The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Angus derby thriller despite title miss
Forfarshire and Arbroath captains eager for action in big head-to-head at Forthill
Rival skippers Umair Mohammed and Marc Petrie could not disguise their excitement at the prospect of today’s Angus derby showdown.
Mohammed’s Forfarshire and Petrie’s Arbroath may have seen their respective sides’ title chances evaporate.
But they insisted the situation won’t dilute the magnitude of the Forthill tussle one iota.
Host captain Umair declared: “As ever, both sets of players will be hugely looking forward to the occasion. Form goes out the window In these games and the pure determination to win is what really matters.
“We know Arbroath are a quality outfit with plenty of match-winners so if we want to come out on top we will need to be better than them in all three disciplines.”
The Forfarshire captain added: “Both clubs deserve a massive pat on the back for producing several exciting young local players.
“I don’t think there are many teams in Scotland who have as many homegrown players coming through at this level.
“That’s testament to the youth structure system we both have in place.
“I have no doubt that there will be some future Scottish stars on show this weekend.”
Petrie said: “It is a massive match – it always is. The derby matches are certainly the ones I look forward to most every season.
“Although our chances of silverware are now over for this summer, we want to finish it as high up the table as we can.
“We know must make big improvements on recent weeks as our performances simply have not been good enough.
“I know we’re capable of better than what we’ve shown this season and that’s a challenge I’ve put to the guys going in to the last few games.”
Elsewhere, basement boys Glenrothes are at home to Watsonians.