Elgin were left still searching for their first win of the campaign after Dumbarton came from behind to claim the points.
The visitors led through Kane Hester’s first half opener only to concede two penalties after the break with Ally Love converting both.
Frustrated City boss Gavin Price said: “Our performance was good, particularly in the first half but again we were guilty of a poor start to the second half and Dumbarton came out fighting.
“I warned the players about those sloppy corner kicks that we gave away.”
Elgin started brightly, creating several chances, and the opener deservedly arrived on 27 minutes in somewhat controversial fashion.
The Dumbarton players were convinced the ball had gone out for their throw-in but referee Duncan Williams thought otherwise and played on with the ball being lobbed over the top to Hester who drove at the defence, twisting and turning, before a deflection took his shot past Dumbarton keeper Brett Long.
Todays Team to take on Dumbarton.
C’mon ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/JwxxBkXI3t
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) August 27, 2022
Just minutes after falling behind, Sons nearly got themselves level when Joe McKee smacked a shot off the crossbar after a well-worked corner.
Elgin’s hard work to put themselves ahead was undone by sloppy defending on 51 minutes, a push in the box leading to a penalty which Love dispatched in style.
Love must have thought it was his lucky day as Dumbarton were awarded another penalty just three minutes later after a clumsy challenge by Jevan Anderson gave the referee no option but to point to the spot for the second time.
This time Love drilled the kick powerfully down the middle for what proved to be the winner.
With more than half-an-hour still on the clock there was time for Elgin to find a way back but they rarely threatened the home defence in what was a feisty conclusion to the match.
Ultimately the penalties ultimately proved costly and Price remarked: “I’d need to see the videos back but they looked soft to say the least. I don’t think the ref was strong enough but I’ll need to see it back.
“We need to take responsibility for that as well. We need to get set if its long throw-ins or corner kicks as we put ourselves under pressure.
“Its a game a lot of people would feel we certainly shouldn’t have lost and probably should have won.
“And we have been in that situation four times this season – we have lost probably nine points from winning positions and we’ve got to be better.
“I was happy with the performance early on and the one-goal lead. It was a fair reflection of the first half.
“But the game lasts 90 minutes and the timing of when we are losing goals seems to be in the first 15 minutes after half-time which is something we need to address.
“We’ll work on it and hopefully come back stronger.”
HISTORY! ✅✅✅✅✅
We win our first five league games of the season for the first time ever!
Sons come from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a resilient second-half performance and a couple of penalties from Ally Love! pic.twitter.com/Q78rnDoCIw
— Dumbarton FC (@Dumbartonfc) August 27, 2022
Elgin will attempt to break their duck when they entertain Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday.
