Forfar Athletic 1 East Fife 3

Saturday 8 October 2022
SPFL cinch League 2
Station Park, Forfar

“Not good enough.”
That was the (repeated) verdict of manager Gary Irvine at the conclusion of a disappointing 1-3 defeat to East Fife at Station Park. Two goals down at half-time, the Loons went further the behind early in the second-half before a late flurry spurred by a well-taken Kevin Harratty counter with 17-minutes to play put a slightly better complexion on the score-line.
Which is not to say that did much to brighten Irvine’s post-match mood.
“The first thing I need to say is that performances like that are just not good enough,” said the Forfar boss. “We all owe the supporters an apology. We will never win games of football conceding goals like the ones we did today. We gave the ball away for the first goal. Not good enough. Okay, we had a man off the pitch for the second one but they just ran past us with simple passes and made it look too easy. Again, not good enough.
“Then the third just summed up the day. I don’t need to tell Mark Docherty (who scored an own goal) he doesn’t need the keeper to kick the ball forward. He could just have cleared his lines. All in all though, we need to defend better as a team, not take chances in our own box and clear our lines.”
Irvine’s somewhat harsh verdict is difficult to contest. For the Loons this was a day to forget, one filled with, as Irvine went on to point out, “basic errors.”
“This was a real sore one,” confirmed the manager. “But I take the blame. I’m the one who puts the players out on the pitch. I’ve told them we can’t go from a game like last week that was basically positive - we came off the pitch thinking we could have won against Dumbarton - then play like this. Just a week ago we were feeling good enough ourselves and looking like we had something to build on. But it can’t go down like this, performance-wise. It’s been that way too often this season.”
Indeed, as Irvine went on to bemoan, the same sort of thing happened in the wake of an excellent away win against Albion Rovers last month. The victory was followed by a poor perforce and defeat. So consistency has been an on-going issue. Which has, inevitably, led to a collective drop in confidence.
“I have to ask that question,” continued Irvine. “I can’t protect the players. Which is sore for me to say. It is me who picks the team and puts them together. I have faith in their ability, but right now we are not getting even the basics of football correct. When you do that and a team gets on top of you, the confidence issue kicks in. But it all comes back to the basics. You just have to get them right to give yourself a chance to win games. We’re not doing that at the moment. Which is are to take.
“Today was the first game of the league’s second quarter. So it was our first chance to play a side for a second time. We fell victim to an 89-minute penalty against East Fife last time we met. So this was a chance to correct that. To lose in this fashion is sore to take. I hear the frustrations of the fans and I’m with them after watching some of the stuff I saw out there today.”
Things aren’t likely to get much easier with, at least in the short term. Forfar’s next three games are all away from home: to Elgin in the league, Kilwinning Rangers in the Scottish Cup, then a long league trip to Stranraer.
“We have to stick together,” concluded Irvine. “We have to work hard. It’s getting back to a winning feeling. The next three weeks away from home will be tough. We know that as a squad.”