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Mitch Megginson grabbed the golden goal that secured the cinch League One title in front of a bumper 1,645 crowd at Balmoral Stadium. 

It was far from our best performance of the season, but titles aren’t won over a solitary 90 minutes and there can be no doubt we are worthy champions and have earned the right to compete in the Championship next season. 

We did it by making it 25 league games without defeat, since October, staying undefeated at home for the entire campaign, scoring the most goals in the division and by recording what was keeper Stuart McKenzie’s 19th league shut out. 

There were amazing scenes after the final whistle as club captain Megginson picked up the trophy and celebrated with his team-mates and the club’s backroom staff amid a spectacular display of blue and white ticker-tape. 

It’s been a real football fairytale that has seen us rise from playing at amateur level in the mid-1980s to gaining promotion through the Highland League and up to the second tier of the Scottish game. 

Even though we left it late in this game to seal things, we were still the better side throughout. 

The Sons deserve credit for their dogged determination that meant we had to wait until the 75th minute before Megginson made the breakthrough required to finally see off the title challenge of Airdrieonians. 

Dumbarton actually created the first chance, when Gregor Buchanan nodded the ball wide from a Paul Paton corner in the second minute. 

From then on it was just a case of waiting and hoping we would do what needed to be done. 

Iain Vigurs was just inches away from the opener, when his 20th minute 25-yard free-kick shaved the outside of Dumbarton keeper Kieran Wright’s right post. 

We had an even better chance four minutes later, when another Vigurs free-kick ended with the ball dropping into the path of Fraser Fyvie, but he could only direct his six yard shot into hands of Wright. 

Mark Reynolds created our next chance with a brilliant long pass in behind the Dumbarton defence for Megginson to run on to. 

Wright rescued the Sons by making a brave save at the skipper’s feet 16-yards out. 

Scott Ross followed that with an outstanding cross field pass to Shay Logan. 

His cross was knocked back out to Vigurs, who lashed a 22-yard volley over the crossbar. 

McKenzie made his only save of the afternoon in the 38th minute, when he comfortably held an 18-yard shot from Josh Oyinson. 

We had a penalty claim turned down by referee Lorraine Watson in the 42nd minute, when Fyvie was adamant his shot from 14-yards had been deflected wide off the hand of a Dumbarton defender. 

The second half followed a similar pattern as we worked to overcome the stubborn defending of Dumbarton. 

Vigurs sent a corner over from the right in the 48th minute and Fyvie looked set to score from 10-yards until a defender made an excellent blocking tackle. 

Fyvie and Megginson exchanged passes in an impressive break forward in the 54th minute. 

The move ended with Fyvie getting his shot past Wright, but the ball was hooked clear by a Dumbarton defender before it could cross the line. 

Fyvie tried again in the 58th minute, after getting on the end of a Blair Yule cross, but once again his shot was kept out by a timely interception by a Sons defender inside the six yard box. 

Harry Milne broke clear on the left on the hour and his cross was collected by Megginson, who turned to steer a shot from the edge of the area just wide of the target. 

Reynolds couldn’t get enough power on his 16-yard shot, from a Fyvie corner, which left Wright with a simple save in the 64th minute. 

Logan was the hero at the other end when he made a vital clearance from inside our six yard box after Dumbarton had made a rare break forward. 

Wright came to Dumbarton’s rescue again in the 72nd minute, when he smothered a low shot from Yule inside the six yard box. 

There were joyous scenes on our bench and all around Balmoral Stadium when we finally broke the deadlock with only 15 minutes left on the clock. 

Logan, as he has been the case so often this season, was the creator of the chance with a ball in from the right to MEGGINSON and he gave Wright no chance with a well placed 14-yard shot into the far corner of the net. 

Logan excelled at the other end again, when he cleared a cross from Dumbarton substitute Gregg Wylde with a diving header inside the six yard box to ensure we held out to secure the title and a second promotion just three years after entering the SPFL. 

COVE RANGERS: McKenzie, Neill, Milne, Scully (McIntosh 68), Ross, Yule, Megginson (Masson 77), Vigurs, Fyvie, Logan, Reynolds. 

Subs: Strachan, McAllister, Adeyemo, Leitch, Gourlay, Fotheringham. 

DUMBARTON: Wright, Pignatiello, Boyle, Carswell (Bronsky 65), Buchanan (Syvertsen 65), Wilson, Stanger, Stokes (Duthie 12), Oyinsan (Wylde 65), Paton, MacLean (Orsi 79). 

Subs: O’Neill, Lynch, Muir, Hutchison. 

Referee: Lorraine Watson. 

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