Forfar Athletic 3 Brora Rangers 3

Forfar Athletic 3 vs Brora Rangers 3

(Forfar take the bonus point 4-3 on penalties)

Betfred Cup Group B

Tue 10 November 2020, Station Park, Forfar

Understandably, Forfar manager Stuart Malcolm wasn’t exactly purring at the end of his side’s penultimate Betfred Cup match of the 2020-21 season. But the news wasn't all bad. In summing up a mildly disappointing 3-3 draw with Brora Rangers in which his experimental team twice came back from a goal down, then claimed the bonus point on offer by winning the penalty shoot-out 4-3, the home boss was happy enough to focus on the good things he saw out on the Station Park pitch.

“I couldn’t fault the effort and commitment I saw out there tonight,” said Malcolm. “I’ve said it a million times but this young team has an abundance of character. Could we have made better decisions in the final third tonight? Yes. Did we maybe stop playing a bit when we got back to 2-2? Yes. Could we have maybe defended the goals we lost a bit better? Yes. Can we address the final third? Yes. But in the middle of all that, our composure on the ball was very good at times. And our work-rate was unbelievable.”

Given that the league must be Forfar’s top priority going forward, Malcolm started with a slightly unfamiliar line-up. Provoked by a lengthy injury list and a desire to gauge the effectiveness of something a little bit different, he felt able to experiment in a match that will have little bearing on the final result of a group that also contains Cove Rangers, Hibs and Dundee.

“I’m going to stop banging on about injuries,” he said. “But games like this are really just extras for us. We did try a different shape in the first half given the personnel we have available. It didn’t quite work but we found out a few things. For example, I wanted to see how Christian (Antoniazzi) did tonight. He’s a fabulous player, but it has been hard to get him games. We need to find a way to get the best out of him. So we started with a different shape, one we learned doesn’t really suit us. In the second half, we ended up playing 4-2-3-1. But by the end we were 4-4-2, which looked a bit better. I was asking the strikers to work on keeping the ball up that end when it arrives. We need to do that if we are to benefit from playing two guys that far forward.”

Ironically, Forfar’s first two goals were scored by right-back Murray Mackintosh. The first had more to do with goalkeeper error - a seemingly harmless cross from Mackintosh was spilled over the line by Brora’s Grant Beattie - but the second was a well-taken effort from just inside the box. Jordan Allan’s converted penalty three minutes from time cancelled out Brora’s headed third only two minutes before.

“We’ve been asking the guys to be more composed when they have the ball,” continued Malcolm. “I want them to trust each other. And I saw a lot of that tonight. Every team needs a breather at times. It’s as hard-working without the ball as it is with it. In that respect, there were positives to take from this game. I certainly can’t fault our effort or commitment. Even on Saturday when we were 3-0 down to Cove Rangers, the lads were willing to do their work and try to make a difference. Gary Irvine played centre-half tonight and did a tremendous job. His reading of the game is first-class. He’s a great leader for us. “We are desperate to get more of that sort of experience back on the pitch to assist the young lads. They have talent in abundance. They have a willingness and desire to work. So there are plenty of positives. But right now they need help. We just can’t afford to get any more injuries.”

Speaking of which, the list of casualties is showing welcome signs of shortening a little, although, when asked about the various “patients” it was significant that Malcolm at first struggled to remember them all. But here is the latest news. Ross Meechan has a calf injury. Steven Anderson is back running. Darren Whyte is out for the season, as is Michael Travis. Steven Doris is hobbling and will be out for a few weeks. Daniel Scally might be back for the Airdrie game a week from Saturday. Likewise Marc McCallum. So some good news amongst the bad. But still, on that front at least, things can surely only get better.

Goalscorers

Forfar Athletic: Murray Mackintosh (34', 81'); Jordan Allan (pen 87')

Brora Rangers: Gary Irvine (og 42'); MacLean (52'); J MacRae (84')

Penalties

Forfar Athletic 4 (Scott Shepherd; Bobby Barr, Cameron Breadner; Chris Antoniazzi)

Brora Rangers 3 (Mark Nicolson; Andrew Macrae; Jordan Macrae)

Referee: Grant Irvine

Assistant Referees: Andy Milne & Will Smith