Stenhousemuir 2 Forfar Athletic 0

Saturday 26 February 2022

SPFL cinch League 2

Ochilview Stadium, Stenhousemuir

It was a grim-faced Gary Irvine who emerged from the dressing room at the end of this 2-0 defeat to Stenhousemuir at Ochilview. For the first time in the league this season, the Forfar boss had watched his side lose by more than one goal and he was understandably unhappy at what he had witnessed. Seven days on from a confidence-boosting victory over top-of-the-table Kelty Hearts and after a reasonably promising opening 25-minutes, the Loons lost their way for long periods of what was, for the most part, a dour, physical struggle.

  “There’s a bit of anger and a bit of disbelief in the dressing room,” said Irvine. “The disbelief comes from me comparing today with last week. It was night and day and something I wasn’t expecting. I told the players this game was going to be just as big a task as last week. It was more technical against Kelty, but from Monday the players were being told that today would be a more physically demanding contest. So they knew what they were likely to be up against. We worked on things in training but today I just didn’t see any of that. 

  “We never got going. We never had any momentum. We never developed any patterns of play that would get us into good areas. All of which could have come from someone working hard and breaking up play.”

  One player was exempt from the manager’s frustration. Throughout the game, Stefan McCluskey was a threat to the opposition, his comfort on the ball obvious. 

  “Stefan always looked dangerous,” felt Irvine. “But it was his work-rate that pleased me most. He had fight and desire to win the ball back and create something for the team. But I needed another six, seven, eight players with that same mentality. That wasn’t there though, which is so frustrating.”

  As for the goals, the first came from a set-piece after referee Mike Roncone overruled his linesman to award the home team a corner.  

  “The linesman had a clear view and the ref was standing behind four or five bodies,” said Irvine. “Yet the ref gives them the corner. Then they go and score. Ultimately, that put us under a lot of pressure. Stenhousemuir gained momentum from that. Which changed the game after we had started reasonably well. 

  “We’ve conceded two goals and I don’t want to pin everything on the defence,” Irvine continued. “But as a team we needed to be better defensively. Whether that is at set-plays or defending the box. But we didn’t do that and they have scored through those lapses. Equally, we made bad decisions in the lead-up to the second goal. We were too eager to jump out of our positions in the middle of the park. Which gave them an easy break, although the keeper could maybe have done a wee bit better.”

  Still, there mitigating circumstances for the man between the Forfar posts, Lewis Sanderson. Following the late withdrawal of regular number-one, Marc McCallum, Irvine was forced to ask Sanderson to rise from his sick-bed - he is suffering from a chest infection - and play his first competitive game for the Club.

  “Our position was obviously not ideal,” sighed Irvine. “I feel for Lewis. He’s conceded two goals. But as a team we should have dealt with the corner better. Then the players in front of him could have given better protection for the second. But he battled away. His handling was good. And given the fact that he wasn’t even feeling at 50 per cent he did well. He put his body on the line for his teammates and got the game played.”

  Next up for Forfar is a brace home games against Elgin and Stirling Albion that will hopefully go a long way towards carrying the Loons into at least a play-off spot at the end of the regular season. But, as Irvine was quick to acknowledge, a positive reaction from this defeat is required.

  “We need to learn from this one,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve lost a league game by two goals all season. So we’ll all be desperate to get back in next week. It should pull us together and make us want to fight for a good result next Saturday. The signs are good. I saw it in the dressing room after the match. There was no acceptance from the players. They were all saying the right things. And yes, it got a bit heated - rightly so. But all for the right reasons. It’s because we have set high standards, as is clear from our league position. So the desire to succeed is there. As is our ambition. Which is why we are all so frustrated tonight.”

Stenhousemuir 

21 Urminsky

15 Corbett ⚽️ 50'

25 Jamieson

5 Crighton

3 Yeats

7 Forbes

17 Anderson

6 Wedderburn ? 73' ? Lyon 78'

24 Miller

9 Orr

10 Thomson ⚽️ 26'

Substitutes

2 Lyon

4 Tapping

11 Brown

12 Lyon

14 Christie

19 Graham

20 Wilson

23 Moreland

Forfar Athletic 

21 Sanderson

2 Meechan

19 Munro

6 Whyte

26 Brindley ? 43'

7 Thomson

10 Slater ?Moore 45'

12 Hutton

24 Crossan

9 Aitken ? 35' ? Shepherd 63' ? 73'

17 McCluskey ? 84'

Substitutes

11 G Anderson

15 Hussain

18 Shepherd

20 Harkins

22 Moore

25 Fisher

Referee: Mike Roncone

Attendance: 348