Forfar Athletic 1 - 1 Formartine United

Friendly Match
Saturday, July 8th, 2017, 3:00 PM at Station Park, Forfar
Referee: Liam Fordyce
Forfar Athletic v Formartine United, Jul 8th 2017, Station Park, Forfar
Forfar Athletic Formartine United 

Goalscorers
Andy Munro (45) Paul Lawson (pen.) (38)

Team Managers
Gary Bollan Kris Hunter

Starting Eleven
Marc McCallum
Greig McNaughton (T)
Jamie Bain
Kieran McWalter (T)
Andy Munro
Michael Travis
Marc Scott
Mark Miller
Stephen MacDonald (T)
Jamie Wilson (T)
Jamie Gill
Andy Reid
Calum Dingwall
Scott Henry
Paul Lawson
Stuart Anderson
Wayne Mackintosh
Graeme Rodger
Scott Barbour
Archie MacPhee
Scott Ferries
Garry Wood

Bench
Jim Lister
Ousman See
Scott McBride
Dylan Easton
Matthew Aitken
Ewen MacDonald
Jevan Anderson
Liam Burnett
Kieran Lawrence
Sam Muirhead

Substitutions
James Lister for Stephen MacDonald (46)
Ousman See for Jamie Wilson (46)
Scott Mcbride for Marc Scott (60)
Dylan Easton for Jamie Gill (60)
Matthew Aitken for Kieran McWalter (78)
Ewen MacDonald for Andy Reid (46)
Liam Burnett for Scott Barbour (46)
Sam Muirhead for Graeme Rodger (46)
Jevan Anderson for Garry Wood (49)
Kieran Lawrence for Scott Henry (88)


There is not always that much to be learned from friendlies when the rewards for victory and the consequences of defeat are set below the level that league and cup fixtures provide, judgments about team and individual performances are inevitably flimsy. However, the fact remains that the wee club from the Highland League more than matched their League 1 opponents at every stage of this pre - season friendly and few would have counted it an injustice had they converted some of their late second half pressure into a victory. The context within which this game was played was that it was Formartines first and Forfars second game of the season (they had beaten Cove 4-2 in their first). On that basis, this away victory must at least count for more in the credit column than in the debit one.

Particularly pleasing for the United faithful was the standard of midfield play for a prolonged period in the second half where Lawson and Anderson in particular produced a skilled and intelligently managed performance that was visibly superior to that delivered by their more eminent hosts. There was shape, guile, skill and aggression there and it looked in the main to have been a bit of a step up from last season. Of the new signings MacPhee and Mackintosh took the eye with performances suggesting that not only are they useful additions to the side but bring additional qualities too it. MacPhee, in the left wing back berth looked not only secure defensively but a considerable asset going forward where he showed composure and creativity enough to deliver a supply of balls into the box. Mackintosh was robust in the ball winning department distributed what he won with a bit of vision and got through a power of fetch and carry stuff between the boxes. The game was played in baking heat but conducted and sustained at a fierce enough pace to suggest that background fitness levels are already quite high.

The opening exchanges went more Forfars way than Uniteds in the sense that Athletic for the first ten minutes or so had slightly more possession and conducted more of their business in Uniteds territory than their own. This did not last and as the superior level of possession had not yielded much in terms of penetration of the United penalty area, the visitors quickly found their feet and began to ask questions of their own. Garry Wood was the spearhead of a three man forward line (along with Ferries and Barbour) and within fifteen minutes or so United were beginning to press. A swift foray down the left by Barbour set up by McPhee ended with a an awkward bobbly cross towards the near post that initiated a melee in that area. Rodger had a close range effort blocked by a thicket of legs, Wood had a go too but the ball was eventually booted clear by big Munro.

Play was fairly evenly balanced over the mid period of the first half. Athletics opening attacking impetus was blunted by a United rearguard that looked surprisingly comfortable in dealing with a forward line comprising Jamie Gill and a couple of trialists, who on the evidence of this game, would seem unlikely to attract further interest from Gary Bolan. At the other end frequent tangles between Gary Wood and Munro, not for the faint-hearted, were conducted deeper and deeper in Forfar territory and suggested that United were just beginning to get the upper hand. In the 26th minute, Formartine forced their fourth corner in five minutes. The previous ones (3 left, 1 right) had failed to find forwards but this time United were able to keep the pressure on for a minute or two during which time Rodger and Barbour both had close range efforts scrambled away. Forfar were by now if not quite dancing to Uniteds tune, definitely playing second fiddle rather squeakily at times too. They managed a couple of balls into the box from the left by Bain but both crosses were pulled down with almost contemptuous ease by keeper MacDonald.

In the 38th minute United mounted another sustained offensive on the Loons. Lawson had clipped a ball out to the right and Rodger had worked it into the box and into Garry Wood who had the audacity to poke it between the legs of the muckle Munro. This colossus of rogues was not taking the nutmeg lightly and simply brought the striker down there and then. The ref was on the spot and blew immediately for a penalty which LAWSON buried with aplomb, neatly driving the ball low and hard just inside the keepers right upright.

This produced a flurry of activity from the home side but Uniteds defence looked pretty solid and although the extent of Athletics possession raised a bit in response to going behind it looked like Formartine would contain whatever came their way. Sadly they did not quite manage this: a free kick out wide right knocking on for forty yards from goal was driven in by Scott. Wood looked to have it and the pressing MUNRO covered but either slipped or mistimed his effort allowing the ball through to the centre half who took advantage of the free header and put the ball beyond the reach of MacDonald on the stroke of half time.

The second half began with a rash of substitutions as much for the sake of blooding players as for tactical reasons. Muirhead, Burnett and Reid replaced Rodger, Barbour and MacDonald while Forfar rearranged a couple of un-named trialists. Initially the game continued with Formartine getting slightly the better of the territorial side and given the number of substitutions and “new” players involved, made a decent fist of finding each other. They looked like developing a decent shape and rhythm with Garry Wood in the back four to make space for Muirhead up top. This seemed to be going well enough until the 56th minute when Wood went down with what looked like a nasty injury to his left knee and was helped off the pitch. Young Jevan Anderson took his place and did not really put a foot wrong the whole time he was there. He dealt well with whatever came his way but the shape of the game changed and he was not really put under any sustained pressure.

From this point on, but not necessarily because of the change in personnel, the game altered its pattern to a much more studied and intense midfield encounter. Initially one would suspect that this would favour the higher league team but the reality was that it allowed to the two older heads of Anderson and Lawson to come into their own. Forfar opted for a quick short passing approach but ended up lumping long balls forward while the quick feet and subtly threaded passing of these two maestros made life more and more difficult for the home side. United created the better of the few chances that the remainder of the game threw up one, the result of a ball cleverly worked from right to left across the box by MacPhee found Muirhead at full stretch but his 5 yard effort went straight to keeper MacCallum and a vicious low drive by Lawson on the 18 yard line was barely a millimetre wide of McCallums right upright.

As substitutions increased the coherence of play decreased, but United still looked comfortable enough and their management will take encouragement that their new acquisitions looked to be of a standard that is capable of helping to take the club forward.

Match report by Colin Keenan



Photography by Ian Rennie