DUMBARTON manager Stevie Farrell hailed the defensive structure of his side as they booked their place in cinch League One play-off final.

A 0-0 draw at Forthbank on Saturday was enough for Sons to earn a 2-1 aggregate win over Stirling Albion and set up a two-legged clash with Spartans tonight at the Rock and in the capital on Friday, relegating The Binos in the process.

On a blistering hot day in Stirling, the visitors had chances to seal the tie in the first half but they weren’t taken which always left the door open for an equaliser that could have forced extra time and penalties.

Despite just needing one goal, the hosts couldn’t find it as Dumbarton recorded their 15th clean sheet of the season to get over the line and take one step closer towards promotion to League One.

Faz believes his side got their approach spot on against Albion, who have since parted ways with manager Darren Young, to get over the line.

Speaking to the Reporter, he said: “We knew the game on Saturday would be different from the game on Tuesday because everyone is a little more nervous as there isn’t a second chance as such.

“The longer the game went, Stirling had to throw the kitchen sink at us and at one time they five forwards on and two defenders at the back.

“We purposely never went to five at the back because we felt that would invite pressure and drop us deeper.

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“We played very well in the first half and I was quite surprised that Stirling were more defensive than I thought they would be but that suited us because we could just play our normal game.

“If one of our chances had gone in during the first half we probably would have killed the tie but the longer it goes with just one goal in it then the other team will always believe and they were throwing everything at us but we stood up to it well.

“We’ve had a lot of clean sheets this season and I said to the boys they would stand us in good stead in the second half and our defensive structure got us through the tie.”

Sons will now meet Spartans in the two-legged final as they host the Edinburgh side this evening before making the journey to Ainslie Park on Friday.

Dougie Samuel’s side finished just a point ahead of Dumbarton in the final cinch League Two table and recorded an impressive 7-2 aggregate win over Peterhead to earn their spot.

The sides can hardly be separated in recent meetings having won one game each this season and drawing the other two – though Sons could take confidence from a 6-2 win away from home in March.

Farrell relayed the message that his side have not achieved anything yet as he looks for the same application in the next two massive fixtures.

He explained: “Stirling is finished and there’s no plaudits to take, we’ve earned the right to be in the final and we’ve got to go and try and deal with these next two games.

“I don’t think there’s anything between the two teams and we’ve got to go and get after these next two games as we did the Stirling games.”

Kick-off at the Rock this evening is 7.30pm. The game will be broadcast live on BBC Alba.