MATCH PREVIEW: Forfar Athletic v East Fife

The ‘Loons’ will be looking to bounce back from what was without doubt a disappointing day at Airdrie last Saturday when East Fife come to town for amazingly the fourth time this campaign on Saturday.

The home side have won the previous three outings between the teams at Station Park this season, one in the league, the others in the Ramsdens and Scottish Cup competitions.

However having also returned victorious from Methil in September, it was Gary Naysmith’s men who triumphed 2-1 in the last encounter between the sides at Bayview in January.

The Fifers will make the journey over the Tay in fine fettle following a second victory at East End Park over the ‘Pars’ this season last Saturday. It was a result that brought relief to all involved with the Methil outfit after four successive defeats. Nathan Austin netted their 82nd minute winner to clinch the 2-1 success.

That result lifted Saturday’s visitors four points clear of Arbroath at the foot of the table.

Dick Campbell to say the least has a few selection headaches going into the fixture, with skipper and talisman Gavin Swankie despite doing some light training on Thursday unlikely to be in the starting line-up. Rab Douglas will also be an absentee with Darren Hill continuing ‘between the sticks’, youngster Ross Salmon providing cover on the bench.

The match will also come to quick for Marvin Andrews who has failed to recover from a muscle strain which saw him substituted within ten minutes of the kick-off at the Excelsior.

The homesters will also be minus the suspended Darren Dods and Iain Campbell. This could mean defensive berths on the day for Gary Fusco and possibly Neil McCabe.

Striker Chris Duggan signed last week on loan from Partick Thistle played in a midweek friendly against Oakley United and is likely to feature in the starting line-up for the home side.

The management and the players who are available will be exceptionally keen nevertheless to get back to the winning ways of earlier in the month, especially with tough away fixtures against Dunfermline and Rangers next on the horizon.

Saturday’s match is sponsored by the club’s near neighbours Strathmore Foods Ltd.

The referee is David Somers now in his 15th season as a Grade One official.

‘Loons’ season ticket holders should utilise voucher 21.