Venue – Station Park
Date – Saturday 29th January
Kick – Off 3 p.m.
cinch league 2 – match no 22
Stand admission charges are;-
Adults £15
65 & over £9
Under 17’s £5
Terracing admission charges are;-
Adults £14
65& over £8
Under 17’s £5
Payment by cash at the turnstiles
Forfar Athletic Season Tickets are of course valid for this fixture
1984 Lounge
The 1984 Lounge at the ground will be open from 12.30 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. and again on the final whistle till approx 8 p.m.
Track & trace details will be requested and face coverings are still required on entry and when ordering at the bar.
The Refreshment Kiosk will be open as usual at Saturday’s fixture as will the Club Shop situated at the rear of the East Terracing.
50/50 tickets will be on sale from vendors within the ground and within the 1984 Lounge
Although it is not mandatory Forfar Athletic officials would recommend that supporters attending this fixture take a Lateral Flow Test earlier in the day.
PREVIEW
After a break from playing and training last weekend, the ‘Loons’ players will return to competitive action on Saturday first when Edinburgh City are the visitors to Station Park for the second time this season.
In the intervening two weeks since a very creditable draw was achieved at Annan, the Athies have kept in trim with a trio of sessions on the training pitch as well as participating in a midweek bounce game against East Craigie.
On the general football front, Saturday’s visitors lost 3-0 on Saturday past to Aberdeen in Scottish Cup action, but no doubt saw a boost to their bank balance as consolation, while Kelty Hearts lost 2-0 up at Elgin on Tuesday past as they completed one of their games in hand on Gary Irvine’s ‘troops.’
Although in general the Station Park squad will be refreshed and raring to go come 3 p.m. on Saturday the break has brought some bad news on the injury front.
It has now transpired that sadly Steven Anderson has also fractured his shoulder as well as dislocating it in the second half at Galabank, meaning around three months on the sidelines for the defender who has been such a rock in the centre of the Forfar defence this season, this after missing most of last term through injury.
The news on James Ness is also not good, cruciate ligament damage is likely to rule him out for a lengthy period.
Better news on Craig Thomson who is progressing well in training, though this Saturday’s contest may just come a week or so too soon.
The manager continues to work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring in a couple of new faces to bolster the squad and developments are anticipated on this front sooner rather than later,
Gary still has a healthy depth of pool to pick from in regard to his starting line-up for Saturday’s visit of the ‘Citizens’ with Darren Whyte likely to make his first starting appearance since October of 2020 as Steven’s replacement alongside Andy Munro.
The visitors have brought in six new faces to date this month, the most notable of course Michael Travis who will no doubt get a warm reception from the home support pre-match.
Others include Jack Brydon on loan from Hibernian and Cameron Logan on a similar deal from city rivals Hearts, the former scoring the 93rd-minute equaliser in City’s last league encounter at Kelty on the 15th of the month.
Gary Naysmith’s side currently sit in fourth position in the table on 27 points from 20 games played, 12 points adrift of the second-placed ‘Loons.’
The teams in fact ‘crossed swords’ only six weeks back on a wintry Friday night in Edinburgh, the visitors recording a comfortable 4-0 victory over to be fair on the night injury-hit home outfit.
Andy Munro, Stefan McCluskey and Steven Anderson netted first-half goals for the Athies on that occasion, Matty Aitken adding number four in the second period.
Back in early August at Station Park a 3rd minute counter from Matty was supplemented by an injury-time goal from Mark Gallagher as the ‘Loons’ picked up the points in a hard-fought affair.
Saturday’s contest is likely to be of similar vintage with the home side keen to record their second home victory of the month and what would be their eighth of the season, especially with another Station Park challenge on the horizon on Saturday week when Albion Rovers are the scheduled visitors.
Matthew MacDermid is the man in the middle for Saturday’s clash.
Match Sponsor – We are delighted to welcome those great supporters of the club Dave and Scott Barn from D&A Factors as our match sponsors for Saturday’s fixture.
Hospitality Guests – Marc Gourlay & Friends, Lee Hutcheon & Friends, Jane Rae & Friends
Saturday’s other cinch league 2 fixtures;- Albion Rovers v Cowdenbeath, Annan Athletic v Stirling Albion, Kelty Hearts v Stranraer, Stenhousemuir v Elgin City
