Arbroath 3 Forfar Athletic 0

3rd Round, Scottish Cup
Saturday 27 November 2021
Gayfield Park, Arbroath

Perhaps not surprisingly, it was a grim-faced Gary Irvine who talked to the press after Forfar’s 3-0 defeat to Arbroath in the third round of the Scottish Cup. It wasn’t so much the defeat that was bothering the Loons boss - losing to opponents flying high two divisions higher in the standings can hardly be clashed as a shock result - but the nature of the loss was clearly something he was less than happy with.
Which made sense. As Irvine was quick to acknowledge, his side had failed to seriously trouble Arbroath keeper Derek Gaston and had contributed to their own demise in at least two of the three goals.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” said Irvine. “We knew coming into the game it was going to be a real tough challenge. Arbroath are maybe the most in-form team in the country when you look at the run they are on. Their position in the league tells you that. So we knew it was going to a difficult game. And that was what it proved to be.
“My disappointment stems from that though. We gave the players all the messages. So they knew what to expect. They knew how physical Arbroath were going to be. But we allowed them to use those qualities and implement them into the game. We caused ourselves problems with the goals we conceded. We gave away easy possession in the middle of the park, they broke and scored. Their set-plays are strong too, which was another thing we passed on to the players. So I was disappointed to lose a goal from one of those.”
Still, it wasn’t all down to the players, at least according to Irvine. He wasn’t slow to apportion blame for the third counter - one that all but killed the game as a serious contest - to himself. From a short Forfar corner, possession was almost immediately lost before Arbroath broke the length of the Gayfield pitch to score.
“I have to take full responsibility for the third goal,” insisted Irvine. “I’ve asked my players to try a set-play from the corner, one we haven’t really practised enough. Then we were caught out. I hold my hands up on that one. I should never put my players in that position. I’m going home hurting, at least as much as any of the players.”
Still, from even the darkest of days there was some light. There was much for Forfar to learn from how their opponents performed.
“I said to the players after the game that we need to use what happened today,” continued Irvine. “Our full concentration is on the league. But we look at Arbroath and see what they’ve done. They’re an Angus club doing well in the Championship. They deserve a lot of credit for that. Dick and Pink (Campbell) have done a great job. They are well-organised and playing with real confidence. all credit to them.
“The difference between the two teams - two divisions - showed really. Especially in the first half. But that was down to us making errors too. We encouraged them and played to their strengths. They picked up a lot of loose balls and won the physical aspect of the game. We never got to grips with that and were caught on the ball too often. We never imposed ourselves and asked questions of them. That’s where the frustration is for me.
“But this game is gone now. We learn from it. We’ll look at the film as we do every week. That’s how I work. We’ll look at the game and the goals and things that happened. We’ll learn from all of those and move on. That’s how football is. Even when you are winning it’s important to look at elements of the game that can make you better.”
None of which was disguising Irvine’s pain at the end of a display he and his team will need to forget as well as learn from. And the manager was well aware of the disappointment such a convincing defeat will feel for the Forfar fans who made the short trip across Angus.
“There will be plenty to look at from this game,” Irvine reiterated. “Which is a credit to Arbroath. They are so well-structured. And they have a squad - maybe three-quarters of them - that have been together for four or five seasons. That’s hard to replicate. They have a great understanding of what each other are doing. That’s something we can aspire to.
“But this is also a sore one for me, the players, the club, the fans. It’s a derby. I know how much they mean to supporters. I know the fans will be disappointed. So we owe them an apology. We’ve lost by three goals to one of our neighbours. But my job as manager is to squash those feelings and get us back to league business. We’re going well there and are in a good position. That’s something to build on.
“My message to the players before next week will be simple: ‘get back to winning ways.’ Do the things that have us second in the league. Regain confidence in ourselves. Play to our strengths in both defence and attack. We made mistake today that haven’t been happening in the league games. But much of that is down to the quality of today’s opposition. They put us under pressure and asked us questions we struggled to answer. We didn’t have the time on the ball that maybe we are used to. They deserve credit for that. And yes, they are a good model for Forfar.”
Moving along, Irvine had some news on the injury front, both about this match and for the future. Regular starters Luke Strachan and Stefan McCluskey were both relegated to the bench at Gayfield after picking up knocks. McCluskey wasn’t quite ready to return from his recent groin injury and Strachan hurt his thigh training with Dundee only two days earlier. Both were struggling enough to provoke doubt in the mind of the Forfar boss. Throw in the absence of Andy Munro through suspension and Craig Thomson breaking down during the match and Irvine had some jugging to do.
“I was touch and go between Luke and Yousif at left-back,” he admitted. “And with Yousif being a head taller I felt we needed that height at the back. Craig Thomson came off with a recurrence of his previous injury. We’ll have to have a think about him. Maybe he is coming back too soon. That’s three times now with the same ankle.”
On a happier note, long-time absentee Darren Whyte is back in full contact training and is perhaps two weeks away from inclusion in a match-day squad.
“His timetable for coming back has changed a couple of times after talking with the specialists,” reported Irvine. “It’s gone from the end of last month to the end of this month. Now I’m told it will be another couple of weeks before he can be included in squads. Hopefully that will happen before Christmas."