Saints stars living on borrowed time

Aug 30 2012 by Andy Newport, Paisley Daily Express

Even the best of Buddies don’t always see eye to eye over some things.

And, for 90 minutes on Saturday, Mark Lamont and one of his best mates will be firmly on opposite sides.

The on-loan St Mirren midfielder hopes to contribute to Dumbarton’s first league win of the season when they travel to face Morton at Cappielow.

But there will be one member of the Greenock ranks he’s particularly keen to get one over on — defender Jason Naismith.

Like Lamont, the talented teen has been farmed out to gain experience — although 18-year-old Naismith’s move certainly raised some eyebrows when he joined Saints’ bitter rivals Morton.

This weekend’s showdown will see the two borrowed Buddies face off against each other...and Lamont, 19, is looking forward to meeting up with his pal after the game — but is desperate to be the one who is celebrating victory!

Lamont said: “I think we can get something from the game on Saturday. We know that we go above Morton if we win.

“The opportunity is definitely there for us to get our first points of the season.

“Jason is a good friend of mine, as well as my team-mate at St Mirren, and it will be good to meet up with him — especially if we win!

“I suppose that, with me being a St Mirren player, there’s a bit more incentive to contribute to a victory against Morton.”

If Lamont is to get one over on his pal, he’ll need to enjoy much better luck than he has experienced so far this term.

With three league games gone, the Sons have zero points, having shipped 10 goals and scored just one at the other end.

Their Scottish Communities League Cup campaign also ended in failure after Tuesday night’s agonising 3-2 reverse away to Livingston.

It’s been a miserable start to the campaign but Lamont insists there’s no need to panic.

He added: “We lost 3-0 to Partick last weekend but they are flying right now and looking for promotion.

“I thought we played well and looked good going forward and through the middle but Thistle are a better team and deserved to win.

“They are a really good side and I think they’ll be up there at the end of the season.

“Overall, we were a bit unlucky on the day and we felt there was something left in the game for us at 1-0.

“Our coaches, Jack Ross and Alan Adamson, were willing us on at half-time and they let us know we could still get back into it.

“However, losing the second goal really deflated us and that was it after that.”

Lamont has made one first-team appearance for St Mirren, having been given a late run-out as a sub against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park back in February 2011.

He is now in his second loan spell with Dumbarton, having initially joined on loan at the New Year.

His role in the Sons’ promotion-winning season was plagued by injuries — and his return didn’t get off to the best of starts after a bout of illness.

However, Lamont insists he’s enjoying life at Dumbarton this season.

And he hopes that staying injury-free can keep him firmly in the plans of the Sons management.

He added: “I was really unlucky with injuries last season after we had a 10-game unbeaten run.

“Nobody likes to get injured but it’s particularly hard when the team has something to celebrate and you can’t be part of it.

“If anything, I’m enjoying it even more than I did last season as I’m now playing for Dumbarton at a higher level.

“I’ve started the last two games and I don’t feel any problems with the injuries I had last season.

“I had tonsilitis in pre-season but, now that I’m over that, I’m hoping to get a good run of games.”