The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Derby goal had added meaning for O’Brien
ARBROATH 2 FORFAR 0
Tom O’Brien paid tribute to his late grandad after netting the goal that sent Arbroath on their way to Saturday’s derby win over Forfar.
O’Brien’s downward header put Arbroath in front before a late clincher from Leighton McIntosh helped the hosts bounce back from their 5-3 midweek defeat at Alloa. The win kept Arbroath in third. “It’s always nice to get a goal against my old team,” said O’Brien. “But that was more about getting a goal for my papa. He passed away during the week and I want to dedicate that to him.
“It’s been a hard week for me and my family. He hasn’t been well for a while but it didn’t make things any easier to lose him.
“We had his funeral on Wednesday and I have been emotional all week. I played on Tuesday but my mind wasn’t really on the game and I think it showed.”
O’Brien was a stand-out for Arbroath as they swept the Loons aside.
His first-half downward header put them 1-0 ahead and he had two more chances to add to his tally in the second, hitting the post and heading another wide.
Sub McIntosh made sure of the win with a last-minute close-range effort, and Arbroath now host titlechasing Ayr in midweek hoping to solidify their play-off berth.
O’Brien added: “The play-offs have always been the aim this season and that was a big part of the reason why I came here.
“I knew the manager and the club were ambitious and building a side to challenge.
“We are a good team and I think everyone knows that now.
“Ayr are an excellent side but we fancy ourselves against anyone in this league, so we’ll give it a real go on Wednesday.”
While Arbroath have another promotion challenge on their minds, Forfar are hoping to avoid a relegation battle.
With just eight games left, the Station Park side remain in relegation play-off spot and are only three points ahead of bottom club Queen’s Park.
Loons manager Jim Weir said: “Our achilles heel came back to haunt us again.
“It seems like every goal we lose these days is from a set-piece, and we cannot afford to keep gifting teams the lead like that.
“We need to be stronger in defence and we need to sort it out quickly as we only have eight games left.
“It’s a hard one for the supporters and, as the manager, I take full responsibility. I pick the team and they are right to feel upset with that.
“We need to do a lot better and we need to be a lot stronger in defence.
“We take the derby defeat on the chin and we know we have a real battle on our hands to get ourselves out of the position we are in.”