Forfar Athletic 0 Dundee United 1

The Scottish Cup, Fourth Round

Friday 16 April 2021

Station Park, Forfar

As many as 26 league places separated Forfar Athletic and Dundee United before the two sides contested this fourth round Scottish Cup tie at Station Park. That’s a big gap in class - on paper at least. But on the pitch things turned out differently, as the Loons totally belied their bottom-of-the-table status in League One with a battling display that saw them unlucky to lose to a single Peter Pawlett goal.

“There were lots of positives for us out there tonight, as well as some disappointment,” was player-coach Gary Irvine’s post-match verdict. “We’ve put in some great effort and energy levels against good opposition. We knew it was going to be difficult, but I felt like we caused them problems. And we had chances to score. A Scotty Fenwick header went close and so did Jordan Allan. “We are right in the middle of a busy schedule of fixtures. So there was a potential for us to have a few tired bodies and minds out there. But went out there and matched up well with a good Premier League side. We stuck together. And we had belief. Now, of course, we have to take everything we showed tonight into our remaining league fixtures.”

Indeed, with five games left the Loons have little margin for error in the battle against relegation. But on this display, the prospect of salvation is real, with Irvine and assistant Tony Docherty leading the way.

“Our plan going in was just to be organised, to work hard and to have belief in ourselves,” continued Irvine, who had a fine game himself in the middle of a depleted defence. “And we’ll need all of those qualities in our last five league games. Even a wee bit more. I’ll keep squeezing that out of the players. We know we have a big task. We know we need points. And tonight will help us believe we can get them.

“Tony (Docherty) and I worked on the shape of the team. Everyone knew their role when they went out on the pitch. And they all worked hard for each other. That’s what pleased me most, although we played some good stuff too when we had the ball. We just need that wee bit of extra belief when we get into the final third, to make the chances count.”

Perhaps most tellingly, the post-match atmosphere in the dressing room was one of disappointment at losing rather than pride in pushing supposedly superior opposition so close.

“The boys were brilliant after the game,” said Irvine. “They know they were in it right to the end. That will give us a lift, one we need to take into the next game. I’m even more proud of them all when we only had three outfield players on the bench. I can’t fault effort and work rate, especially when our choices tonight were so limited by suspensions and players being cup-tied. Scotty Shepherd took a heavy knock in the first half but he was still out there grinding for the team until he couldn’t run any more. That’s what it’s going to take between now and the end of the season.”

Mention must also be made of Ross Meechan, who was making his 100th appearance in a Forfar Athletic shirt in what is his third season at the club. As a measure of his importance to the side, the 26-year old has made 99 starts. Only once has he come on as a substitute.

“I’m chuffed,” he said. “To play 100 games is a great achievement. There have been ups and downs in my time here, but I have never dropped out of the team. I hope that continues. This is a great club to play for. I hope there’ll be at least 100 more to come.”

As for the match that made him a Forfar “centurion,” Meechan shared both Irvine’s pride and his disappointment.

“We will get a lift from tonight,” he claimed. “The boys did really well and followed our game plan. We had chances and it felt to me like we had the better chances. We weren’t far away and if we had scored first it could have been a different game. The boys gave everything and if we take that into the remaining league games I have no doubt we can stay up.

“And yes, it was fun tonight. It was on the telly, the cameras were here and we were playing a Premier League side. But I never felt like we were out of place during the game. We matched them all over the pitch. The only downside for me was the end result. But we’ve played six games in 13 days. So our fitness levels are not in question. We were still running at the end and pushing for a goal. That speaks volumes for me. This is a game we can build on."

Roberto Nditi was the BBC Scotland man of the man. Well done to Roberto and all the lads who left nothing out on the pitch tonight.