The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Forfar hoping to make most of second chance
Loons boss Bollan expects tough twolegged final against the Blue Toon
The League One play-off final is a battle between two clubs seeking to make the most of a second chance, according to Forfar Boss Gary Bollan.
His own team and Peterhead have both been given another bite at the cherry for different reasons, with the two-leg battle set to be settled by “fine margins”.
The first leg is at Station Park this evening, with Bollan saying: “It is a game between two clubs looking to be in League 1 next season by a different route than they had first hoped.
“We are looking to make up for not winning the league and Peterhead are looking to make the most of avoiding automatic relegation on the final day.
“As a result, I am sure that like me their manager Jim McInally will be thinking that this will be a very difficult tie. It will come down to fine margins.”
Bollan added: “We know a good bit about Peterhead as we were in League 1 with them last season and there squad has not changed much since then. Jim will be well briefed on us as well.”
The Blue Toon’s most potent striker, Rory McAllister, will feature tonight but is suspended for Saturday’s second leg.
However, Bollan is keen to stress that does not tip the odds in his side’s favour.
The Station Park boss said: “Rory is a very good player but Peterhead are not just a one-man team.
“He is a goal threat and I am sure that he will show that threat in this game but it is not just about stopping him as they have other dangerous players.”
After a 6-4 aggregate win over Annan in the semi-final, Bollan is looking for a similar standard of performance tonight.
He said: “The first half on Saturday was really good and we never allowed Annan the chance to settle with a good 3-0 lead established.
“The second half saw us give away a silly penalty and that allowed them back into things. It got a bit nervous when they got another goal but the players reacted really well and we got a fourth goal to settle things down again.
“Jamie Bain scored that goal and in the past couple of games he has been our best attacker. Hopefully that will continue in this game.”
Bollan has an injury and suspensionfree squad to choose from.
McInally is planning for a war of endurance over 180 minutes as opposed to just the first meeting at Station Park.
He said: “We will need that uplift in performance as Forfar are a very good side.
“They appear to have got over their disappointment of not winning the league and that has added to the tremendous respect I already had for their players and manager.”
“Thomas O’Brien, David Cox, Gavin Swankie and Jim Lister provide a really strong backbone to their team so this is going to be tough.”
McAllister is a very good player but Peterhead are not just a one-man team. GARY BOLLAN