4Match Report
Forfar 4 (Gordon 21, 37, Campbell 63, Gibson 81)
Stenhousemuir 4 (Thomson 16, Dalziel 23, 85, Stirling 87)
The last of the regular league matches saw wthe Warriors make nine changes to the starting eleven from the team that beat Annan the previous week with only Willie Lyle and Gary Thom staying in the team. Having qualified for the play-offs already it gave the manager a chance to rest his possible first choice players as well as enabling him to give match practice to the other members of the first team squad who have only seen sporadic appearances recently and was also an incentive for them to stake a place in the team for what will hopefully be a busy schedule.
The game took place on a pitch that had taken a surfeit of water and was greasy on top with one of the touchlines obscured by water as the pitch slopped that way. Luckily however the game took place as the pitch itself was not holding water when the game started despite the heavy rainfall.
The Warriors took the lead in the 16th minute of the game through Iain Thomson with a free kick from the left that drifted in at the far post without anyone getting near it. The Forfar defence were too busy watching the Stenhousemuir attacker’s movements to concentrate on the path of the ball and it was a shock to everyone when it crept in.
Forfar should have equalised in the 20th minute when Jonny Russell found space at the back post but was thwarted by a fine stop from Kieron Renton’s legs. From the resultant Russell corner they equalised when the ball fell to Kevin Gordon just outside the box and his first time effort flew into the net.
Two minutes later the Warriors were ahead again, this time Scott Dalziel was played through by Andy Stirling and rounded Ally Brown before taking his time to stroke the ball into the net. The Forfar players were aggrieved that this as he appeared to be caught offside by them in their opinion but the assistant did not flag for offside.
The home side were even more unhappy in the 28th minute when Russell prodded home from close range only for the effort to be disallowed for offside. In the 36th minute Renton brought off a superb one handed save from ex-Warrior Graeme Gibson but as before just after a let off for Stenhousemuir they soon conceded a goal. In the 37th minute ex-Shire players Sean Simpson and Kevin Gordon combined to open up the Stenhousemuir defence and Gordon ended the move by lobbing the ball into the net for his second goal of the game.
Before half time Stenhousemuir were denied a blatant penalty when Dalziel bearing down on goals almost had the jersey ripped off him as he was brought to the ground but to the astonishment of everyone no award was given.
The second half continued the positive play as Forfar were denied within a couple of minutes of the resumption when Russell got the better of Gary Thom before firing in a shot from close range but to Thom’s credit he managed to block the effort for a corner. Forfar made the brighter start and Gibson and Barry Donnachie both had efforts before the hour mark. In the 63rd minute they eventually took the lead when Simpson played the ball through to Ross Campbell who rounded the keeper and tucked the ball into the net. Forfar scored their fourth in the 81st minute when Gibson headed a Russell cross home from close range and it looked as if that was game over.
To Stenhousemuir’s credit they managed to come back into the game in the 85th minute when Scott Dalziel scored his second tapping the ball into the net after being picked out by a Chris McGroarty cross and a couple of minutes later they drew level when Andy Stirling stroked the ball home for his first goal for the club, though there was a moment when it looked as if his effort was going to stick in a goalmouth puddle. This ended the scoring and it was probably right that in this case the points were shared as both teams contributed to an entertaining finale to the normal league campaign.
Forfar – Brown, Divine, Donnachie [b58], Lilley, Tulloch, Simpson [Winter 71], Russell [McNally 83], Campbell, G.Gibson, Fotheringham [C.Smith 76] and Gordon. Subs not used – E.Smith and J.Gibson
Stenhousemuir – Renton, Lyle, McGroarty, Thom, Ovenstone, Thomson, Stirling, Shirra, Dalziel, Brand and Morgan. Subs not used – Love, Tyrrell, Molloy, McLeod and Bennett.
Referee – Gary Hilland
Assistants – Alastair Mather and Michael McNab
