Forfar Athletic 0 Elgin City 1

Forfar sunk to a first league defeat since the start of November after a contentious red card and a late winner sickened the Loons.

Forfar started the first 45 well on top, with wide men McCluskey and Thomson causing problems. Kyle Hutton came the closest to opening the scoring in the early stages when he got on the end of McCluskey’s cutback but could only sidefoot over the bar.

Mark Docherty thought he had given the Loons the lead after the half-hour mark when he battled past his man and slotted in but referee Duncan Williams spotted an infringement.

The Loons continued their dominance and would miss a guilt-edged opportunity to take the lead five minutes before the break. Stef McCluskey was instrumental in a brilliant move and when he raced on to Matty Aitken’s back heel, he looked certain to score but the ball bounced agonisingly back off the post and away.

The game would turn on its head just a minute into the second half when Thomas Brindley looked as though he’d won the ball cleanly with a sliding challenge on the halfway line. Referee Williams thought differently, however, and brandished a straight red card.

It didn’t take long for Elgin to wrestle their way on top with the man advantage and they would have a golden opportunity to take the lead when Kane Jester beat McCallum to the ball and was felled by the onrushing goalkeeper.

Former Loon Russell Dingwall stepped up to the spot and saw his penalty saved by a lunging McCallum. It looked as though Forfar had survived the scare until Williams ordered a retake and gave Dingwall a chance to redeem himself. It was a chance not taken as Dingwall fired the ball high, wide and into the Gammies car park.

McCallum proved to be a thorn in the side of the Elgin attackers, making a number of smart stops and it was almost Forfar who snatched the win when McCluskey broke from midfield and curled a shot narrowly wide of the posit.

In the end, it was the visitors who claimed the three points in the 89th minute. The imposing figure of Aaron Reid rose high in the box and flicked a header in off the post to break Forfar’s resolve.

The result, as disappointing as it was, still comes with plenty of positives to take in the manner of performance and the Loons will no doubt feel confident heading to Annan on Saturday.