MATCH PREVIEW: Forfar Athletic v The New Saints

As has been well documented, Station Park will stage Forfar Athletic’s first ever competitive fixture with a club from out with Scottish football when Welsh Premier League champions for six of the past seven years New Saints from Oswestry provide the opposition in the fourth round of the Irn Bru Cup this Saturday.

The revamped nature of the old Challenge Cup with the introduction in earlier rounds of Premiership Colts teams and then the arrival on the scene at the current stage of the competition of two Irish and two Welsh sides has had its critics, but judging by the interest Saturday’s tie has created locally in the lead up, it has to be voted a success.  

Whether that increased pre-match awareness of the fixture will be translated into a larger than normal Station Park attendance only time will tell.  Certainly some fans will be heading off understandably to Hampden, but there can be little doubt that despite last week’s setback and first defeat in ten competitive outings, Gary Bollan and his side deserve to have the backing of the local sporting fraternity in this unique fixture.

The 3-1 defeat to Montrose last Saturday was undoubtedly a surprise but no one present could have grudged the ‘Gable Endies’ their success.

However it is up to skipper Stuart Malcolm and his playing colleagues to again raise their game and put their disappointment behind them as they strive to attain a quarter final berth with victory over the ‘Saints.’

The home management team are unlikely to make many changes to the starting line up.   Top scorer Josh Peters with ten goals under his belt this term should return after a groin strain saw him fail a late fitness test last week, but David Cox is still ruled out.

Josh will return up front in all probability replacing Allan Smith, while the back four and midfield are likely to be along similar lines to recent weeks.

It will be interesting to see if Gary Bollan decides to recall Kerr Hay from Broughty Athletic where he is on loan, as cover up front after his three goal haul in the midweek Development fixture, while a replacement goalkeeper will require to be listed for bench duty following Brett Long’s return to parent club Dundee United in midweek.

The New Saints are due to travel north on Friday morning by rail to their Dundee base and will train under the watchful eye of Manager Craig Harrison and his staff at Station Park later that same afternoon.

They have two players in their ranks with experience of the Scottish game.

Defender Steve Saunders saw active service with Motherwell, Ross County and Dumbarton, winning one Scottish cap against the Faroe Islands in 2010 when with the ‘Steelmen’, while Liverpool born Jon Routledge had two spells with Hamilton Accies, the first on loan from Wigan Athletic.

Greg Draper who played for New Zealand in the World Cup qualifying campaign in 2010 is their main striker, supported by Alex Darlington a former Welsh youth internationalist, while Jimmy Mullan began his career at Old Trafford becoming a regular in the United reserve team for a period.

Captain of the side is veteran keeper Paul Harrison now in his tenth season at the club.

They certainly would appear to have a winning mixture of youth and experience which has of course seen them win their first ten league matches this season, as well as reaching round two of the Champions League qualifiers  away back in July.

However their Manager acknowledged on their own website in midweek that having watched the Athies win at Broadwood two weeks back, he knows his side will have a fight on their hands to secure a victory.

Gary Bollan accepts that his players will have a major challenge and have to be at their best over what should be a hectic ninety minutes of cup action to overcome the side from North Wales whom he knows were not at their best when he saw them win 2-1 over Carmarthen Town late last month.

He is however convinced that a highly vocal home support can act as a twelfth man on the day and spur the ‘Loons’ on to success.

The referee for the fixture is Northern Ireland’s Evan Boyce.

Kick-off is as normal at 3p.m. and admission prices are £10 for adults, £5 concessions (65 & over and under 17’s).

Forfar Athletic season tickets are not valid for this fixture.

All four lounges in the Hospitality Complex are full for the day, but with no match sponsor the 1984 Lounge facility will be extended into the Sam Smith Lounge increasing the capacity substantially,   It will be open from 12.30p.m. till kick-off and again on the final whistle till approximately 7.30p.m.

All supporters welcome including hopefully some of the thirty or so New Saints fans leaving Oswestry at 5a.m. in the morning by coach for the 350 mile journey north.