While the speed and penetration of the Forfar attack through the middle was sometimes breathtaking in its execution, Rovers’ themselves were no slouches, but possibly relied too much on crosses into the area rather than a more direct approach. Nevertheless, Peter Hetherston’s lads put up a great show against their Second Division opponents and on a number of occasions the home goal appeared to lead a charmed life as the eager red and yellow shirts buzzed around. Of course, the Loons also had many opportunities to net, but poor finishing allied to good goalkeeping (is there a better ‘keeper in the Third Division than Chris Fahey?) kept the score down. If all the reasonable chances had been taken at either end, the ninety-minute score could easily have been 7-7!

Forfar settled first and in 5 minutes, Scott Taylor headed a cross straight at Fahey. As the hosts continued to dictate matters, Hugh Davidson hung his head in shame after heading over at the back post. It was a bad miss. At this juncture, the visitors were something of a disjointed bunch as former on-loan Rover, Paul Shields fired narrowly past the far post. Peter Cormack was forced into conceding a corner from a dangerous situation, then Davidson again popped up to shave a post.

Forfar On Top

More than half an hour was on the clock before Rovers showed what they could do when a free-kick by the impressive Andy Paterson saw Jim Mercer head off the underside of the bar. With Paul McManus poised to tap-in the rebound, home ‘keeper Michael Brown arrived to grab the ball at the last moment. Mercer was again to the fore a few minutes later - but this time for the wrong reasons. He lost the ball in midfield to Forfar’s Kevin Byers, and when the blond powerhouse surged through, it was left to Fahey to avert the danger by superbly turning the ball for a corner.

The home pressure looked as if it had to bring dividends, and in 40 minutes it did just that when Shields, out of the blue, wheeled to fire a great shot past Fahey from around twenty yards. During the following few minutes, Fahey saved from Byers and McManus shot over the crossbar before the Rovers’ striker did rather better by collecting a Mercer through ball and slipping it under Brown for the equaliser.

Rovers Go Ahead

The second half started with a flurry of activity, Barry Sellars - under pressure - firing wide and McManus hitting past a post. In the 51st minute, McManus was once more to the fore when tight on the left he persevered to create space for a deep cross which Iain Diack headed home from close-in. Rovers were ahead! In 66 minutes, that man Shields did it again to pull his side level firing in another fine shot to beat the despairing Fahey. Jim Mercer and John McCaig fell foul of the referee and were yellow-carded before Fahey once again came to his side’s rescue with a good save from David McClune.

Although there were then a number of near things at either end, none counted and we were into the unwanted extra-time. Right away, Fahey rushed out to deny Shields, but within minutes, Rovers’ hopes took two massive blows. Firstly, substitute Martin Maher waltzed through the hesitant visiting defence to drive the ball under Fahey, and straight from the restart Shields used his speed to outpace the defenders, round Fahey and score the killer goal. Rovers tried hard to recover from this double blow, but to no avail, and in spite of the fact that Forfar had three players booked in the final five minutes, all the derision - unjustified, it has to be said - was heaped on Rovers’ young substitute Chic Connolly, sent off for allegedly pulling down McClune in the box. That Shields blasted the spot-kick wide was obviously a disappointment for him, but hardly mattered in the end.

Man of the Match : Andy Paterson, who never put a foot wrong all night and tried hard to inspire his colleagues to better things.

Forfar Athletic : Brown, Rattray, Florence (Maher 62), Horn, Stewart, McClune, Byers (Lowing 62), Sellars, Taylor (Williams 108), Davidson, Shields. Unused Subs : Lunan, Ferrie.

Albion Rovers : Fahey, Paterson, Stirling, McCaul, Cormack (Selkirk 101), McCaig, McBride (Connolly 77), Diack (McAllister 76), Yardley, McManus, Mercer. Unused Subs : Robertson, Swain.

Referee : Craig Thomson

Man of the match : Andy Paterson