Forfar West End lose out to Dundee

Forfar West End………….....1Dundee North End…….…..4
Forfar West End found the going tough at the weekend. Pic by Karen CarlonForfar West End found the going tough at the weekend. Pic by Karen Carlon
Forfar West End found the going tough at the weekend. Pic by Karen Carlon

West End went into this league game with high hopes having shown decent form of late.

But, up against a quality Dundee outfit, the home side knew they needed to be at their best.

Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case.

It became quickly clear that a real issue would be which side coped best with the surface, with the soaking turf chopping up badly, making good football very difficult.

North End seemed to settle quicker and had the bulk of the early play.

The away side would be glad no VAR is in operation at such matches as they took the lead midway through the half in what looked a very tight call for offside.

But West End showed true grit and, in a sweeping move involving Samson and Cormack, Abi Njie was on hand to draw level.

It looked like that would take us to halftime, however, one man in the ground found some extra minutes and North End used it wisely, with a back post headed strike.

Rain poured in the second half and clearly Forfar struggled on the surface with many losing their footing.

The Dundee side coped better in the muddy conditions, and pushed forward.

A series of corners brought too much pressure to bear.

Through these set pieces North End increased their lead and, but for a couple great saves by Ross Matthews, could have been even more emphatic in victory.

Best players on the day for Forfar were Matthews, Samson , Kerrigan and Sanchez.

This was a sore one for West End who did not come close to their usual form.

But there’s no time for self pity, with a Forfar derby ahead next weekend.

West End make the journey to Guthrie Park where they will face Forfar United.

Kick off is 2pm.

West End go into that game sitting in seventh place in the Midlands League but with an eight point gap between themselves and sixth.

Saturday’s hosts are down in 17th position on just 11 points but do have as many as seven games in hand on some of the clubs above them and will look to cut that gap.

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