THE end of the year is approaching – but for Andy Graham, tomorrow is about rounding off a century.
Dumbarton’s game against Falkirk tomorrow is set to be the skipper’s 100th game for the club – and he’ll play it live on TV.
And the 31-year-old wants to mark the occasion by beating the Bairns and making it four wins in five for Sons.
That’s a run which has moved them up to sixth in the Championship table – eight points clear of the bottom two.
But while it’s mostly been down to performances and goals, Andy reckons there may be a bit of the luck of the Irish involved.
He said: “We went to Dublin for our Christmas night out at the end of November and we’re unbeaten since we came back!
“Two years ago we tried to get a night out planned, but our Scottish Cup tie with Hamilton kept getting re-arranged and we had to cancel the party, so we had it early this year.
“It’s brilliant that I’m about to reach 100 appearances. It’s good to do that for any club, especially in this day and age when players move from club to club.
“Someone told me after we beat Raith Rovers last week that I’d just played my 75th consecutive game for Dumbarton as well. I don’t think I’ve ever got anywhere near that before!
“We’re looking forward to playing Falkirk. We’re on a good run of form and are in a positive frame of mind.
“When we played them away from home in September we got a draw but we didn’t play very well.
“So we have a point to prove that we are better than that day when we play them at our place.”
Tomorrow’s game is a 5.30pm kick-off and will be watched by a Scotland-wide audience on BBC Alba.
However, Andy, who has played live on TV before for Hamilton Accies, insists that the players won’t feel the presence of the TV cameras.
He continued: “It will be a bit different for us. With it being a late kick-off things will be a bit out of sync with our pre-match preparation, but these occasions are why you play football.
“There’s also a bit extra incentive as you know your mates will be watching, so you try not to make any mistakes!
“I played live on TV for Hamilton against both of the Old Firm. The build-up to the game was big because they were both going for the league title.
“But when it gets to the game, your last thought is with the TV cameras. You don’t think about it once it starts.”
The Falkirk match is Sons’ last home fixture before the season’s midway point, with just next Saturday’s trip to Cowdenbeath remaining in 2014.
And there are New Year resolutions among the squad, with a triumph over one of the Championship’s high-profile clubs in Sons’ sights.
Andy added: “We would definitely have accepted the position we’re in at the start of the season, especially with how much stronger the league is.
“It’s been our main focus to stay in the league and we’re on course to do that.
“We’ve taken a point off Hearts and Hibs so far and we’re aiming for something from the Rangers and Hearts games at the start of the New Year.
“We know what those teams are about and done okay in most of the games against them. Against Hearts away I thought they were very strong, and we maybe let ourselves down in the home league game against Rangers.
“But we’ve held our own the rest of the time and we are looking forward to the matches to come.”
Dumbarton v Falkirk – BBC Alba; 5.30pm tomorrow (December 20).
The Dumbarton Terrace 