The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Lacklustre Loons’ victory is ideal tonic after car crash
FORFAR 2 MONTROSE0
Forfar Athletic coach Barry Sellars admitted it was the points, not the performance, that mattered against Angus rivals Montrose.
Sellars was deputising for absent manager Jim Weir, who was still recovering from the horrific car crash that injured the pair last week, and the 2-0 win must have been all the sweet er for him and the recuperating manager given the horrible week they had endured.
“It wasn’t a vintage performance and that’s probably an understatement,” Sellars conceded.
“But we’ve been struggling a wee bit for confidence so the final result is the most important thing. Obviously it’s always good to get a derby win. We would’ve liked to do it with a bit more quality but we’re delighted with the three points.”
For far were second best for long periods of the first half and Montrose boss Stewart Petrie admitted he was disappointed.
He said: “I thought we were the better team first half but we lose a goal from a set piece right on half time, the same as we did last week.
“If we keep making individual errors it’s going to cost us. We didn’t do enough going forward though, for all the control we had.”
“Their goal took all the momentum out of us. We huffed and puffed in the second half but created very little. We were poor after the goal.”
Petrie’s side created most of the early chances with Blair Lyons coming close, while Joel MacBeath and Martin Rennie came close before Forfar snatched the lead right at the end of the first half.
Striker Andy Jackson’s injury led to a lengthy stoppage and subsequently six minutes of injury time, with the Loons taking the lead after Jordan Kirkpatrick’s delivery was headed into the air and Mark Doherty rifled home from 10 yards.
The goal gave Forfar the initiative and they controlled the early stages of the second half and wrapped up the game a minute from time. Connor Coupe sent Jamie Bain through on goal past the stretched Montrose defence and the winger coolly lofted the ball over keeper Aaron Lennox .