Forfar completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes under Ray McKinnon after moving into a promotion play-off spot on Saturday.
The Angus side came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 thanks to goals from second-half substitutes Nathan Flanagan and Ben Armour.
And despite Armour’s late penalty mess, Loons have moved into fourth place with just five games to go.
Their fine form has propelled them off the bottom of League Two since McKinnon’s arrival in November.
The threat of becoming the dreaded club 42 and being forced into a pyramid play-off has been all-but averted.
Courier Sport was at Station Park on Saturday and here are three talking points:
Ray McKinnon is staying grounded at Forfar
A consistent feature of Ray McKinnon’s 143-day reign at Station Park is his steadfast determination that this season is about survival.
It’s small wonder McKinnon has publicly set the bar at that level given the situation he walked into.
Forfar were bottom of League Two when he arrived on November 10th.
They had won just three in 13 games and had genuine fears they could follow Angus neighbours Brechin City into the Highland League.
However, McKinnon’s arrival was like a breath of fresh air.
His enthusiasm and positivity inspired Loons to a run of six wins out of seven.
Using his wide-ranging contacts, he brought in talented loanees such as Adam Hutchinson and Finn Robson from Dundee United.
And, in truth, Forfar have never really looked in danger of the drop during his tenure.
They are now 14 clear of bottom club Albion with 15 to play for.
But McKinnon’s focus won’t shift off survival until they are arithmetically safe.
He is, however, fiercely ambitious and has a very strong track record, having won the League Two title with Queen’s Park in 2021.
And this Forfar squad can make the top four. Even if they don’t then this year’s objective has been achieved.
Forfar comeback inspired by subs
Albion Rovers are no mugs.
A 5-1 away win at Dumbarton three weeks ago underlines that.
And they looked fairly comfortable after taking the lead through Joe Bevan.
But McKinnon swapped things up by bringing on Nathan Flanagan for Robson and within seven minutes the sub had netted.
Next up it was Armour’s turn to make an impact.
Just three minutes after he replaced Matthew Aitken, Armour turned in from close range to make it 2-1.
Ben Armour shouldn’t let penalty miss get to him
Armour was the matchwinner.
His 84th minute penalty miss didn’t, ultimately, cost Loons the win.
It was also a well struck penalty and a very impressive save by Rovers keeper Jack Leighfield.
Armour can and should take penalties in the future to erase the memory of this miss and chalk it down to experience.
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