Airdrie were unable to make their unexpected home advantage count as Dumbarton scored in either half to take all three points.

The Diamonds switched to a 4-4-2 against Jim Duffy’s side, with Kyle Connell coming in for his first start upfront. Former Airdrie man Nat Wedderburn lined up in the centre of midfield for the Sons.

Connell looked sharp early on, linking well with Calum Gallagher in the third minute, but Dumbarton keeper Chris Smith, a late replacement after Kevin Dabrowski was injured in the warm up, gathered the loose ball.

David Hutton, making his first competitive start of the season in goal, gathered a Ross Forbes header four minutes later before Craig Thomson was crowded out at the other end after good play by Connell.

Sean Crighton had a sight of goal on 13 minutes, firing over from the edge of the box.

Smith produced a stunning save to deny former Son Gallagher with a close-range header four minutes later, and the visiting defence then got back in numbers to block a Dale Carrick shot.

Dumbarton took the lead on 22 minutes, Jamie Wilson springing the offside track to race through on goal and place the ball beyond Hutton.

Josh Kerr joined the attack as the half-hour mark approached, first firing over from range then seeing a header blocked by the defence before Connell shot just over.

Wedderburn was performing well in the middle of the park, and got back to help out his defence when he ended a flowing passing move down the Airdrie left.

Smith saved from Kyle MacDonald before Hutton did likewise at the other end, clutching a Chris Hamilton effort.

Connell went close again with a curling effort before striking a free-kick into the defensive wall with MacDonald’s strike from the rebound taken cleanly by Smith.

The Sons stand-in keeper did well to keep his side in front thirteen minutes after the break, making another fine reflex save to keep out Connell’s header.

With Airdrie on top and pressing for an equaliser, disaster struck with an hour on the clock. Wilson broke at pace and attempted to lift a shot over the advancing Hutton, only for the ball to strike the covering Leon McCann and cross the goal-line.

The introduction of Thomas Robert, Eoghan Stokes and Griffin Sabatini injected some pace into the Diamonds attack, but with a two-goal lead to protect Dumbarton were content to soak up the pressure.

Calum Gallagher’s 68th-minute flick drifted agonisingly wide before Smith saved again with Stokes looking to get a vital touch.

Stokes was finding good positions in the area, but was just unable to connect with crosses from Carrick and Crighton, before the Diamonds captain saw a thunderous effort deflected over with a minute to play.

Carrick did get the ball in the net in stoppage time, but the referee’s whistle had already gone for a foul in the build-up.