Forfar assistant boss Ian Campbell insists his players deserve plenty of plaudits despite Sunday’s defeat to League One leaders Rangers.
The plucky part-timers went toe to toe with the big-spending Govan outfit, only to lose out to a solitary Andrew Little goal.
And Campbell believes it was cruel luck on his side who he feels should have secured at least a draw.
He said: “Obviously we are disappointed but I thought we took an enormous amount of credit out of the game.
“I think if we had shown a bit more quality when we were in possession, then we could have had an equaliser.
“In the first half, we restricted them to no chances at all. Then we gifted them a really poor goal. Our players know that’s not acceptable at any level.
“So we came in unhappy that we had lost a goal then in the second half we created more chances but we were disappointed in our finishing.
“Overall, we are disappointed we didn’t get something out of the game.
“There wasn’t much in it and I don’t think Rangers created a lot of chances.
“They are a high quality side so that is testament to the way we worked and the way we set ourselves up.
“So I think we can take a lot out of the game.
“Organisationally, the players worked hard and hopefully we can build on that and start moving up the league.”
Rangers boss Ally McCoist also paid tribute to the Forfar players, saying: “That’s as competitive a fixture as we have been involved in in a long, long time.”
For full match coverage see Monday’s Courier or try our digital edition.