Forfar Athletic 1 Annan Athletic 4

(Aitken 71') (McCartney 7')
(Goss 33' pen, 56')
(Smith 90'+3')

“I have to apologise to the fans,” was the message from Gary Irvine after the dust settled on a disastrous afternoon which saw the Loons slip, once again to bottom of the cinch League 2 table.

The clash got off to the worst possible start for the hosts when Robert McCartney capitalised on some slack passing and slotted Annan into the lead in the seventh minute.

The Loons would look to bounce back, with the returning Nathan Flanagan the most dangerous creative outlet but it was the visitors who doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute. Josh Jack was adjudged to have fouled in the box. Tommy Goss dispatched his penalty clinically despite the best efforts of McCallum.

The Athies were left with a mountain to climb and the match would move out of reach ten minutes after the restart. Benjamin Lussint’s effort was charged down well but some pinball in the box allowed Goss to nod home his second.

The home fans would have something to cheer 20 minutes from time. Matty Aitken’s rasping first time shot from 30 yards found the very top corner, which sparked a slight Forfar revival but the match was over as a contest and Annan capped a miserable 90 minutes with a scrappy fourth through Aidan Smith in added time.

The boys now must dust themselves down to host Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic for the first time with the very real possibility of jumping up to seventh place in the cinch League 2 table with a win.