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Ray McKinnon hails ‘phenomenal’ ticket milestone as Forfar fans rush for Hibs briefs

The Loons are preparing to host Premiership opposition in this weekend's Scottish Cup fourth round.

Forfar manager Ray McKinnon.
Former Forfar manager Ray McKinnon. Image: SNS.

Forfar fans have snapped up more than 1000 tickets for their upcoming Scottish Cup tie at home to Hibs.

Manager Ray McKinnon said increased sales of around double the number that attended last weekend’s home match versus Elgin City are “phenomenal” for the club.

Forfar are set to host the Hibees at Station Park in the tournament’s fourth round on Saturday.

A spanner has been thrown into the work the part-time League Two club has been doing in preparation, with Tuesday night’s training cancelled due to heavy snow.

But, with players given individual programmes instead, training IS expected to go ahead as usual on Thursday night.

Forfar prepare for Hibs visit

“We had about eight inches of snow on the park and the surrounding area on Tuesday night. So we didn’t manage to train, which isn’t great,” Loons boss McKinnon told Courier Sport.

“It’s fine though, the guys got individual training plans to do. It’s OK, it’ll do. We’ll get them training on Thursday night.”

Anticipation is growing ahead of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off, with more than 1000 home tickets now sold – around twice last weekend’s attendance at home to Elgin City.

Hibs have sold around 2500 briefs, setting the stage for a bumper crowd at Station Park.

Meetings between Forfar and Hibs are rare, though the sides did meet in 2020 in the League Cup when it took a late header from the Hibees’ David Gray to separate the sides.

However, there were no supporters in attendance that day due to Covid.

The last meeting in the Scottish Cup between the sides came in 1971 when Hibs ran out 8-1 winners.

Before that tie, the sides hadn’t met in a competitive fixture since the 1930s.

McKinnon hails ticket sales

“There’s a bit of a buzz about the place,” added McKinnon. “I was up there on Wednesday.

“We’ve sold over 1000 tickers, it’s phenomenal for us. We’re delighted with that.

“The good thing about it is there is no expectation on us. All the pressure and all the expectation is on Hibs. Our players can go and enjoy the occasion.

“Our captain is a big Hibs fan, Andy Munro. It’ll be great for the players to go out and experience playing against a Premiership side.

“At the same time, we want to be super competitive in the game. We’ll have a plan for the boys on Thursday to see if they can take it into the game on Saturday.”

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