Gary Irvine delighted after Elgin victory

Gavin Price’s side arrived at Station Park at the weekend still smarting from their surprise Scottish Cup second round defeat to Clydebank.

Irvine was cautious of the wounded animal when the two met on Saturday, so was delighted to see his backline, forwards and subs all contributing to a 2-1 win which kept them in touch with league leaders Kelty Hearts.

Andy Munro put Forfar ahead in the game but his goal was cancelled out before the interval by Elgin’s Rory MacEwan.

PJ Crossan made way in the second half for Grant Anderson with the former Raith Rovers winger making an immediate impact and scoring what proved to be the match winning goal.

It all made for a satisfying afternoon’s work for Irvine.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, Elgin came into it on the back of an upset in the cup the week before, so we knew we’d be facing a team looking to correct that,” said the manager.

"We expected them to be coming away from home and making things difficult for us and they did.

"They changed their shape up so there were certainly things for us to deal with.

"The elements played their part as well, but we deserved our win.

"We worked really hard and managed to score a couple of good goals and were unfortunate with the goal we conceded.

"It was a mistake from our side of things but I’m pleased with the way we took to the game and got into it.

"What we did during the game to get the three points I was delighted with.”

Anderson’s arrival on the park certainly paid off.

It prompted a change on the park as well, with Irvine shuffling his pack as he tried to guide his side back into the lead.

It worked, Anderson barely having enough time to break sweat before he got his side’s second goal of the game.

"It was a good change when it works out that way,” added Irvine.

"PJ wasn’t feeling too well and had to come off with a stomach issue.

"These are the decisions you have to make when someone can't go on.

"He was struggling, so we changed it, and you can't ask anymore than for a sub coming on to have an immediate impact with his first touch.

"We changed the two wingers over and put Stef (McCluskey) to the other side.

“After 30 seconds he pulls the ball out of the sky, takes the full back on and puts in a good cross.

"With his first touch Grant Anderson scores.”

Irvine was equally as delighted with the resistance of his defence to navigate through some late Elgin pressure.

"We were under the cosh in the last part of the game but you expect that from Elgin, they’re trying to get themselves on track," he said.

"We knew they’d throw everything at us and they did that for the last 10 minutes of the game.

"They put a lot of attacking options onto the pitch and really tested our defence.

"But, as a team, something we’ve been doing this year really well is being very hard to break down and we stood up to it again.”