all these things you want a centre back to do.”

Sons second goal of the afternoon came from the right foot of Thomas after a weaving run from the Kilmarnock loanee.

It’s the type of skill and goal that has got Dumbarton fans excited all season and Duffy couldn’t speak highly enough of the 23-year-old’s talent. He said: “I don’t think he scores many tap-ins. I’ve said many times, he’s an exceptional talent and we’re lucky to have him. 

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“That second goal today, it doesn’t matter what level of football you’re playing at, it’s to be applauded.”