The first clear chance fell the way of the visitors in the sixteenth minute when Robbie Manson's cross was missed by the Sons' defence but the unmarked Dennis McLaughlin could only hook the ball wide when unmarked on the corner of the six yard box. It was a costly miss as full-back Andy Geggan burst forward for the home side, weaved his way in the Berwick box and sent over a low cross which Craig Winter turned home from close.
Visiting boss John Coughlan re-arranged his attacking formation at the break and it almost paid immediate dividends when a slick passing move ended with Gary Wood firing past Stephen Grindlay only for his "strike" to be disallowed for offside. McLaughlin then had a great opportunity to atone for his earlier miss when he found himself clear inside the area but from a tight angle he shot wildly across the face of goal when both Wood and Dave Greenhill were unmarked in front of the target.
Having rode their luck Dumbarton came back into the game and sealed the points when a long ball from midfield sent Chris Hamilton clear of the Berwick rearguard and he finished with a crisp, low drive past the stranded Gary O'Connor.