Forfar Athletic v Albion Rovers - Match Preview

Saturday’s match at Station Park, league leaders Queen of the South apart features two of the Second Division’s form teams.  The ‘Loons’ go into the contest on the back of a five game unbeaten run, while Rovers have not tasted defeat in their last three league fixtures.

However the home side go into the game with selection headaches. Suspension rules out Michael Bolochoweckyj and Stephen Tulloch, while Keith Gibson is still a couple of weeks away from full fitness following his training ground injury last week. Iain Campbell is also unavailable for selection.

This will in all probability mean starting spots for Barry Sellars, Kevin Motion and Omar Kader as Dick Campbell ‘shuffles his pack’ with a couple of the youngsters from the club’s youth side drafted in on the substitutes bench.

However speaking with the boss at training this week, he is more than confident that the eleven who take to the field in sky blue on Saturday at 3 pm will be up for the job in hand.

Albion’s players will also be keen to give their affable Chairman Frank Meade a three point haul as a parting gift as he will stand down from the role at the club’s AGM next week.

Last week they shared eight goals with visitors Stenhousemuir, one of their goalscorers Mark McGuigan on loan from Partick Thistle. Mark actually had a short spell with the ‘Loons’ appearing as a substitute in our Scottish Cup tie against Rangers in February of 2009.

Last season Albion picked up seven points from their jousts with Forfar.   A 1-0 win at Cliftonhill in August was followed by an impressive 2-0 Station Park success in October.   The sides shared four goals in a February encounter in Lanarkshire before the ‘Loons’ triumphed 4-0 in a ‘six pointer’ in the battle to avoid  the drop at Station Park in April.  Our goal scorers that afternoon in a match which saw the visitors have two players sent for an ‘early bath’ being Kevin Byers with a brace, Greg Ross and Bradley Coyne, all now at pastures new.

That result meant a play-off spot to retain their status for Albion but they survived following a semi final win over Elgin City and a dramatic penalty shoot- out success in the second leg of the final against Stranraer.

The match will be refereed by second season Grade One official Barry Cook taking charge of his first Forfar Athletic fixture.