Dejected Huntly boss Allan Hale insisted his side failed to do themselves justice after missing out on an enticing Scottish Cup third round encounter with Aberdeen.
Instead the Highland League troops suffered a heavy defeat and Hale said: “The overriding feeling is one of frustration, because I don’t feel as though we have disgraced ourselves or disgraced the Highland League as a product. I feel that we haven’t shown what our players are capable of.
“Our ball retention I thought wasn’t good enough and our fitness levels towards the end. It showed we have been inactive for a period of time. We made it quite easy for Dumbarton in the end, so it’s a feeling of frustration.”
Despite the Highlanders’ stout resistance, Sons took the lead on the half-hour mark through Jaime Wilson who was on hand to tap home after an impressive burst of pace from PJ Crossan exposed the visiting defence.
The League One side doubled their lead before the break when Ryan McGeever out-jumped the home defence to bullet a header beyond the helpless Euan Storrier in the Huntly goal.
Dumbarton’s dominance was underlined when Wilson latched onto a Forbes through ball and beat Storrier again, before Forbes claimed one for himself following a neat through ball by Adam Frizzell.
Hale added: “Whether the occasion got to one or two players, I don’t know. Fitness levels certainly played an element and just frustrating night for us really.”