MATCH PREVIEW: Forfar Athletic v Montrose

Forfar Athletic welcome their near neighbours Montrose back to Station Park this coming Saturday for what will be the ‘Loons’ sixth league derby fixture of the season.

No doubt the home support will also give a warm welcome back to the ‘Gable Endies’ manager Stewart Petrie a player of some note in the nineties and a coach under Dick Campbell at Station Park who took over the reins at Links Park three months back.

Only last week Stewart confirmed the appointment of another former Athies stalwart Ross Campbell as Player/Coach, while there is also a strong contingent of former ‘Loons’ in the squad Stewart inherited and of course Kerr Hay also made the move to the coast in late January.

Stewart has had an impressive start to his management career taking the Links Park outfit well clear of the league basement position with five wins and three draws under his belt to date.

The home side go into the game on the back of a first defeat in eleven matches at Berwick last Saturday, but Gary Bollan and his staff will no doubt be emphasising the point that the memory of that loss, albeit in controversial circumstances must quickly be ‘put to bed.’

The Station Park side still hold an impressive eight point lead over Arbroath at the top of the table, but Elgin on the back of an excellent run of late are very much still in the frame with a couple of games in hand on the Angus duo.

The home side have as ever a few small injury niggles to cope with but nothing major, but of course go into the contest minus the services of Eddie Malone and Danny Denholm.

Eddie serves the second of a three match ban, but Danny sadly has to sit out only the derby following his 69th minute dismissal at Shielfield.   As has been highlighted by higher profile clubs in the Scottish game in recent weeks it seems bizarre in this day and age that there is no appeal process against the vast majority of yellow card offences.   All present and many in the game who have seen the incident which brought about Danny’s second yellow at Berwick have confirmed what a poor and wrong decision it was.

However the ‘show must go on’ as they say and as the ‘Loons’ tireless front man David Cox said in print earlier in the week, the players must put the second half performance against Elgin and last week’s at times sloppy showing on the permanent ‘back burner’ and get back to winning ways as we approach the final quarter of the season.

The Athies management and players know that Saturday’s contest will again be a hard fought ninety minutes with in fact Montrose having the upper hand to date this season in clashes between the sides.

The visitors triumphed 3-1 in October at Station Park, while it was a point apiece at Links Park in November, the final score line 1-1.

Hopefully the supporters of both sides will turn out in numbers on Saturday and add to a positive derby atmosphere.

Second season Granite City based Grade One official Ryan Milne handles a ‘Loons’ fixture for the first time this campaign.

AGRItrader part of the Astute Group are the match sponsors with all four lounges in the Hospitality Complex full to the brim.

The 1984 Lounge at the ground will be open from 12.30p.m. till kick-off and on the final whistle till approximately 8p.m.

Admission prices on Saturday are £13/7 for the stand, £12/6 for the terracing.