The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Loons fight back to take lead into second leg
forfar: Bollan promises to go on attack at Peterhead
For Far athletic 2 Peterhead 1
Forfar take a lead into the second leg of the League One play-off final after a stunning second-half comeback.
They battered 10-man Peterhead after the break to turn around the singlegoal deficit they trailed by for almost all the first period.
A scorching Martyn Fotheringham strike eight minutes into the second half levelled Rory McAllister’s third-minute opener for Peterhead.
Michael Travis sent the home fans in the 958-strong crowd into ecstasy with a powerful close-range header to send Forfar to Balmoor Stadium ahead by the narrowest of margins.
Manager Gary Bollan said: “We won’t try and hang on, we will try and get ourselves on the score sheet to make things more difficult for them.
“The disappointment, the hurt, we had a couple of weeks ago, we don’t want to go through that again.”
Peterhead took the lead after three minutes from the game’s first corner.
Jamie Stevenson hit a low centre in from the right and McAllister was given space to hook a first-time volley home from six yards.
Tam O’Brien saved Forfar from falling further behind in the 13th minute from an almost identical corner that squirmed through to the back post.
There were 34 minutes on the clock before Forfar recorded their first effort and it almost brought the equaliser. David Cox twisted in the box to make room for a skidding shot that forced Graeme Smith to dive full length and push away with his fingertips.
Forfar struggled to get going in the first half but were fired up in the second.
And their cause was helped just minutes in with a moment of controversy that left Peterhead with just 10 men and their manager Jim McInally savaging referee Stephen Finnie.
Michael McMullin tumbled in the Forfar box under a challenge from Jamie Bain but the referee had no hesitation in judging it a dive and booked Mullin for simulation. It was his second caution meaning he saw red.
That spurred Forfar on and in the 53rd minute they equalised in sensational form. Fotheringham picked up in acres of space in midfield and strode forward before unleashing an unstoppable drive from 30 yards out that flew past the despairing dive of Smith in goal.
A furious McInally said: “The referee influenced the game, no body else. It was a stonewall penalty and we got a man sent off. It is sad a referee influences a game like that at such an important stage of the season.”
Forfar: Adam, Bain, O’Brien, Travis, McLaughlin, Cox, Eddie Malone, Fotheringham (Peters 85), Denholm, James Lister (Milne 85), Swankie (Aiden Malone 65). Unused subs: Kennedy, Munro, Scott, McGovern.
Peterhead: Graeme Smith, Craig Reid (McIntosh 57), Strachan, Gordon, McMullin, Stevenson (Blockley 61), Scott Brown, Redman, Anderson, Jordon Brown (Ross 52), McAllister. Unused subs: Ferry, Hobday, Allan Smith, Riley. Attendance: 958. Referee: Stephen Finnie.