Arbroath 3 Forfar Athletic 0

Arbroath 3 Forfar Athletic 0

Pre-season friendly 

Gayfield Park, Arbroath

This was a game of three parts. A goal to the bad at the end of a first-half largely dominated by the home side, Forfar took the game to Arbroath for the first 30-minutes of the second period, before two goals in the last 15 minutes from substitute Kris Doolan led to an eventually unflattering 3-0 defeat for the visitors. 

In mitigation, the Loons can legitimately point to two of those three strikes resulting from slackness at the back, not in keeping with centre-half Steven Anderson’s recent play. A much quicker and sharper all-round performance for much of the second-half also augurs well for the competitive games that lie ahead.

  “I felt like we started pretty well over the first 15 minutes,” said manager Stuart Malcolm at the close of what was Forfar’s first pre-season defeat after a brace of comfortable victories against junior opposition. “But it wasn’t until the last few minutes before half-time that we started to get a grip on the game again. And in the second half, we looked like a completely different animal. We were at least as good as them until the second goal.

  “We made individual errors for two of the goals. But both were out of character and just an indication that we are only now getting back to playing football. You can never legislate for that sort of thing. I have no issue with what happened. It was more about poor decision-making than anything else. I’m not worried about that. They are simply the worst of things that inevitably happen in matches. Besides, I’d like to see us getting those sorts of things out of the way now, in the pre-season, rather than in the league or cup campaigns ahead.”

Malcolm was also quick to praise an Arbroath squad that surely boasts one of the more formidable defences in the Scottish Championship. Big and not afraid to use their substantial physiques to good effect, the likes of former Loon Tom O’Brien and the on-loan (from Aberdeen) Finn Miko Virtanen will likely “bully” more than a few opposing forward lines over the coming months.

  “I don’t want to take anything away from Arbroath,” confirmed Malcolm. “They are a good side. They have experienced players and have built an unbelievable squad. They were fifth in the championship last season, which is the sort of level we are trying to reach. Right now, there’s a gap between them and us. But that is the sort of standard we must aspire to. We’re not quite there yet, of course. And it will take time for us to get there. 

  “We knew we would come here and probably enjoy less possession than we have in the previous two games. We take each match on its own merits. But it makes sense that, when we come up against a team from a higher level, we will probably have to concede more of the ball. That’s something we will have to be aware of going forward, especially when we go to places like Partick Thistle and Falkirk.”

All of which makes sense. While there wasn’t much in the game overall, Arbroath’s quality showed at times. Important times. As Malcolm added: “We got into good areas in the final third and tended to make the wrong decisions. They got into similar areas and made the right decisions. That was the biggest difference today.”

Speaking of differences, Malcolm’s half-time team talk definitely led to an upturn in his side’s fortunes after the break.  

  “At half-time, I asked the team to play a little bit higher up the pitch,” revealed the former centre-half. “That way we could deny them time on the ball that had hurt us in the first half. Especially in the mid-field area. It was basic stuff really - get up the park and pick up second-balls. At times we did that. But at others, we probably needed to get the ball in and around their box a bit quicker. And when we did it paid dividends. All just by improving our basic play. We competed well for most of the second half.

  “What I’ll take away from here today is that we were good in spells. The difference between the first-half and the second-half was obvious. So we know what we need to do more of. We know what was good and what wasn’t so good. We know what worked well and what didn’t. We just need to get into the final third more. And when we get there, make better decisions in terms of the choice of pass.”

Arbroath goalscorers: Hilson (14); Doolan (76, 85)

Forfar Athletic: McCallum; Meechan; Coll; Irvine; Anderson; Whyte; Scally; Thomas; Shepherd; Allan; Barr

Subs: Trialist; Trialist; Breadner; Mackintosh; Hill; Trialist

Arbroath: Gaston; Thomson; Hamilton; Little; O'Brien; Virtanen; Gold; McKenna; Hilson; Donnelly; Stewart 

Subs: Whatley; Swankie; Linn; Doolan; Ruth; Craigen; Gallacher

Referee: Colin Steven

Assistants: Alan Grainger; Terry Ormiston