Dumbarton vs Alloa Athletic preview - Trio absent for Dumbarton

Posted Saturday, March 07, 2015 by PA

Dumbarton are without a trio of players when they host Alloa.

David van Zanten (knee), Lee Mair (hamstring) and Jordan Kirkpatrick (hip) have all been ruled out and manager Ian Murray is looking for his men to grab the win that moves them away from relegation concerns.

Murray said: "The players stuck to the game plan fantastically well and showed a lot of endeavour to draw with Queen of the South last weekend. We will need a similar approach against an Alloa side who will be really keen to beat us.

"They will see this as a chance to close the gap but if we win we put a good bit of daylight between us and relegation issues."

Alloa welcome Kyle Benedictus back from suspension.

However, Stephen Simmons remains out with a back problem and Phil Roberts only has a 50-50 chance of playing due to a knock.

Manager Barry Smith said: "This would be a terrific game to win as it would put Dumbarton very much in our sights. The games against the sides beside you in the table are crucial and winning this one would be a huge boost.

"One of the reasons we lost to Hibs last weekend is that we did not do enough going forward when we had the ball and hopefully that side of our game will be different against Dumbarton."