Forfar Athletic 0 Ayr United 1 (SPFL League One) 21st December 2013

Forfar Athletic     0      Ayr United        1

                                      Kyle 61

A goal from former Scotland internationalist Kevin Kyle handed Forfar Athletic only their second defeat in ten games as Ayr United won 1-0 on Saturday at Station Park.

With injury forcing Mark Baxter out as well as Omar Kader, Neil McCabe and last week’s goalscorer Paul McManus dropping to the bench, Dale Hilson and Gary Fusco returned from knocks and Martyn Fotheringham and Jamie McCluskey were promoted from the bench to the starting XI.

With a very vocal support behind them, Ayr made the stronger start, Kevin Kyle going close twice in the opening five minutes with a shot being deflected past the post and a header going wide of the mark.

Michael Moffat blasted over and Anthony Marenghi went inches away from the crossbar with a free kick  before the quarter hour mark, while in between Chris Templeman headed straight at the keeper.

The Loons had a great chance in the 18th minute as Dale Hilson was sent clear, he tried to cut the ball across the box for Gavin Malin but keeper David Hutton managed to gather the ball before Malin could get a toe on it.

Four minutes later Hilson was involved again, muscling past Gordon Pope and firing a shot away, but his effort was saved by the foot of Hutton and Templeman’s rebound attempt was cleared.

22 minutes in, Hilson had another chance after a Fotheringham cross but his header was too weak and was cleared by a defender.

On the half hour mark Ayr had a big penalty shout when Michael Moffat went down after a challenge by a Forfar player, Moffat having to recieve treatment after the ref ruled it wasn’t a foul.

Ayr threatened yet again with Kyle knocking the ball wide after Douglas palmed a McAusland cross into his path and Moffat blasted at Douglas two minutes later.

Malin headed past the post from a Hilson cross before Jamie McCluskey pinged in a great cross that Hutton had to do well to punch away on the stroke of half time.

Half Time: Forfar Athletic 0 Ayr United 0

The Loons pushed for an opener early in the second half with Dale Hilson volleying over and an effort from Jamie McCluskey swirling wide.

Ayr then started to press Forfar and had two chances in a minute with Kevin Kyle poorly nodding into the keepers arms before Michael Donald brilliantly beat two defenders before  drawing a good save from Douglas from close range.

A long ball found Chris Templeman in the 55th minute and his knock on was met by Dale Hilson but his attempts to turn the Ayr defence were blocked well.

In the 61st minute the Honest Men took the lead, McAusland’s run ending in him forcing Douglas into another good save, but he could only palm the ball into Kevin Kyle who took great delight in nodding the ball into an empty net.

After the goal, Ayr sat back and defended whilst Forfar struggled to create anything threatening despite getting forward more often.

After 73 minutes Donald almost added a second but his effort from outside the box was held well by the keeper.

The next proper effort never came until the last five minutes of the game, a long ball from Gary Fusco went to Ross Campbell and his first touch allowed him to lob the keeper but it went too high and onto the roof of the net.

Depsite the Loons pressing hard in the final minutes they couldn’t find that equalising goal.

Ramblings of a Loon’s Man of the Match: Rab Douglas – several saves from him stopped Ayr scoring again

Forfar Athletic: Rab Douglas, Gary Fusco, Iain Campbell (Neil McCabe 77), Darren Dods, Stuart Malcolm, Martyn Fotheringham (Paul McManus 77), Jamie McCluskey (Ross Campbell 77), James Dale, Chris Templeman, Gavin Malin, Dale Hilson.

Subs not used: Marvin Andrews, Omar Kader, Kerr Hay, Darren Hill (gk)

Ayr United: David Hutton, Kyle McAusland, Gordon Pope, Scott McLaughlin, Alan Lithgow, Brian Gilmour, Anthony Marenghi, Craig Malcolm, Michael Moffat (Mark Shankland 89), Kevin Kyle, Michael Donald.

Forfar Athletic 1 Arbroath 1: Lichties grab deserved equaliser in poor game (14th December 2013)

Forfar Athletic     1    Arbroath       1

McManus 46               Travis 82

Forfar Athletic stay sixth in League One after a tough 1-1 draw with Arbroath at Station Park on Saturday in extreme weather conditions.

Four changes were made from the thrilling midweek cup win over Brechin, with injuries forcing Gavin Swankie, Odmar Faeroe and Gary Fusco out whilst Martyn Fotheringham dropped to the bench. Mark Baxter, Stuart Malcolm, Gavin Malin and Paul McManus came in to replace them.

With the wind and rain swirling around Station Park, the sides found it hard to create anything in the opening stages, both teams not really getting near the other sides goal.

The first opportunity eventually came after sixteen minutes, an Arbroath corner from Alan Cook coming to Colin Hamilton, but he could only fluff his shot wide.

Two minutes later Gayfield loanee Steven Doris, back on loan from Dundee where he failed to make a mark, set up player/manager Paul Sheerin inside the box although Sheerin couldn’t get his shot directed at goal and fired past the post.

Arbroath pushed for an opener and had a double chance in the 22nd minute, a long free kick from Bobby Linn went over the defence and was luckily put out for a corner, from which Michael Travis headed over.

Omar Kader went clean through in the box in the 24th minute but was muscled off the ball before he could get a shot away.

Sheerin went close for the Red Lichties again on the half hour mark, volleying over from the edge of the penalty area.

James Dale almost had his second goal of the season firing towards goal in the 37th minute that looked goalbound until his effort hit Paul McManus and went wide.

Half time: Forfar Athletic 0 Arbroath 0

During the interval Neil McCabe was taken off for Martyn Fotheringham and Fotheringham made a great impact, his corner within 90 seconds of the restart being nodded back in by Chris Templeman and McManus was on hand to touch the ball home.

Two minutes later Arbroath’s Alan Cook let fly with a long range shot that crashed off the bar with Rab Douglas helpless. He tried another attempt from the same distance in the 50th minute but Douglas pushed the shot out before Linn fired miles over.

In the 67th minute Doris was inches away from connecting with a Hamilton cross while at the other end Iain Campbell saw his free kick diverted into the keeper’s arms.

Campbell was involved in another attack in the 70th minute, his long free kick being knocked down for McManus, whose volley was blocked by a defender.

Bobby Linn had a piece of solo brilliance after 73 minutes, weaving his way past three Forfar players near the touchline before heading towards goal and curling an effort that Douglas had to scramble to push wide.

Steven Doris nodded wide again for the Red Lichties before Forfar’s McManus and Fotheringham had shots blocked in quick succession.

Arbroath equalised with eight minutes remaining, Linn swinging in a corner that was knocked in at the back post by Michael Travis despite Iain Campbell’s efforts to clear.

Graham Bayne had only been on the park for six minutes before he was shown a straight red for raising his hands to a Forfar defender in the 84th minute.

Despite chances for both sides in the closing minutes, neither could find a winner.

Ramblings of a Loon’s Player of the Match: Paul McManus – took his start well and scored

Forfar Athletic: Rab Douglas 7, Mark Baxter 6, Iain Campbell 6, Stuart Malcolm 6, Darren Dods 6, Neil McCabe 5 (Martyn Fotheringham 46, 6), Omar Kader 5 (Jamie McCluskey 88, 1), James Dale 6 (Ross Campbell 75, 3), Chris Templeman 7, Paul McManus 7, Gavin Malin 7.

Subs not used: Marvin Andrews, Craig Smith, Kerr Hay, Darren Hill (gk).

Arbroath: Scott Morrison, David Banjo, Colin Hamilton, Darren Smith (Graham Bayne 78), Michael Travis, Alex Keddie, Bobby Linn, Ross Chisholm, Steven Doris, Alan Cook, Paul Sheerin (Lee Sibanda 78).

Subs not used: Bradley Donaldson, Christopher Scott, Lari Yao, Johnny Lindsay, Lennie Wilson (gk).

Forfar Athletic 3 Brechin City 3 (4-3 on penalties, aet) (Scottish Cup Fourth Round Replay) 10th December 2013

Forfar Athletic     3           Brechin City       3

Forfar Athletic win 4-3 on penalties

Templeman 18, 108           A. Jackson 6

Malin 84                             Trouten 51

                                           Walker 95

Penalties:

Malin scored                       Brown missed

McManus scored                S. Jackson scored 

Fusco scored                      Barr scored

I. Campbell missed             Hay scored

C. Smith scored                  Trouten missed

Forfar Athletic are through to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after a thrilling derby with Brechin City that saw the Loons win 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

Manager Dick Campbell was forced to make two changes from the weekend draw with Dunfermline, Mark Baxter, who was suspended and the ineligible Craig Storie making way for Martyn Fotheringham and Neil McCabe.

The away side got off to a dream start after just six minutes, a through ball found its way to Andy Jackson and he slotted the ball underneath the advancing Rab Douglas into the net.

They almost doubled their lead a minute later but Alan Trouten could only fire into Douglas’ arms while in the 13th minute Chris Templeman rounded Graeme Smith only to see his effort cleared off the line by a Brechin defender.

The Loons equalised in the 18th minute when a Fotheringham corner was headed home by ex-City hero Templeman.

Brechin’s on loan midfielder Darren Petrie stung the hands of Douglas with a long range attempt that was pushed wide in the 24th minute.

Two minutes later Craig Molloy sent a header back towards Smith whilst under pressure and almost put the ball in his own net as it looped over Smith but luckily for Molloy, Smith was able to stop it before it went in.

The midfield began to dominate the play for the reat of the half, with neither side really getting close to goal before Brechin’s Steven Jackson went close in the 42nd minute with a low free kick that was saved well by Douglas.

In the 44th minute Gavin Swankie sent in a cross for Omar Kader but Kader’s free header went inches wide from 6 yards before ref John McKendrick blew the whistle for half time suspiciously early.

HALF TIME: Forfar Athletic 1 Brechin City 1

The second half started much the same as the first half did, with Brechin retaking the lead in the 51st minute after Neil McCabe was adjudged to have tripped Petrie inside the box and Alan Trouten placed his shot into the keeper’s right corner.

Omar Kader went wide of the post again with a header whilst Derek Carcary had a low shot swept up by Douglas.

Youth player Craig Smith showed excellent skill on the hour mark to flick the ball over Johnny Brown before laying it off for fellow sub Gavin Malin but his volley from outside the box smashed off the crossbar before being cleared.

Malin and James Dale went close again six minutes later, a stramash in the box seeing Malin’s effort blocked and Dale’s rebound shot being smothered by Smith.

As Forfar pressed for an equaliser they were unlucky not to have one in the 74th minute, Iain Campbell’s free kick being knocked back into the box by Paul McManus but Darren Dods could only direct his header at the keeper.

Four minutes later Craig Molloy cleared a Templeman header from a Malin corner off the line.

The Loons finally equalised in the 84th minute, James Dale and Templeman combining with good play to set up Gavin Malin, who fired into the bottom corner for his third goal of the season.

Brechin threatened to grab a late winner with Bobby Barr and Trouten blasting wide from close range whilst James Dale volleyed wide for the home side.

Ex-Brechin midfielder Gary Fusco ran from his own half in injury time but when he got to the edge of the box he dragged his shot wide of the mark.

END OF NORMAL TIME: Forfar Athletic 2 Brechin City 2

Brechin looked determined to get a third goal to take the lead again in extra time, with Graham Hay putting his shot far too high in front of goal. They did have the ball in the net in the 93rd minute after Jackson and Douglas collided but ref John McKendrick gave a foul, adjudging Jackson to have fouled the keeper.

Malin hit the side netting again a minute before Brechin took the lead for the third time, Allan Walker taking aim from long range and his shot flew into the goal to make it 3-2.

Paul McManus had a chance almost straight from kick off but he could only pull his shot across goal and wide.

EXTRA TIME HALF TIME: Forfar Athletic 2 Brechin City 3

Forfar equalised again in the 108th minute hard work earning them a corner, which Campbell sent in for Chris Templeman to nod home, Brechin tried to clear but the ref gave the goal as he felt the ball had crossed the line.

They pushed for a winner after this, a long free kick from Campbell again finding Templeman and his header looped towards goal, Smith having to do well to push it over.

Allan Walker had the miss of the game in the 112nd minute, Ryan Donnelly had a shot saved and Walker had an open goal to tap into but instead blasted miles over from close range.

The Loons had three great chances in quick succession in the 117th minute, a Templeman cross was cleared inches before McManus could reach it and from that corner Craig Smith had a volley deflected over before Darren Dods had a header booted off the line.

Rab Douglas did well to block an attempted lob from Alan Trouten before the last action of the 120 minutes saw Iain Campbell’s 20 yard free kick saved by Graeme Smith.

END OF EXTRA TIME: Forfar Athletic 3 Brechin City 3

Penalties:

Johnny Brown sent his penalty to Rab Douglas’ left but Douglas pushed the shot away (0-0)

Gavin Malin blasted his shot to the right of Graeme Smith (1-0)

Steven Jackson shot straight down the middle (1-1)

Paul McManus placed his the same spot Gavin Malin did, out of Smith’s reach (2-1)

Bobby Barr scored his penalty despite Douglas getting a touch to it (2-2)

Gary Fusco blasted his penalty past Smith, never any doubt Fusco would miss (3-2)

Graham Hay sent his effort straight down the middle (3-3)

Iain Campbell had his penalty saved by Smith, who was booked for his antics after the penalty (3-3)

Alan Trouten‘s shot was saved on the line by Douglas (3-3)

Youngster Craig Smith showed great composure to slot home the winning penalty (4-3)

FULL TIME: Forfar Athletic 3 Brechin City 3 (Forfar win 4-3 on penalties)

Ramblings of a Loon’s Player of the Match: Gary Fusco – was excellent, didn’t give up trying

Forfar Athletic: Rab Douglas 7, Neil McCabe 6 (Gavin Malin 58, 7), Iain Campbell 7, Odmar Faeroe 8, Darren Dods 8, Gary Fusco 8, Omar Kader 6, James Dale 7, Chris Templeman 8, Gavin Swankie 6 (Craig Smith 54, 6), Martyn Fotheringham 6 (Paul McManus 71, 6).

Subs not used: Ross Campbell, Marvin Andrews, Kerr Hay, Darren Hill (gk)

Brechin City: Graeme Smith 6, Steven Jackson 6, Johnny Brown 6, Graham Hay 6, Gerry McLauchlan 5, Darren Petrie 7, Alan Trouten 7, Craig Molloy 6, Andy Jackson 7 (Ryan Donnelly 111, 2), Derek Carcary 6 (Bobby Barr 79, 5), Steven Robb 5 (Allan Walker 69, 7).

Subs not used: Greg Cameron, Paul McLean, Craig Nelson (gk)

History of Forfar Athletic: Forfar Athletic v Brechin City in the Scottish Cup

Tomorrow night will be the seventh meeting between Forfar Athletic and Brechin City in the Scottish Cup, with this being the first game at Station Park since January 1980.

The first ever tie between the pair was in January 1930 in the first round and it was a high scoring game as the Loons progressed to the next round with a 7-2 victory.

The scorers in that game for Forfar were Robert Geekie, David Forbes, Robert Black, Andrew Wilson and a hat-trick from David McLean. David Kilgour, a man you would have expected to be on the scoresheet drew a blank that day, in his 46 goal season, a record that still stands to this day. The Loons’ Scottish Cup journey was ended in the next round with a 3-0 defeat to St Mirren after a goalless draw in the original game.

The next meeting wasn’t until 1966 at Station Park again in the first round and Brechin got on much better than their last meeting, the game ending one all. William Barclay notching the home side’s goal before he grabbed a double four days later in the replay at Glebe Park, Robert Duncan getting the other goal in a 3-1 victory for Forfar. They crashed out in the next round with a shock defeat to then Highland League side Ross County at Victoria Park, losing by four goals to three.

Brechin City grabbed their first ever victory in 1981, after a bye to the second round for the Loons they were drawn with City at Station Park and it was the away side that triumphed with a 2-0 victory.

It would be twenty years before the sides would meet in the Scottish Cup again, this time at Glebe Park in very poor conditions, and Brechin took advantage of the Loons poor form and hammered them 3-0, with Moray Leask, Roddy Black and a Kevin Bain penalty putting them through. Brechin would reach the fourth round that season, after beating Coldstream 6-2 they were awarded a trip to Ibrox where they lost 2-0 to Rangers.

This season after Forfar defeated East Fife 2-1 and Brechin overcame Angus rivals Arbroath 2-0, they were paired together in the fourth round at Glebe Park. The game was a hard fought game, with three red cards, Stuart Malcolm and Mark Baxter of Forfar and Brechin’s Ewan Moyes being the recipients. Alan Trouten gave the home side the lead early in the second half and it looked to be enough until supersub Martyn Fotheringham’s free kick beat keeper Graeme Smith in the last kick of the game.

Forfar Athletic versus Brechin City in the Scottish Cup

Played     Forfar win     Draw    Brechin win     Forfar goals     Brechin goals

    6                 2                2                 2                      12                      10

2013/2014 William Hill Scottish Cup Review

The 2013/2014 William Hill Scottish Cup Review

With this year’s competition at the half way stage, bar three replays, I thought I would round up the first four rounds.

First Round: September 14th

The first round kicked off in September with eighteen ties at grounds as far as Dudgeon Park in Brora and Coldstream’s Home Park. This round included teams from the Highland League, Lowland League, East of Scotland League, South of Scotland League as well as junior clubs Girvan, Linlithgow Rose, Culter, Auchinleck Talbot and SFA full members Glasgow University and Golspie Sutherland.

The highest scoring game was at Mosset Park in Forres as Forres Mechanics threw away a 4-2 lead to lose 5-4 to league rivals Keith while there were seven goals at both Huntly and Wigtown and Bladnoch as both Preston Athletic (at Huntly) and Buckie Thistle (at Wigtown) triumphed 4-3.

Six goals without reply saw Wick Academy through in what could be the longest away trip in Scotland down at Coldstream. Junior side Auchinleck Talbot hammered fellow Ayrshire side Girvan by five goals to one whilst Deveronvale beat Clachnacuddin 5-0.

Linlithgow Rose caused an upset when they entertained Nairn County and sent them packing, beating them 2-0, fellow junior side Culter had a goalless draw away to Lossiemouth before beating them 3-1 in the replay.

Full results this round: (home goals; away goals)

Edinburgh University 0 Spartans 2 (Henretty 35, 43)

Threave Rovers 3 Rothes 0 (Degnan 55, 62, Milligan 81)

Golspie Sutherland 0 Edinburgh City 4 (McFarland 9, 13, 48, Vanson 60)

Huntly 3 Preston Athletic 4 (Kleczkowski 4, Thoirs 44, Madle 88; Osbourne 51, McCormack 68, 69, Martin 78)

Coldstream 0 Wick Academy 6 (Allan 12, 30, Weir 60, Mackay 65, Shearer 82, 90)

Girvan 1 Auchinleck Talbot 5 (Harvey 58; Gormley 8, Milliken 40, 51, 69, McCann 88)

Selkirk 1 Turriff United 3 (Crolla 58; Bowden 30, McGowan 75, 81 pen)

Fort William 0 Newton Stewart 0

Forres Mechanics 4 Keith 5 (Fraser 13, Whyte 20, 44, Allan 48; Wood 35, Smith 41 pen, 60, MacAskill 62, 78)

Fraserburgh 4 Civil Service Strollers 0 (Barbour 54, 57, 88, West 82)

Gala Fairydean Rovers 3 Glasgow University 1 (Berry 26, Inglis 75, Noble 86; Gallagher 2)

Wigtown & Bladnoch 3 Buckie Thistle 4 (Miller 75, Dougan 85, Jamieson 90; MacKinnon 2, Forbes 23, Angus 29, Shewan 47)

Brora Rangers 1 Vale of Leithen 0 (MacKay 90)

Deveronvale 5 Clachnacuddin 0 (Charlesworth 10, Scott 44, 69, Rodger 52, Watt 89)

Inverurie Loco Works 3 Burntisland Shipyard 0 (Donaldson 35, 53, Hunter 89)

Hawick Royal Albert 0 St Cuthbert Wanderers 1 (Middlemiss 30)

Lossiemouth 0 Culter 0

Linlithgow Rose 2 Nairn County 0 (Mackintosh og 26, Meechan 85)

Replays:

Culter 3 Lossiemouth 1 (McBain 68, 86, Youngson 90; Mathers 50)

Newton Stewart 3 Fort William 1 (Muir 30, 38, 70; Quigg 62)

Second Round: 5th October

There were to be no shocks in the second round, with nine of the ten League Two teams who entered at this stage heading through into the next round.

The only two League Two sides pitched against each other were Berwick Rangers and Peterhead and it was the Borderers who triumphed, coming from a goal behind to win 2-1.

Queen’s Park were lucky to stay in the cup, a late goal earning them a draw against non-league Preston Athletic before beating them 2-1 at Prestonpans whilst Annan Athletic needed a replay to beat Highland League Buckie Thistle 4-0.

Stirling Albion also needed another try to beat Lowland League side Whitehill Welfare, having drawn 2-2 at Forthbank, they overcame an own goal to win 2-1.

Edinburgh City and Fraserburgh shared eight goals in an excellent 4-4 draw that saw City earn a replay with an injury time goal. The Broch went on the win the replay 2-0 at home.

Full results this round:

Gala Fairydean Rovers 0 Clyde 3 (Watt 60, Daly 77, McColm 90)

Turriff United 4 Wick Academy 2 (Harris 27, 48, 65, McGowan 36; MacKay 59, Geruzel 86 pen)

Albion Rovers 1 Spartans 0 (McGuigan 58)

Queen’s Park 2 Preston Athletic 2 (Spittal 32, Lamie 76; Brown 58, McCormick 64)

Brora Rangers 1 Cove Rangers 1 (Morrison 63; McBain 17)

Dalbeattie Star 0 Montrose 1 (Wilson 53)

Edinburgh City 4 Fraserburgh 4 (Stenhouse 6, Devlin 50, Harrison 81, Donaldson 90; Fowlie 18, Johnston 43, 61, Donaldson og 48)

Berwick Rangers 2 Peterhead 1 (Lavery 53, O’Brien 85; McAllister 32)

Keith 0 Elgin City 4 (McKenzie 60, 71, Gunn 68, 90)

East Stirlingshire 6 Threave Rovers 0 (Greenhill 9, 90, Glasgow 17, Maxwell 74, McKechnie 79, Turner 85)

Stirling Albion 2 Whitehill Welfare 2 (McAnespie 38, White 49; McIntosh 27, Manson 79)

Auchinleck Talbot 4 St Cuthbert Wanderers 0 (Gormley 12 pen, 15, 43 pen, McKenzie 89)

Formartine United 0 Inverurie Loco Works 2 (Bavidge 6, Gauld 20)

Newton Stewart 0 Culter 6 (McBain 26, 87, McAllister 62, 80, 86, Taylor 88)

Buckie Thistle 0 Annan Athletic 0

Deveronvale 2 Linlithgow Rose 2 (Rodger 81, Fraser 87; Smith 4, Coyne 70 pen)

Replays:

Cove Rangers 0 Brora Rangers 3 (Sutherland 32 pen, Mackay 68, MacLean 82)

Fraserburgh 2 Edinburgh City 0 (West 61, 76)

Linlithgow Rose 1 Deveronvale 3 (Coyne 5; Cowie 27, Fraser 75, Charlesworth 82 pen)

Preston Athletic 1 Queen’s Park 2 (Ramsay 50; Spittal 13, 38)

Whitehill Welfare 1 Stirling Albion 2 (Bishop og 44; White 31, Cunningham 90)

Annan Athletic 4 Buckie Thistle 0 (Love 13,Flynn 36, 45, Mackay 90)

Third Round: 2nd November

With the League One and six of the Championship sides, there were a couple of shocks in the third round of the competition, non-league Fraserburgh beating Montrose whilst Auchinleck and Culter earned replays against Stranraer and Berwick Rangers, before losing to both clubs.

An Angus derby between Brechin City and Arbroath ended in a two-nil win for City and eight goals were scored as Dunfermline overcame a tricky away tie up at Elgin, winning 5-3.

Stenhousemuir came from two goals down in the replay to win 4-2 after extra time at Annan Athletic after a 2-2 draw at Ochilview.

Full results this round:

Culter 1 Berwick Rangers 1 (Dunlop og 62; Notman 53)

Albion Rovers 1 Deveronvale 0 (McGuigan 73)

Alloa Athletic 3 Inverurie Loco Works 0 (Cawley 58, Gordon 69, Salmon 87)

Arbroath 0 Brechin City 2 (Jackson 57, Trouten 88)

Ayr United 3 Queen’s Park 2 (Marenghi 39, Lithgow 50, Malcolm 60; Brough 27, Spittal 67)

Clyde 2 Brora Rangers 1 (McCluskey 21, Watt 74; Sutherland 3)

Dumbarton 2 Cowdenbeath 1 (Kirkpatrick 19, 64; Stevenson 61)

Elgin City 3 Dunfermline Athletic 5 (Duff 16, Wyness 82, Khutsishvili 84; Wallace 19, 28, Moore 63 pen, 64, Whittle 73)

Forfar Athletic 2 East Fife 1 (Hilson 45, Templeman 69; Johnstone 74)

Fraserburgh 2 Montrose 1 (Johnston 73, Noble 90; McCord 37)

Queen of the South 1 Hamilton Academical 0 (Lyle 64)

Stenhousemuir 2 Annan Athletic 2 (Douglas 51, Gemmell 58; McNiff 26, Brannan 90)

Stranraer 2 Auchinleck Talbot 2 (Longworth 35, 90; Young 6, Milliken 31)

Turriff United 0 Stirling Albion 3 (Forsyth 8, Cumming og 12, Ferry 61)

Rangers 3 Airdrieonians 0 (Daly 49, 53, Templeton 80)

East Stirlingshire 0 Raith Rovers 2 (Smith 48, McGowan og 80)

Replays:

Auchinleck Talbot 2 Stranraer 3 (Latta 59, Gormley 77; Longworth 5, 31, Gallagher 88)

Berwick Rangers 3 Culter 1 (O’Brien 17, Dalziel 51, Lavery 85; Youngson 82 pen)

Annan Athletic 2 Stenhousemuir 4 (after extra time) (Todd 32, Hopkirk 50; Gemmell 77 pen, Dickson 90, Lynch 106, McNeil 107

　

Fourth Round: 30th November

Every Scottish Premiership side entered the competition at this round and already five of the twelve have crashed out, the most notable being Motherwell as they slumped to an embarrasing last minute defeat against Third Division Albion Rovers.

Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock, Ross County and Hearts were all beaten by teams from the same league and there was another shock in this round as First Division Falkirk were beaten by two last minute goals at home to Second Division minnows Rangers.

The last non league side in the competition Fraserburgh were drawn against Stenhousemuir away and despite a spirited performance crashed to a 3-0 defeat.

Queen of the South twice came from behind to earn a replay after a 2-2 draw with Premiership side St Mirren at Palmerston Park. Forfar Athletic and Brechin City were involved in a hard fought game at Glebe Park with three red cards and a late equaliser for Forfar in a 1-1 draw.

A hilarious own goal sent Dundee out as they went down 1-0 to league rivals Raith Rovers whilst Inverness put four past Morton without reply and Dumbarton had to come from behind to beat Berwick away 3-1.

Ayr and Dunfermline will do it all again after a 1-1 draw as will Clyde and Stranraer, who drew by the same score whilst Alloa triumphed by the odd goal in five over lower league side Stirling Albion. St Johnstone made light effort of Livingston, beating them 2-0 at McDiarmid Park.

In the only replay to be played before this was written, Dunfermline edged past Ayr by a single goal at East End Park whilst Forfar v Brechin, Stranraer v Clyde and St Mirren v Queen of the South will all be played on December 10th.

Full results this round:

Dundee United 5 Kilmarnock 2 (Robertson 27, 76, Armstrong 64, Graham 82 pen, Mackay-Steven 84; Barr 48, Johnston 50)

Falkirk 0 Rangers 2 (Law 89, Templeton 90)

Albion Rovers 1 Motherwell 0 (Phillips 90)

Alloa Athletic 3 Stirling Albion 2 (McCord 51 pen, Holmes 59, Marr 90; White 10, Weir 90)

Ayr United 1 Dunfermline Athletic 1 (Donald 59, Geggan 14)

Berwick Rangers 1 Dumbarton 3 (Currie 8; Prunty 30 pen, Megginson 43, Linton 56)

Brechin City 1 Forfar Athletic 1 (Trouten 52; Fotheringham 90)

Clyde 1 Stranraer 1 (MacDonald 15; Longworth 44)

Dundee 0 Raith Rovers 1 (Irvine og 8)

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4 Greenock Morton 0 (Ross 45 pen, McKay 71, 90, Doran 90 pen)

Queen of the South 2 St Mirren 2 (Russell 35, Paton 72; Newton 8, Thompson 51)

Ross County 0 Hibernian 1 (Handling 31)

St Johnstone 2 Livingston 0 (May 24, Jahic 62)

Stenhousemuir 3 Fraserburgh 0 (McNeil 63, 88, Douglas 90)

Heart of Midlothian 0 Celtic 7 (Commons 3, 21, 59 pen, Brown 34, 75, Ledley 42, Lustig 44)

Partick Thistle 0 Aberdeen 1 (Considine 5)

Replays:

Dunfermline Athletic 1 Ayr United 0 (Ryan Thomson 60)

Still to be played on the 10th December:

Forfar Athletic v Brechin City (Station Park, 7.45pm)

St Mirren v Queen of the South (St Mirren Park, 7.45pm)

Stranraer v Clyde (Stair Park 7.45pm)

Fifth Round: 8th February

On paper, the tie of the fifth round will almost certainly be Celtic v Aberdeen in one of three same division ties, with a possible fourth depending on a replay result.

Alloa Athletic will play league rivals Dumbarton whilst full time Second Division outfits Rangers and Dunfermline Athletic will go head to head. Dundee United could play St Mirren if the Paisley club can eliminate Queen of the South in a replay.

Hibernian will host Raith Rovers whilst the lowest club left in the cup Albion Rovers will entertain Stenhousemuir.

St Johnstone will travel to face the winners of Forfar Athletic and Brechin City, whereas Inverness face a journey to either Clyde or Stranraer.

Full draw:

Albion Rovers v Stenhousemuir

Alloa Athletic v Dumbarton

Celtic v Aberdeen

Clyde or Stranraer v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Dundee United v Queen of the South or St Mirren

Forfar Athletic or Brechin City v St Johnstone

Hibernian v Raith Rovers

Rangers v Dunfermline Athletic

Rangers 6 Forfar Athletic 1 (SPFL League One) 3rd December 2013

Rangers         6           Forfar Athletic       1

Clark 4, 26, 42, 66       Swankie 24

Wallace 36

McCulloch (pen) 70

Forfar Athletic’s six game unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of a full time Rangers side in a 6-1 defeat at Ibrox on Tuesday.

Manager Dick Campbell made four changes from the draw against Brechin Coty in the Scottish Cup, with Marvin Andrews, Darren Hill, Ross Campbell and Craig Storie coming in for Rab Douglas, Stuart Malcolm, Gary Fusco and Jamie McCluskey.

Rangers started off the stronger side, passing the ball back and forth across the defence in a bizarre attempt to play before Lee Wallace burst through the Loons defence in the third minute but his effort was pushed away by Darren Hill.

A minute later they took the lead, a cross from Lewis MacLeod was bulleted home by Nicky Clark, who had caused the away defence problems last season with Queen of the South.

Rangers had more chances to go further ahead in the first fifteen minutes with Clark, MacLeod, Ian Black and Jon Daly all going close.

Dale Hilson had the Loons first opportunity in the 16th minute, Swankie sending him clear but he could only send his shot from a tight angle wide. Hilson was forced off in the 21st minute after going down two minutes earlier, Paul McManus replacing him.

Forfar equalised in the 24th minute with a beautiful goal, Rangers clearing a ball as far as Gavin Swankie who sent a curling effort from 20 yards into the top corner that Bell was never reaching.

It was two minutes before The Rangers were back in the lead, Clark once again grabbing the goal after his shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off Darren Dods and decieved Hill.

The home side were unlucky not to be 3-1 up after poor defending allowed them to batter the Forfar goal with efforts in a thirty second period but the defence handled them before clearing.

They did get a third in the 36th minute when more defensive errors saw Lee Wallace dispossess Ross Campbell in the middle of the park and he ran at goal before lashing home into the bottom corner with a low shot.

Darren Hill had to be sharp to palm away a Clark header from close range as the home side pressured whilst at the other end Swankie was inches away from grabbing a second as a free kick on the edge of the penalty area flew just over the bar.

Ian Black tried his luck with a long range effort that smashed off the crossbar and as it did so, fell into the path of Nicky Clark and he gleefully tapped home for his hat trick.

HALF TIME: Rangers 4 Forfar Athletic 1

At half time Forfar made two changes, with Chris Templeman and Marvin Andrews coming off for Gary Fusco and James Dale.

The Loons made the better start to the second half, with Fusco, Craig Storie and Gavin Swankie all coming close to reducing the deficit.

Clark almost added a fourth for him and fifth for the home side on the hour mark but he diverted Wallace’s cross the worng side of the post.

Seven minutes later he did grab his fourth of the night, a corner from Fraser Aird was knocked into the path of Clark and he had the easiest of tap ins, almost standing on the line when he recieved the ball.

In the 70th minute Rangers were awarded a penalty after Clark was apparently bundled over by Ross Campbell. Lee McCulloch stepped up and slotted home despite Hill getting a hand to the penalty.

The home side stepped off the gas after that and there wasn’t much happening in the last twenty minutes bar substitutions and yellow cards for Ross Campbell and James Dale.

Ramblings of a Loon’s Player of the Match: Odmar Færø – Looked great again, just beats Gavin Swankie for his performance

Rangers: Cameron Bell, Sebastian Faure, Bilel Mohsni, Fraser Aird, Lee Wallace, Lee McCulloch, Nicky Clark (Edmilson Cribari 77), Ian Black, Jon Daly (Dean Shiels 74), Lewis MacLeod, Nicky Law (David Templeton 64).

Subs not used: Arnold Peralta, Stevie Smith, Robbie Crawford, Steve Simonsen (gk).

Forfar Athletic: Darren Hill 5, Mark Baxter 6, Iain Campbell 6, Marvin Andrews 5 (Gary Fusco 46, 6), Darren Dods 5, Odmar Færø 7, Ross Campbell 5, Craig Storie 6, Chris Templeman 5 (James Dale 46, 5), Gavin Swankie 7, Dale Hilson 5 (Paul McManus 21, 6).

Subs not used: Gavin Malin, Martyn Fotheringham, Omar Kader, Rab Douglas (gk).

Brechin City 1 Forfar Athletic 1 (Scottish Cup Fourth Round) 30th November 2013

Brechin City      1    Forfar Athletic     1

Trouten 52                Fotheringham 90+4

A late goal from supersub Martyn Fotheringham earned Forfar Athletic a Scottish Cup Fourth Round replay as they drew one-all in a tough match with Angus rivals Brechin City that saw three men sent off.

With Aberdeen refusing permission for the Loons to field on loan midfielder Craig Storie, Odmar Færø was the man that Dick Campbell replaced him with, this being Færø’s first competitive game since April.

Brechin had the first chance of the game in the 5th minute as ex-Loon Andy Jackson saw his effort tipped over by Rab Douglas.

A minute later Forfar were down to ten men, a crunching tackle on Derek Carcary by Stuart Malcolm warranted a straight red from ref John McKendrick.

Alan Trouten caused the Forfar defence bother all day, and almost scored in the 14th minute, running through the away defence but his shot was blocked by Douglas whilst at the other end Darren Dods nodded wide from an Iain Campbell corner.

Iain Campbell was involved in another Loons effort just after twenty minutes, sending in a cross that Jamie McCluskey sent wide of the post.

In the 32nd minute McKendrick flashed another red card, this bizarrely being the sixth card he had shown in what wasn’t a heated game, Ewan Moyes hauling down Chris Templeman as he ran clear and as he was the last man he was shown a straight red. From this Iain Campbell sent his free kick inches over the bar.

Gavin Swankie sent Dale Hilson clear on the right just before half time, and his cross was inches away from Swankie reaching it as it was cleared out by a defender. From the corner Chris Templeman had a header cleared off the line by Johnny Brown.

HALF TIME: Brechin City 0 Forfar Athletic 0

Brechin made the better start to the second half and after Paul McLean headed wide, they took the lead in the 52nd minute, Derek Carcary weaved his way through the defence before cutting back for Trouten who slotted home.

He went close to grabbing a quick second two minutes later but his free kick was held well by Douglas.

Steven Jackson saved Brechin from conceding on the hour mark, keeper Graeme Smith’s poor clearance fell to Jamie McCluskey and his 30 yard effort was cleared off the line by Jackson.

Darren Dods headed wide and at the keeper in quick succession as Forfar looked for an equaliser.

Swankie came close on 70 minutes, a long ball was flicked on by Templeman but before Swankie could get a shot away Smith came out to block.

With fourteen minutes left Brechin fans were unlucky not to be celebrating a second, a corner was met by Graham Hay and his header was brilliantly pushed onto the bar by Douglas whilst five minutes later sub Ryan Donnelly fired an effort across the face of goal.

Graeme Smith made an excellent double save in the 84th minute, a cross from Iain Campbell was met by the head of Gavin Swankie and Smith did well to make two saves as quick as he did.

Not much happened in the final minutes until the ref awarded the away side a free kick 20 yards out to much protesting by Brechin players. Iain Campbell stepped over the free kick and sub Martyn Fotheringham hit a shot that took a deflection off a defender, sending the ball the opposite side of the keeper and into the back of the net.

After much celebrating by players and fans, the referee spotted an incident that occured involving Mark Baxter and he was shown a straight red for his actions.

The Loons now look forward to an away game on Tuesday with the Rangers side they have already beaten once this season, unfortunately Stuart Malcolm will sit this out as his red card means he has a two game suspension whilst Mark Baxter will be available as he is only suspended for the replay which will be on Tuesday the 10th of December.

Ramblings of a Loon’s Player of the Match: Odmar Færø – Looked excellent at the centre of defence and will be a massive player for the Loons in the future

Brechin City: Graeme Smith 7, Paul McLean 6, Johnny Brown 6, Graham Hay 6, Ewan Moyes 3, Darren Petrie 6, Alan Trouten 8, Craig Molloy 6 (Allan Walker 59, 5), Andy Jackson 8, Derek Carcary 7 (Ryan Donnelly 75, 3), Steven Jackson 7.

Subs not used: Gerry McLauchlan, Greg Cameron, Steven Robb, Craig Nelson (gk).

Forfar Athletic: Rab Douglas 6, Mark Baxter 6, Iain Campbell 7, Stuart Malcolm 1, Darren Dods 6, Gary Fusco 5, Jamie McCluskey 5 (Gavin Malin 79, 3), Odmar Færø 7, Chris Templeman 6 (Martyn Fotheringham 79, 4), Gavin Swankie 6, Dale Hilson 6 (Ross Campbell 79, 3).

Subs not used: Marvin Andrews, Neil McCabe, Omar Kader, Darren Hill (gk).