Falkirk v Forfar Athletic - Match Preview

Forfar Athletic go into tomorrow’s William Hill Scottish Cup 5th round tie at the Falkirk Stadium as the only part-time team left in the competition.

Dick Campbell’s side will come against a home outfit reckoned to have the lowest average age per player in the Scottish game, a product of the ‘Bairns’ excellent youth academy based at Stirling University this was epitomised by the call up of Kieran Duffie this week to Billy Stark’s Under 21 squad to face Greece next midweek.

Their players will no doubt be boosted by the fact that Manager Steven Pressley is still in the dug out after it looked earlier in the week that he may be heading to Tannadice Park. The former Scottish internationalist is assisted by that veteran of the managerial game Alex Smith and Stevie Crawford who spent three months with the ‘Loons’ at the start of last season.

Last Saturday’s odd goal in seven win over Airdrie United was Falkirk’s first win of the calendar year following a draw with Hamilton and defeats from strong going Partick and Morton. They currently lie fifth in the First Division having defeated Stenhousemuir 1-0 at Ochilview to reach this stage of the competition.

Manager Dick Campbell will be minus Willie Robertson who begins a two game suspension following his red card at Gayfield last week as well as long term injury victim Keith Gibson.

He announced his proposed staring eleven to the players at training on Tuesday night and the boss is confident that despite two successive away defeats, the players will be up for the task and they will certainly be boosted by a much larger than normal away following.

The referee for a game which marks the ‘Loons’ first visit to the impressive Falkirk Stadium is FIFA official Kevin Clancy.

The match is in fact the first clash between the sides since the 11th of September, 2001 a date etched in world history due to events that unfolded in New York.

On that night in a league cup tie at Station Park when football seemed totally irrelevant the visitors triumphed 2-0.