Dumbarton’s run of three straight wins away from home came to an end at the weekend after title-chasing Falkirk ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

However, despite what eventually turned out to be a comprehensive loss, manager Jim Duffy believes his side matched the Bairns for over an hour on Saturday.

Charlie Telfer scored in the first-half before Declan McManus notched a brace in the final 30 minutes to secure the points for the home side.

Ruaridh Langan cannoned an effort off the bar in the opening period with the score still at 0-0 when Sons were on top and Duffy was left proud despite the final result.

He said: “The last time we played them we done very well and, on Saturday, up until the second goal, we did very well again.

“Regardless of the difference in resources and budgets, we competed really well.

“The second goal just knocked the stuffing out of us a wee bit because we were very much in the game.

READ MORE: Falkirk bring Dumbarton's run of away wins to an abrupt halt

“Ruaridh hits the underside of the bar and their first goal is a deflection but these are things that happen and you’ve got to deal with them and get over the disappointment.”

Lewis Crawford and Mati Zata were recalled from a loan spell at Junior side Rossvale to give the Sons boss options from the bench on Saturday, but he is optimistic of having further names available this week against Clyde.

He added: “We’re trying to rectify it but everything is a wee bit of a domino effect when it comes to transfer windows.

“Some managers are saying to me ‘we would do this but I need to get players in first’ and then you’ve got clubs saying the same thing to those managers.

“PJ [Crossan] did a fair bit of work before the game so I would guess he could make the squad next week.

“I’m not overly confident that Isaac [Layne] would be back for this week but you just don’t know because it’s bruising and might settle down.

“Adam [Frizzell] and Joe [McKee] are muscle injures so they might just settle.”

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