Kilmarnock1–0Dumbarton

SOMEBODY once said it about a particular national team.

To paraphrase it, football is a simple game. Twenty-two players chase a ball around for 90 minutes and in the end, the Premiership team wins.

It is becoming a familiar feeling for Dumbarton. Four times in a row now. Four times they have been drawn to play cinch Premiership opposition in the Scottish Cup.

Four times they have given a good account of themselves. And four times they have been beaten by a solitary second half goal.

Aberdeen twice, Dundee and now Kilmarnock. Across 360 minutes in those four ties, Sons have been behind for a total of 36 minutes.

There were hardly any minutes to count after Jordan Jones scored the winner for Killie, with attention turning to how Dumbarton would manage another half hour at Rugby Park.

With the familiar defensive side of the team restored after a makeshift afternoon at Forfar, this was Sons at their resilient best at the back once again.

That was until the ball spun loose for Jones inside the area and he rolled home a fierce shot. It was cruel, but Dumbarton had already done everything expected of them.

They came away with their heads held high. They were the ones with no pressure on them.

But for the rest of the season, they will be the ones with expectations. The Road to Hampden is now over, but another road remains very much to be covered between now and May.

The first half was not great, unless you were hoping for Sons to keep things tight. Joe Wright found space in the box for Kilmarnock after 20 minutes but his finish was over the bar.

It was all half chances for the top flight side. Even when Ryan Blair headed a Kyle Lafferty effort off the line, he was fouled in doing so.

Seven minutes into the second half, so nearly the breakthrough. David Wilson ran in on goal but saw his shot pushed away by the keeper.

The loose ball fell to Gregg Wylde, but he could not hit the target, and was offside in any case.

Ryan Wallace was also kept out by the goalkeeper. The signs of a cup shock were evident, but Kilmarnock got their act together and the threat was cut out from there.

The minutes ticked away, though, with little sign that the home side would get the job done that they were expected to do within the 90 minutes.

Whatever they could manage, it was easy enough for Brett Long and his defence to deal with before the closing stages.

The ball then fell to Martin McNiff in the area, but it was a difficult one to control and his finish was wide. It was the last time Sons would threaten a shock.

With six minutes remaining, Long got his hands on a Christian Doidge shot, enough to turn it on to the post for the defence to scramble clear.

It was looking like an extra half hour on the plastic pitch, but that possibility was ended when Jones controlled and shot with injury time having barely started.

Cruel, but that’s life. And it is something Dumbarton are getting used to in the Scottish Cup.